voicing some frustrations with an overall great film

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2001)

I'm going to take some time to point out some flaws that I haven't seen others mention. these are flaws that, in my opinion, negatively affect the story. my biggest complaint, which will be backed by several examples, is that gandalf's power, reputation, etc. were EXTREMELY downplayed through omission of key actions, and changing of storyline. here is a list of examples:
1. when bilbo disappears gandalf makes a little explosion of smoke so the hobbits won't be so freaked out and will come to the conclusion it was simply some trick of gandalf's rather than thinking anything really mischievous was going on. this was omitted. it would've added another ten seconds to the movie.
2. gandalf was originally responsible for the white horses seen riding on the water. one simple line in the rivendell scene could've kept this a part of the story.
3. gandalf seen bickering with the rest of the council over what should be done with the ring? come on!
4. during the journey over caradhras saruman, seemingly knowing gandalf's thoughts, says gandalf is afraid to go to moria. not so. in the book he simply understood that the danger there should be the last route, when all others have failed.
5. at the gates of moria...and this is a big one...frodo, not gandalf, solves the riddle of the door? give me a break.
6. omitted is a scene after the fight with the orcs in moria in which gandalf puts a spell on the door and is met with a counterspell from the balrog, then gandalf counters and the door explodes from all the force, caving in the passage between the enemies and the fellowship, buying them some time, not to mention showing the power of gandalf.
7. when the fellowship reaches lothlorien and galadriel hears the tidings of the fall of gandalf and that saruman has turned from the path, she states that had she had her way gandalf the grey would have been the head of the wizards' council from the getgo. one small line that could've hinted at his wisdom and power.
i think that is sufficient supporting evidence. gandalf is a bad ass. the reader is only given hints of his power throughout the book, and his wisdom is fairly obvious. but these things are not even hinted at in the movie. he's made to seem a lesser wizard. shame on the scriptwriters.
also, aragorn is made to seem less of a man than he is. afraid of his birthright? where'd that come from? i see no need for that in the story.
i was disappointed the reforging of his sword was omitted as well. although i have a feeling that will be included in the latter films.
why was there mention of a palandir in the first film? not necessary. could've cut that section of the saruman scene to make more time for some of the more important stuff that was omitted. like the battle with the ringwraiths at the ford. could've used a little more action there.
i personally don't think cutting glorfindel was a good move, it only added a minute or two more screen time for arwen and we didn't get to see the wrath of an elf-lord because of it. i can live with it though.
would it have hurt to have sam look into the mirror as well in lothlorien? frodo saw the stuff sam was supposed to see, so they may as well have had sam there.
finally, boromir's death...the funeral scene should've been more of a focal point. with all the changes that were made in the name of film adaptation to hold the audience, etc. they certainly could've had the film end with boromir going over the falls instead of frodo and sam walking down a hill. where were the weapons of boromir's defeated enemies beneath his feet in the boat to show that he had conquered and was above them? i think the ending would have been more dramatic (which is what moviegoers want) had we seen the frodo and sam walking off scene, then aragorn pushes the boat out, they have their little talk about what they are doing as the boat drifts off, then it goes over and they dart off. end.
with those things said, let me get to the praise.
the acting is phenomenal. bilbo being of key note here. very well done. i don't think there was a bad performance in the film. legolas rocked as well. aragorn was to a t, save the doubt about his ability, which was a script error, not an acting error.
the visual imagery is breathtaking and unmatched. here's the best way i can think to put it...i've read all the books and any reader knows how they get a mental picture of the places being described, etc. every place in the film was above and beyond my imagination's picture of the land. the shire was beautiful beyond imagination. the argonath, the pillars of the kings on the river were awesome to behold. rivendell was incredible...the twilight of lothlorien was breathtaking. mordor...scary. isengard, fallen from grace with excellent imagery.
the still scene in moria where the fellowship is waiting for the orcs to breakthrough is worthy of posters.
in the book legolas can pull and aim an arrow without you seeing him move, i was quite pleased with the inclusion of a scene during the forest battle with the orcs where legolas pulled and fired 3 arrows, killing three orcs all in different lines of sight in no time at all. very well done. also, his walking out on the chain to the back of the troll, showing the grace of an elf...nicely done. he shouldn't have made a sound when he jumped down though. elvish feet fall silent on the ground.
also, while i could've sat through 2 more hours of film the time management of this film was great. had i not known the story and the length of the film beforehand i would've had no concept of time. that movie went quick.
i had great expectations of this film (i'm hoping it will surpass titanic at the box office [i hate titanic]). considering that, i was bound to be hard to please. even so, i walked away awestruck with all i had just seen. i saw it twice within twelve hours of it's release. i am going to give this movie a 10 when i vote here in a minute. straight to #1 on the top 250?!?! incredible. i don't know how i'm going to wait a year for the second movie. i've been waiting for this movie to come out for over two years now. now i have to wait a year before i can get more!
go see this movie. at least five times.