Great Creation, Ruined Plot

Rating: 9/10 (15 February 2002)

I was absolutely blown away by the world that was created in the movie. The settings, costumes, and appearances of the characters greatly surpassed my expectations, and really brought to life Tolkein's Lands of Middle Earth. Far and away the best movie I have ever seen in that respect. However, some of the changes in the plot to me were unacceptable. While I understand that people have different interpretations of the world Tolkein created, there comes a point where changing things due to one's interpretation starts to destroy the original vision. While I do not think the vision of Tolkein's world was destroyed, I do think that several areas of it were weakened. The most obvious is the politically correct additions concerning the role of women. First, there's the decision to have Frodo saved by Arwyn. While she may very well have been capable of this, I think having her do this ruins her role in the story. Tolkein's trilogy already has a warrior princess who saves the day, therefore it doesn't need Arwyn to be one to show how capable she is. Elfin women are often more powerful than the men, but the power is reserved. Which is also why I disagreed somewhat with the portrayal of Galadriel. The audience never got the sense of absolute awe at her beauty that the characters should have, and the portrayal of her awesome powers looked more like a freak show. Women are powerful characters in the books, but their powers are often hidden, even though they may be more powerful than the displayed powers of men, and I think that is an important theme that was missed. However, the most important problem was the shifting of focus from the story being a struggle of hobbits to being a great tale of a king and a wizard. Having Frodo ask Aragorn permission to leave changes the entire scheme of things, which I disagree with. Otherwise, great casting, great acting, great movie. I just don't know why they had to change those few things. I understand the character cuts and restrictions, but changing things from the original story that didn't need it kept this movie from being the greatest of all time. Ian deserves an Oscar.