Great, but if anything, TOO faithful

Rating: Null/10 (8 January 2002)

Disregard the squealing of rabid Tolkien zealots moaning about the lack of Tom Bombadil(!), hobbit sing songs(double !!) and very minor story tweaks, just sit back and soak it all up. Peter Jackson has done an amazing job shoehorning JRR's quaint, old-fogeyish medieval soap opera into an exciting and impressive epic that flies by and left this cynic aching for more.
I read LOTR as a young pup, and am genuinely curious as to how Jackson is going to handle the next two parts. The Two Towers...how are the Ents(intelligent trees, no less) going to be handled? Are they really necessary? There is something a bit neverending story about trees running around the place and this could be a bridge too far for all but the most receptive cinemagoers. The big Siege could be special though...especially as i read somewhere that the orcs could be packing gunpowder and flamethrowers devised by Saruman.
Return of the King...JRR totally lost it here, reams of densely packed psuedo-beowulf gibberish that wrap thing up in a totally dissatisfying manner. I hope Peter Jackson had the courage of his convictions and made the many changes that I think are necessary, as even the most staunch of Tolkiens fans must realise, no matter what happens, the books are still there.
Anyway, Ive seen FOTR twice and loved it. If i was to be picky(and i understand applying logic or reasoning to probably the definitive Fantasy story is an effort in futility), I would say that although there is a feeling of dread and uncertainty I dont recall in the books, I still feel the main characters are just too invulnerable. Strider for example...takes on 5-6 ringwraiths casually, god knows how many orcs, an entire legion of Uruk Hai...the fight scenes quicky become dull when we realise the uruks or whatever might have huge superiority of numbers but nevertheless shuffle clumsily in single file toward our heroes (including an effeminate hairdresser type and a small, stumpy old man with an axe)and are summarily dispatched with minimal effort. The Uruk-Hai in particular...Jackson spent a while building these bad boys up (and they do look particularly fearsome) but apart from their hardcore leader, seem to post almost no threat whatsoever to the fellowship. Did I see hobbits killing Uruk-hai? Saruman...back to the drawing board mate.
Last Criticism...I thought the score was pretty forgettable. I loved Leonard Rosenman's discordant, clashing music for Ralph Bakshi's animated LOTR and thought the lack of a "money" theme might (very mildly) affect this film's long term classic status. Anyways...Great acting, great fx, good story...give Peter Jackson more money and a copy of David Gemmell's "King Beyond the Gate".