A nightmare for a Tolkien fan who read the book in the '60s

Rating: 1/10 (12 January 2005)

I am assuredly in the minority when I state Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy is some of the worst film making I have ever seen. It would appear that he and his production team read the books, sort of, maybe 30 years ago; bought the Cliff notes, and from that wrote the screenplay. To illustrate my POV, I recommend listening to the superlative 13 hour radio adaptation produced by the BBC, recorded I believe in 1981.
Jackson and crew erred when they depended too much on computer fx, and spent too much time on the spectacle of combat and war. I often thought I was watching a slasher movie. What makes the original Trilogy compelling are the relationships and the subtext characters carry with them from beginning to end. To be sure there are mythic battles, both large and small. But they come out of very carefully crafted relationships and a deep well of subtext.
I don't quarrel with the New Zealand locations, I do quarrel with the dumpy looking sets that were haphazardly glossed over with computer grafx fixes. I don't quarrel with the casting except Frodo, and yet I found the direction so superficial, and often perplexing, if not simply muddled (Galadriel as an English Vamp?!).
A clue to my dissatisfaction can be found in the omission of Tom Bombadil, the only character in the original not affected by the Ring. His eccentric wisdom and unexplained powers ground the plot because there is something, someone who is outside the Dark Lord's power. There is in the Tolkien universe a power unimaginable which Sauron cannot touch. And that is essential to the fabric which holds Middle Earth together. Which Tolkien in his craft and his wisdom knew he had to give expression to. And Jackson in his foolhardiness ignored.
Why didn't Jackson's team follow the books with more trust? The master had already worked it out perfectly. Well, almost. The Trilogy wasn't long enough, which Tolkien realized after its completion. Nevertheless, the project would have been immensely improved had Jackson and his team laid out a six episode franchise to match the six books of the Trilogy, taken more time to film it in their excellent locations of choice, and above all, truly paid homage to its original creator by following his work faithfully.
These films are a mish-mash which titillated the masses for a brief time. And that is tragic, because it will be long, long before someone will be able to do them justice.