Even a little Tolkien goes a long way

Rating: 10/10 (17 August 2003)

As a die-hard aficionado of the trilogy, I subconsciously geared myself for some disappointments on my way to see this film. Some reviewers evidently feel they're breaking new critical ground in saying that the film was compromised, here, there and everywhere, finally excusing and extolling the film on the ground that what's left is so good, the flaws don't really matter much. Well, I can't help but agree, and even at nearly three hours, Jackson and his crew couldn't help but nip and tuck, and so the fact that much was missing, in terms of plot, character development, etc., is not especially mystifying. No, what I wondered--while I stood in line and bought a ticket for three shows hence--was not, "Gee, did they cut something out?" but, "Hmmm. Almost three hours. I wonder how they managed, with so little time." And they managed just fine, offering concessions and reconciliations equally satisfying, for those who have read the works as well as those who haven't. I do agree that more attention should have been paid to narrative regarding the Council of Elrond--here the plot point reaches a real pitch that was much missed in the film. I don't agree, however, that modern audiences are too cynical to swallow Bombadil. (That's like saying that imagination always needs a reality check.) And I did enjoy the expanded role of Arwen--it fit like a glove, and Tyler's performance, in my opinion, was superb (I had heard rumors that there were some misgivings when she was cast). But in the long run, the source work is so good that there's a heck of lot of choose from. Not only was serious thought given to the adaptation of Tolkien's masterpiece, the team's keen eye was clearly focused on the sensibilities (and intelligence) of the audience. Thus this is among the best three hours in film thus far.