Four Words: The Pyre of Denethor Butchered (ok, 5 words)

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2004)

This movie, the conclusion of Peter Jackson's epic film series based on the Tolkien novels of the same name, was fairly good on the whole. However, having read the books beforehand, I was disappointed at several aspects of this movie.
1. The Pyre of Denethor. This was my favorite scene in the book, but PJ mangled it. Instead of having Denethor kneel down on the pyre with his palantir, he leaped off of a battlement. This, while hilarious, was outrageous also. It was funnier than most parodies, and that's bad. It also seemed rushed, whereas in the book, time was taken.
2. The Wild Men. I don't know why, but this exclusion got my goat. I guess I just liked the Wild Men, Ghan-Buri-Ghan saying "Kill gorgun!" and the fact that they still used a few big words. Maybe I'm just a purist.
3. The Mouth of Sauron. His exclusion irritated me also, and I hear it will be on the EE (Extended Edition), so I guess that's something to look forward to.
4. SARUMAN! Why, oh, why cut his scene? Wormtongue as well. Those were two of the best characters! 'Nuff said.
5. Orcs. I was disappointed with the portrayal of the orcs, especially Shagrat and Gorbag (who are never called by name, along with Grishnakh and Ugluk from TTT). It seemed as if every orc line was yelled. Can't an orc merely talk? Shagrat and Gorbag were, again, two of the best characters. Tolkien's orcs were surprisingly sophisticated, and here they are reduced to yelling, angry simpletons. They even discuss post-war plans in Tolkien. Therefore, it was disappointing, except the cockney orc in TTT. "Why cahn't we 'ave some meat?"
6. Eowyn and Faramir. The love story is gone, and Eowyn is not as disguised as she should be (in the Battle.) Obviously it was filmed but cut, since the two look at each other at Aragorn's coronation.
So, it was a good movie with a few flaws.