A Hatchet Job on Tolkien

Rating: 2/10 (16 May 2007)

Perfect? Give me a break--or at least let me qualify that statement. At best Jackson should state/warn viewers that the movie is "loosely based" on JRR Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy. The second and third films progressively deviate from the story and Tolkien, so much so, that it renders the whole story trite, unpalatable and predictable (Hollywood's modus operandi); and it is this aspect of the film that makes it "perfect"--perfect for American audiences.
Jackson did a hatchet-job to Tolkien's work. Even the battle scenes, the one area of the film that I hoped would visually flesh out parts of the books, were buried beneath the offal of cheap entertainment. Bloom sucks. Liv Tyler sucks. The dialogue sucks. The notion of Gondor being a bunch of inept lolly-gaggers (in the face of a seemingly new threat) is laughable--they had contained Saurun for decades. Denathor's character is reduced to its most laughable level. The whole movie is a joke.
This is not a great film. It may be mildly entertaining for some, wildly entertaining for others, but for Tolkien aficionados and those who value quality in terms of human creativity, this is awful. I pray Jackson stays away from Tolkien's other works. Please don't encourage filmmakers with all this "best of all time" dribble. This movie is awful. Peter Jackson ought to be ashamed of the mess he made of Tolkien. This is one book where--in regard to adapting it to film--if you are not going to do it right, just leave it alone.
Final appraisal: This film and the rave reviews it has received is indicative of the "dumbing down" of Western culture and especially American culture. Prepare the way for the New Dark Ages.