Fantastic, and does the book justice

Rating: Null/10 (29 August 2003)

I can see the big, big fans of the books reaching for their tomes to knock me over the head for this comment! The film didn't portray books 3 and 4 exactly - in fact they went quite a way off it - but they reflected my experience of reading the books, given the difference between the two mediums.
Peter Jackson has bought a book to film which has always been thought impossible to film, given the scale of the battles, the landscapes, and the creatures, who were bought so much to life that film-making couldn't do them justice.
I definately wouldn't have been in the slightest bit interested in the films if I hadn't seen the books, but as I know them pretty well, it is clear that this is a labour of love from someone who knows and appreciates them at least as much as I do.
Specifics - gollum is not quite as I imgined him but it is another person's vision of the books. In the first film I remembered most of the dialogue and scenes in the literary context - quite uncanny - and in the second, this is not the case. I recognised very few quotes. Rohan was beautifully realised. Helm's Deep was again not my vision but still faithful to the books.
Certain things I missed - Gimli's role at Helm's Deep andhis reaction to the caves. He has been played for laughs all the way through, which is a pity as the books portray him as part of a distinct culture in Middle Earth, and here he is played as a small clown. His character has it's own concern's which are lost here.
The numbers defending Helm's Deep were wrong - there were more originally. The alliance with the wild men disappeared, as it was they who turned the tide of battle (elves didn't really come into it).
A lot of elements of the book such as the above have been dropped in Two Towers, presumable because it was thought that too many different elements and groups being introduced would confuse audiences.
However the effect is that Middle Earth, which is a fully-realised world in he books seems to be rather small here. As someone else has said, the books are a portrait of Middle Earth as much as anything else, and the films fall down a bit. Perhaps there are pressures form producers who want as much mass appeal as possible - hence allowing Jackson the special editions which are perhaps more as he would have wanted them, and which hold more detail than the cinema releases.
Having said that, it's easy to criticise, and it's an absolutely stunning film which does the books proud. I hope that P. Jackson manages to steer the third film more back towards the books though, becasue the books are great and a brilliant film doesn't need to do any more than that. Whatever, see the films in the cinema as well as on DVD, as they are a cinematic experience to end all others. Top marks.