Weak

Rating: 2/10 (3 March 2012)

The movie was about as interesting to watch as a dripping faucet. It doesn't do the book any justice. Perhaps the most irksome feature is the fact that the classic novel is so grossly tampered with in order to accommodate well-known Hollywood actors (particularly the character of Arwen, played by the poorly-casted Liv Tyler). If the idea is to incorporate more female characters, they did a terrible job, as the Arwen scenes basically involve overly illuminated close ups of her face contorting into various crying scenes. As for other female characters, Eowyn is decent but doesn't live up to what I imagined her to be like in the book (strong, steadfast), but at least she gets some coverage. Galadriel is wonderfully portrayed by Cate Blanchett but her role is minuscule. Anyway, enough of that. There were some good scenes, like when the hobbits meet Treebeard, and most scenes involving Frodo were decent although Gollum is way too cute to be anything like the book's version. Worm tongue is also weak (not creepy enough). So my main issues are poor character renditions and alteration of plot. Wish they'd stuck to the story more accurately instead of turning it into a cheesy soap opera.