Goofy, not Good

Rating: 2/10 (5 January 2003)

***SPOILERS*** If you think Roger Moore's goofy portrayal of James Bond defines 007, then you might like this version of Tolkien's classic work. Slapstick and goofy one-liners, etc., abound. Until seeing this farce, I had no idea that a dwarf has no endurance, an elf can nearly get ridden down by a company of Rohirrim without hearing them coming, and Faramir is just Boromir with a bow! Wait--cue the crescendo of the theme--Legolas is going to do a goofy ride-the-shield-down-the-stairs trick! Hey--where's the brave dwarven warrior Gimli, representing the Dwarves--he seems to have been swapped between movies for a clown wearing a banner reading "Comic Relief"?

Why is it that all of the silliest parts of the movie are the ones that are changes from the book? I have more respect for Tolkien than ever (and far less for Peter Jackson). I guess Jackson figured that Tolkien fans will see it anyway and decided to Hollywoodize it to gain favor with the Lowest Common (pun intended) Denominator..and I guess it doesn't matter that it makes *him* look stupid to add such gaping holes in the plot.