Not perfect, but either was the book.

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2003)

I feel compelled to comment on Peter Jackson's LOTR series now that we have seen 2 of 3 parts of the book. As a movie scholar and a 14-time reader of the trilogy, I hope not to have the biases exhibited by too many reviewers. The two movies so far have been as an impressive an effort in film as virtually any movie ever made. The scale of production, special effects, and ensemble acting are simply beyond the scale of any movie production in history. That does not mean that FOTR and TTT are the best movies ever made; they are both outstanding but not flawless. However, no one has (or probably ever will) attempted as enormous a task as making three movies at one time and achieving the incredible results we have seen. These movies have been almost universally loved by both audiences and critics. The only naysayers are the Tolkien nutcases who cannot take a microscopic deviation from the Trilogy. They seem to forget that books and movies are not the same art form. Upon viewing TTT for the first time, I sat there and examined the movie in detail trying to identify flaws and discrepancies from the book. My initial reaction was mixed. My second viewing was based on a less cynical attitude. When you just watch and enjoy, TTT stands on its own and is pretty incredible. The changes from Tolkien can be improvements on the book (especially the often criticized, more realistic depiction of Faramir, who is no longer perfect). The story is very slightly altered, but holds true to the concepts of the book and to the characters. The book is a collection of words which we mentally turn into images; the movie is a collection of images and words which depict a virtually identically story. After all, the movie shouldn't be a film of a narrator reading the book out loud. The battle scenes should be extended as compared with the book; that's what movies are good at. The movie is about 98% true to the book and is quite excellent. The final hour is almost breathtaking, as is the entire depiction of Gollum (who almost steals the show). For those who hate the movie, I am certain others would hate your filmed version of the book.