The Film/The book/U can love both

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2002)

I have read the LOTR books 4 times, with a few glances back over the years. I daresay I'll read them a few more times before I pass from this earth. I need not say to those who have read and loved those books, how I treasured those novels. They are more than just books. They are stories I have held in my heart long after I put them down.
Being a film buff as well, I have waited many years,with great longing and anticipation, for a film to bring the magical words of the trilogy to the screen. In my heart I knew it would be an imposing task, maybe an impossible one.
In the past year I have seen what Peter Jackson has made from these books. I believe:
1). Mr. Jackson labored mightily, and it was his heartfelt wish that these films be as close to the original idea that the books perfected, that his films grasp the feeling and mood and meaning of the words Tolkien put down. To this desire I believe him to be true. One can feel and see the labor of love he put into these movies.
2. I also believe that these books are so intense and personal to each loyal reader, and no visual art can truly fulfill every person's individual imagining of the magical places, actions and people of Middle Earth. While one person might accept the image of Jackson's Shire to be right on target, another might have thought it less than right. There are bound to be some parts of these movies that disappoint individuals, as each person holds a different picture in their own mind than did Jackson,or Tolkien did or anyone else. This is the unique and best part of these books, the idea that each of us can fill our own minds eye with whatever we envision as magical.
Those things being said, I liked both of the movies. Did I think them absolutely perfect to my imaginary idea of MiddleEarth? No. Did I find them close? Yes. Can I respect the effort of the writers, directors and the actors who worked hard to bring these ideas to life? Yes.
The Fellowship seemed to follow the book more closely than did the Two Towers. But the first book is an easier mark to hit, as the story is just unfolding. The second book was incredibly detailed with new characters, plots and separate adventures of the main characters. I think to bring the Two Towers book to complete justice, one would have to have 2 movies just to cover it all.
Was I a bit disappointed in some of the liberties Jackson took with the story, that Eowyn did not take up the sword and Faramir was an incomplete character, as I had loved him so in the book? Yes, a bit. But the ancient Ents were there on the screen and Viggo M. brought fabulous life to Aragorn. Gollum was an incredible character both visually as well as poignantly humanized and Helm's Deep was dank and dark, the Enemy overwhelmingly many.The dead mrshes were truly frightening and I loved all breathtaking scenery, the mountains and the valleys, the imposing gates of Mordor.
There were some disappointments, but overall the effort and the final product far outweigh the negatives. Both movies are cinematically brilliant. To judge them harshly by comparing them to the written word is unfair, as one cannot compare one to the other.
The bottom line for me in rating a movie is by the overall effect it has on me, after I leave my seat and get in the truck to go home. I was truly moved by the Two Towers and the Fellowship movies. They are not mere popcorn chomping movies you watch and leave behind in the theatre. They are movies that stayed with me long after I walked away from the screen, impressing me with their strong, umwavering idealization of good and evil, dark and light. The same ideals found in the original written works by Tolkien.
I'll go see it again and look to next year for the Finale.