Good Movie, So-So Adaptation

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2003)

I am a giant fan of the LOTR books, The Hobbit, and especially The Silmarillon. This movie is good, but as an adaptation it isn't nearly as good as The Fellowship SE was. I was disappointed in the adaptation, but happy with the movie itself. If you've never seen The Fellowship, you'd be lost. It picks up literally right after The Fellowship ends. And those who've complained that they can't remember how The Fellowship ened, GO OUT AND RENT IT!!! It's been out since AUGUST!!! NO COMPLAINTS ARE VALID ABOUT THAT!!!
Now onto the film itself...(some spoilers involved)
CG Graphics- At spots it's really fake. Even with the "great" Gollum. Some parts are so bad that it reminds me of Ep. 1 Jar-Jar. The Deeping Wall scene with the Uruk-Hai was incredibly fake looking at times. Almost looked better in the "Two Towers" video game.
Plot- Drifted a bit too much from the book. In the book, there was no fake Aragorn death, nor a flashback with Arwen and Elrond. (Though that scene was well-done). The parts with the Ents were weak, not just adaptation wise either. The Faramir scenes were a bit forced and not wholly believable. Just a good summer-movie plotline by comparison to the previous film.

Dialogue/Acting- Gimli's turn as a comedian blows chunks. Some lines are good, but he's a hardened warrior in the previous film. Can't they keep up some continuity? Theoden is well acted but not well scripted, Eomer is lacking in the script department too. Grima and Gollum were excellently acted and scripted.
Stuff That Caught Me- The last scene with the Ents overthrowing Isengard was wonderful. The death of Haldir was not necessary, and it made me a bit sad because Haldir's been around for a damn long time in The Silmarillon. The Wargs were interesting till Aragorn's fake death. The Nazgul and their winged steeds were friggin awesome.
All in all, a fairly good film. Not up to par of The Fellowship, but good.
7.5/10