Jim Sharkey wrote:
> I saw it 12:01 AM, and my and wife and I both enjoyed it tremendously. I
> honestly don't know how much better a job anyone could have expected.
>
> The cast is excellent, pretty much across the board, most of the special
> effects are top notch, and there were only a coupe of scenes that were less
> than interesting. Perhaps that sounds a bit fanboyish, but it is, in all
> honesty, as good an adaptation of the book as a reasonable fan could have
> asked for.
I agree. All the very important parts of the book are in the movie:
the party, the revelation of the ring, Bree, Weathertop, Rivendell,
the Misty Mountains and Moria, Gandalf's escape, Lorien, and the
breakup of the Fellowship. The Nazgul are done well as is the
Balrog and the Barad'ur (spelling corrections please Alberto). The
entrance to Moria was excellent, lake creature and all. Rivendell
was perfect and the crossing at the ford was well done. Excellent
stuff!
> A fair portion of the movie's dialogue is taken right from the book. I know
> that I've already mentioned the cast, but I'll do so again. There's not a
> false note in the group, I thought. A truly fine job putting faces, voices,
> and mannerisms to the Fellowship.
I agree, casting is excellent as well.
> How does it stand alone? Well, my wife is familiar with the books, but
> never read them in their entirety, and she loved it. She never had to ask
> me who so-and-so was, or why they were doing such-and-such, which I think
> also speaks well for the movie.
>
> And, if I may go into fanboy mode for just a second, the cave troll is
> wicked cool. That is all. :)
The only thing that rubbed me a bit the wrong way was the way Pippen
and Merry were introduced and how they joined the other two along
the way. I'd have skipped the bit with the fireworks and stuck to
the "conspiracy" in the original, but that's a minor nit.
>
> On a more serious note, I know that certain of the Brin folks, in particular
> Dr. Brin himself, find the idea of the great and powerful making decisions
> for the rest of the world to be an anathema to all forward-thinking people.
> However, I think the movie clarifies what, to me, has always been the
> central theme of LotR. The little people, the ones with the quiet bravery
> in the face of great odds, those are the ones that make the difference.
> I've never understood how that central point escapes people.
Hear, hear!
--
Doug
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.zo.com/~brighto
Irreverence is the champion of liberty.
Mark Twain - Notebook, 1888
