mormegil, I just did not like the Hobbits, everything else was okay I guess, wizards were fine, big black horses w/ orcs or whatever they were, they were fine, Elf girls were perfect, but Hobbits as Heroes? no...

okay I promise to let you guys carry on and enjoy your movie cult... hehe

bye

The only thing I might say to help you think a bit better of the movie, is without Tolkien Fantacy as we know it would not exist. Read the books some day and you might agree...

It's a great tale of the world-old fight between Good and Evil. Why did Tolkien choose hobbits as the heros? Because the hobbits are probably the most insignificant beeing; Elves are wise, agile, intelligent and immortal, dwarves are very strong and resistant, humans are intelligent and strong, but what do the hobbits have for them? Not much... They are weak, small, hairy and ugly, and kinda stupid. So why hobbits as heroes? Because anybody can fight Evil. You don't have to be big, stong, intelligent. All you need is to have a good heart, because that's where the fight between Good and Evil is fought.
The Lord of the Rings is a fantastic tale. Also don't forget it was written in a time where for the first time the whole World united in a war against Evil (right after World War 1).

Well said.

And J.R.R. fought in WW1, so had a first-hand experience of 'good vs. evil'....

I've seen in twice in two days. And I'm going back after Christmas Day

I can't even find the words to describe how amazing this film is. I'm getting chills just thinking of Jackson's depiction of the Shire and Bag End. It's the greatest adaptation anyone could have hoped for. It surpassed even my wildest hopes. If the line hadn't been so long when I left the theater, I would have gone right back in. In fact, I'm going back tomorrow.

Even though I've read the books over and over since my teens, I was still moved as if I were witnessing the events for the first time. It was more than a film... For three hours tonight, I was in Middle-Earth.

The only "criticism" I could possibly raise is that I have to wait a year for "The Two Towers"

ps-- The Argonath. Those shots took my breath away for a good long while.

pps-- I heart Peter Jackson

Yep the Shire/Hobbiton/Bag End were dead on. It was the highlight of the movie for me. Rivendell was also amazing. Stylistically it looked light it was lifted right out of Alan Lee's paintings.

The only thing I had issues with were Lothlorien. In the book, I remember Sam commenting on how it was vibrant and gold and filled with light, and how that contrasted with his preconceived notions of Elves having to do with moons and starlight. I really wanted to see the Lothlorien described in the book since it was on my "Top 3 places I'd want to visit in Middle Earth":

1. Hobbiton
2. Rivendell
3. Lothlorien

As for the Hobbits as the main protagonists, for me it always worked. I've always gravitated to stories in which the little guy has to struggle to overcome all odds as opposed to the Conan type big muscle heros which do nothing for me.

Though the real protagonist in LOTR is Middle-Earth itself and its sense of history and myth and sense that there's more to discover just over that mountain. Tolkien conveyed this quite well in his short story "Leaf by Niggle" which is somewhat of an autobiographical parable of Tolkien' struggle with creating his myths and the real world.


BTW, if anyone wants to do a Middle-Earth theme, you may want to include the Tengwar fonts for full geek effect. You can find them here: http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/4948
as well as the Tengwar word processor program: http://hem.passagen.se/mansb/at/tengscribe.htm

I used them to plop the Elvish poem Namarie on as text objects on my DesktopX desktop. Looks kind of cool.

Man am I in full geek mode or what?

Lilguru2001: Yes, I was thinking the same thing. When Elrond first spoke I whispered to my wife, "The ring must be destroyed, Mr. Anderson."

LMAO... I kept waiting for Agent Elrond to show up, too

"Bring forth the Ring... Mr. Anderson."

Hugo Weaving kicks serious ass in LOTR. Can't wait to see his next appearance.

I thought it was terrible. And I'm a fan of fantasy\SciFi type films. I walked out of the theatre after an hour and a half. This is only the second movie I ever walked out of. The first was "Natural Born Killers.

Oh and I never read the books. Frodo and his buds were too wimpy. And to much sound effects, such as all the monk type moaning. Too much magic and damn, it just sucked. Don't know what the hoopla is all about. "Ishtar" was a better film.

According to IMDB, this is the most liked film in history.

I'm Stumped.

Pitty you walked out, the type of stuff that you seem to like all took place in the second half. And remeber without these books there probobly would not be any fantasy movies for you to like.

Oh well.

Seeing it for the FOURTH time tomorrow Wanna come with, Silverado? You gotta give the flick a chance

Frogboy, do you by ANY chance post on the theforce.net message boards? I read a review of FOTR that read remarkably like the one you posted here.

OK Firestorm, I'll see you tomorrow.

I lurk on TheForce.net but I didn't write a review there. Do you have a URL?

I just got back from seeing it.

All I can say is "WOW"....