The Lord Of The Rings

[Tom Whitaker]

Right then... erm, very good but a slight disappointment. But then again, I was expecting quite a lot!

Strangely, overall the 3 hours seemed to go by very quickly, but it wasn't without its slow moments (that make sense?!) All involved were very good - not really a weak link in the cast, maybe due to the fact that Liv Tyler isn't in it for very long.

The storytelling's a bit disjointed, presumably to cram it all in. We'll leave characters in one setting then find them in another, and it's a little jarring at times.

What action there is is stunning, but you've seen a good chunk of it in the trailer - the main set pieces are all there. So a lot of the wow factor was lost.

But the effects are STUNNING - The Mummy Returns might want to go away and cry now.

Plenty of drama, although some of it's a little melodramatic.

But I'm being a little heavy on the negatives here - very much enjoyed it, but put a few reservations in your mind to make sure you enjoy it as much as possible.

Oh, and don't go to a 10am showing - I was quite tired :)

[Yonathan Gal]

umm, this isn't out yet??

[Tom Whitaker]

I imagined it all with my mind :nuts:

Not really. It was screened this morning for press and media peeps.

And the more I think about it, the more I liked it. I have a feeling I wasn't in the right frame of mind. I'll be in line on the 19th to see it again...

[Yonathan Gal]

Cool. So what sorta job you got, if you don't mind saying? :)

[tj_director]

Tom (you lucky bar steward!!) :)

BTW -- have you read the books?? just wondering what the experience is like for those who have, i've just read the hobbit, and am half way through FOTR, and i'm in complete love with them!! :)

[WiggyWog]

i've just read the hobbit, and am half way through FOTR, and i'm in complete love with them!!

Make sure you finish it before the 19th :D

Oh, and Tom, what was the Moria sequence like?

[Mr Flibble]

I'm hoping to see this on Christmas Eve myself - taking the day off work to use up some holidays :)

The trailers look great and I've yet to hear a bad review about it. Many reckon this will be the biggest trilogy since Star Wars and is already a cert to blow Harry Potter out of the water and the Box Office.

[Tom Whitaker]

The entire Mines of Moria sequence was fantastic - the high point of the action other than the battle we glimpse in the introduction. It feels like the finale in fact, but isn't... this is coming from someone who hasn't read the books... so when the actual finale comes it isn't wholly satisfying. Ah well...

As for what I do, I'm the film editor for a student union newspaper.

[Hamburger3]

http://www.lifesupportal.com/LOTR/

:)

[tjl]

I saw it too and i was utterly blown away. I also hope that it won't get too ridiculously hyped about, leading to disappointment when it actually only turns out to be a film, not a life experience.
Having said that, I thought it was great, i left wanting to see the next one straight away, and my wife, who 'hates fantasy' (we're both booksellers) immediately wanted to read the books and see it again! (High praise indeed, coming from her...) I personally much preferred this to the Harry Potter film -- i really didn't feel that did justice to the books, and was aimed more at kids. FOTR however was definitely not (Warning! This film may treat you like an adult!), and if anyone out there is considering taking their 7 year old to see THIS film, be prepared for nightmares. The film was dark, and despite the differences to the book, i felt it did it justice - the changes helped it fit together well, and as my wife pointed out, those who haven't read the books will still be clearly made aware of what is going on. It may not be perfect (what is?) but for me it made for the best cinematic experience this year. I can see why some critics have compared it to star wars (although I think that's a dangerous comparison) the ending, as with the book, is downbeat and sad, as the fellowship dissolves - leaving us desperate to see what happens next, much like the Empire strikes back.
For those that haven't read the books, i would suggest seeing the film first, to avoid 'book comparison syndrome' - unfortunately this is the problem with adaptations of major books - if you read the book first, the film won't stand up to your imagination (although actually in many places it did for me), but if you see the film first, you might end up substituting the cinematic images instead of constructing your own (which with a hugely imaginative piece like LOTR might be considered a shame). While we're on the subject, many of the set pieces and scenes looked taken straight out of an Alan Lee painting (the illustrator). In fact there is an Alan Lee painting in the film at one point.
Can't wait to see it again! Roll on 19th december...

[martinb]

there's a very slight spoiler in your post. maybe you should have posted a warning?

[tjl]

Oops, you're right. I'm sorry! (I'm still quite new at this).

[jonathan.e]

Here’s a review I wrote for a website after seeing the flick last night:

You know how they say that size doesn’t matter? Well, it does and this is the movie to prove it. Everything about director Peter Jackson’s immaculately tooled picture is epic: the scale of the world he’s created. the size of the monsters and the danger of the quest on which our heroes embark. However what is really clever is the way that this hugeness is counterbalanced with the idea that the smallest person, and the smallest thing can change the world.

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Hobbit, a people of diminutive stature inherits a ring from his Uncle, Bilbo Baggins which is basically capable of ultimate power. Cool, you would think, but the ring belongs to the dark lord Sauron and he wants it back. Ring wraiths, orcs, Goblins, Ogres and demons are some of the obstacles that stand between Frodo and his quest to return the ring from whence it came - Mount Doom, the only place this ring of terrible power can be destroyed thus averting Sauron’s plan to cover the whole of Middle Earth with darkness, kind of like a power cut in 1975, but lasting longer. Joining Frodo on his quest are some of his Hobbit friends and the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan), Strider(Viggo Mortensen) and Boromir (Sean Bean).

Peter Jackson has created a totally immersive, believable world, probably the first on this scale but the immensity and brilliance of the effects serve the story and never overwhelm the characters unlike most movies. Oh, and if anyone comes out of this movie thinking that George Lucas has never read Lord of the Rings - well, they’ll be in the minority.

The movie does stand in it’s own right but it also sets the scene eloquently for the second part and it’s only at the end that you realise how awesome this will be when all three movies are completed and you can watch them as one. A testament to the power and effectivness of Jackson’s movie is that at three hours long, without a break, I would happily have set through the other two parts straight after. JRR Tolkein’s coda seems highly appropriate for Jackson’s superb movie experience and the spell he casts over us, the viewer:

"One Ring to rule them all.....and in the Darkness Bind them"

December 2002 can’t arrive quickly enough.

[tj_director]

Christ i was looking forward to it already, but your eloquent review Jonathan has taken me up a notch!! :nuts:

[stephen]

I'm really looking forward to this now, just booked my tickes for the 24th.