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Can we have spoilers that were in the books? It was very beautiful, you're going to love it. Satyagraha
Posts: 1986 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Well, I thought it was great. I loved the music. Shelob was wonderfully terrifying. The armies of the dead were great. The battles were great. I cried several times. I'm glad that PJ was pretty true the book in terms of the destruction of the ring.
I wished that there had been more time for the interplay/connections between various characters and more of the King.
There were, of course, things from the books that had to be left out, which I sorely missed, but some of them are supposed to be on the EE. Considering the amount of story that had to packed into 3 hours, I think it was well done.
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Wow, there are just so many threads on the subject...but ok. You talked me into it.
At 3 hours and 20 minutes, it seems odd that I still felt like I was reading the book in fast forward mode. From the getgo, the editing seemed choppy and the flow just wasn't as good as it was in the past two movies. People may scream "wait for the EE!" but I get a little peeved because I went to see the MOVIE. It shouldn't have to have the deleted scenes in it to flow evenly. If that's the case, then they should have left them in IMHO. I would have sat through at least another half hour and I know that most fans would have done the same.
I don't think this was all of the problem though. It all felt rushed. The story is just too rich and too wonderfully LONG to be crammed into a movie. That said, it was a beautiful movie. The special effects are even MORE flawless and unnoticeable than they were in the first two (if you can believe it) and their usage of miniatures in the city of Minas Tirith is absolutely breathtaking. Those were some of the best shots in all of filmdom in my opinion, as they circled the city and showed just how majestic it was. Minas Morgul was also amazing, perfectly creepy, perfectly scary. Even scarier than I'd imagined it, and quite believable.
I found myself feeling like there was TOO much Sam and Frodo in the first 90 minutes or so of the movie. It seemed to take forever to get to the Shelob scene. In retrospect, it makes sense that they did it that way. I was truly saddened/irritated/annoyed by the way the dynamic between Frodo, Sam, and Gollum was exploited. Darned screenplay writers!! It pissed me off something fierce. BUT!! The scenes that were supposed to be there were all tense and quite believeable.
Legolas still serves valiantly as Captain Obvious. I snorted out loud several times in the movie as he stated what everyone had basically already said. Gotta love the guy. I felt like the jocularity between he and Gimli was a welcome diversion during the tense battle sequences and I found myself laughing freely and not feeling like they ruined Gimli's character. He and Legolas kick serious trash. (See Frisco's comment about Gimli in the "What Went Wrong" thread after you've seen the movie. It sums up my feelings as well.)
My main beef was the absence of king in The Return of the King. Because it was necessary to focus on the two hobbits battling their way up the side of Mt. Doom, there simply just isn't enough time to focus on the King the way all of the fans wanted them to. I felt like he was on a side burner and we came back to his plot line as an afterthought..."oh yeah! The King is returning!" This feeling was especially prevelant at the very end, when the King actually returns! But, he did a beautiful job.
I've said it another thread, but I'll say it again. Elijah Wood was simply brilliant in this movie. As I was examining my feelings post-viewing yesterday, I thought of all the flaws that I had pointed out, but still found myself just loving the movie anyway. Why? His performance, along with Sean Astin's, Miranda Otto's, and Viggo Mortensen's made the whole thing for me. I think that Wood's transformation as Frodo during this movie was so true to the character that we all know and love. He was much more effective this time around than in the other two movies for me. His performance at the Cracks of Doom will take your breath away, as will his portrayal of a damaged and saddened Frodo in the Shire at the end. My favorite scene was one of the final scenes in the book where he and Sam are on the rock with lava flowing around them and Frodo thanks Sam for being there with him...Wood caught the spirit and did it justice. Sean Astin also did a wonderful job of portraying MY favorite character from the books.
Anyway, there's more than my 2 cents. I'm no good at writing reviews, but that should give you some idea of what you're in for. I think you'll like it.
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Gotta love the guy. I felt like the jocularity between he and Gimli was a welcome diversion during the tense battle sequences and I found myself laughing freely and not feeling like they ruined Gimli's character. He and Legolas kick serious trash. (See Frisco's comment about Gimli in the "What Went Wrong" thread after you've seen the movie. It sums up my feelings as well.)
