Mooters' RotK reviews

[obscenename]

As a film, I enjoyed it. Some bits in particular stirred me more than I thought possible. Gandalf´s ascension of Minas Tirith was as close as I could possibly have hoped to my imagination

Did anyone else find it odd that Gandalf took quite a while to reach the upper level on Shadowfax in Minas Tirith, but Pippin seemed to be able to run down 7 levels through the chaos and bring Gandalf back in the nick of time when Faramir was already on the pyre.

The wood was already stacked when Pippin was thrown out. Denethor would have had time to eat some grapes and take a nap before Pippin could have reached Gandalf. It seemed like a small continuity problem.

[Tuor of Gondolin]

Originally posted by Gerbil
Extremely annoyed to watch the film and so obviously be able to point out where important scenes were cut specificially for the EE (their last chance to milk the cash-cow for now).
__________________________________
Yup. Some were sooo obvious. Like the elephant man orc asking "What about the wizard?" Obviously confrontation will be in the EE.

It's a pity the excellent WETA work and mostly excellent casting and acting weren't equaled by the significantly botched script in TT and ROTK. The green slime Army of the Dead more reminded me of Ghostbusters. I almost expected Harold Ramis and Bill Murray to pop up:
"If an army from Mordor
is attacking Minas Tirith,
who ya' gonna' call?
Orcbusters!"
As for Denethor, even given book/movie adaptation necessities, could have been portrayed as a tragic hero. And would it have taken PJ's Gondorians 2 or 3 seconds to give allegiance to Sauron, and don't powerful rulers have competent bodyguards? Even putting aside the ban on the Istari of coercing people.

...their emissaries were forbidden to reveal themselves in forms of majesty, or to seek to rule the wills of Men or Elves by open display of power, but coming in shapes weak and humble were bidden to advise and persuade Men and Elves to good

Unfinished Tales, The Istari

[squinteyedsoutherner]

Yes, the Gandalf staff attack is one of those moments when all one can conclude is that either they didn’t know or didn’t care that they were in conflict with the story at the most fundamental level. I now believe myself that they didn’t know. I don’t think they became aware of the significance of many of their changes until after Tolkien fans saw the films and began discussing them on the net.

The portrayal of Sauron as an eye atop the tower (that becomes a lighthouse) is the biggest example for me. They just didn’t know that Tolkien said that Sauron had reformed by this point and was the size of a large man (because it is in other sources, not the story itself). This is proved beyond any doubt when Jackson complained about the difficulty of a villain who was a disembodied eye.

It’s a fun movie, but a meaningful adaptation of Lord of the Rings it is not.

[Valandil]

OK - I've scanned this thread, but haven't read every word, so I don't know if it's been mentioned or not. Also, I may still post a full review - but after I've made a second or third viewing. And... I usually try real hard to just think pure thoughts and not have a dirty mind, etc - but;

When Merry and Eowyn are in the tent and he whips out his sword and proudly displays it... and she laughs - remember the scene? Does the whole thing seem kind of... phallic?



(EDIT: hope this isn't going too far in the 'inappropriate content' department - and will gladly edit or delete posts if requested by a mod or admin)

[Falagar]

You are a sick man, Valandil.

[Artanis]

Val, you dirty old man.

[Valandil]

Old? I won't even be 200 for several more months!!!

So... I guess the Norwegians here think it was just me. Or maybe they're just upset because in another thread I accused them of having small... feet.

[Elvengirl]

I agree wilth th Norwegians on this point.

[Artanis]

Originally posted by Valandil
So... I guess the Norwegians here think it was just me. Or maybe they're just upset because in another thread I accused them of having small... feet.

It's you. And I'm not upset - I do have small feet.

[Christiana]

yeh, that scene made me wonder as well

[Arien the Maia]

oh Val!!! now the next time I watch RotK I'll probably think of it!

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Arien the Maia
oh Val!!! now the next time I watch RotK I'll probably think of it!

Sorry 'bout that.

[durin's bane]

Lol!

Alright, my review of The Return of the King.

First of all, this movie is spectacular. It dwarfs The Two Towers by far and is even better than The Fellowship of the Ring. True, there are some things that didn't come out on top, but it's hard to say "no" to RotK.

What I Liked:
-Everything Sam said. "I can't carry it... but I can carry you!" and "If I were going to marry someone, it would've been Rosie Cotton. It would've been her!" to name a few of his many good lines. Sean Astin's acting was also superb. I loved it when Sam falls down Cirith Ungol and sees the crumbs of lembas that Gollum dropped; Sam gets this sudden anger in his eyes. I had tears in my eyes in every one of his scenes.
-Pippin's acting and song. Billy Boyd has a beautiful singing voice.
-The seige of Minas Tirith and Pelennor Fields. Amazing battles.
-Eowyn and the Witch King. I mean, who WOULDN'T like it?
-The charge of the Rohirrim.
-Aragorn bowing to the hobbits. Very touching.
-Faramir's hopeless attempt to stop the Mordor's forces. A true moment that all he wants is to be loved. T_T Umm...and there was lots of cool action. ^_^
-Sam and Rosie's wedding. I don't know why, but this made me so happy! All that toil paying off for our dear Sammy.

What I Didn't Like:
-Sauron's spotlight. I was strongly reminded of the K-Mart blue special light.
-Arwen
-Legolas's oliphaunt stunt. NO ONE could do that. However, I did laugh when Gimli said, "That still counts as one!"
-Arwen
-The Grey Havens scene. I was like, "Will Frodo just get on the boat already?"
-That peach Orc. I want to kill him!! Grr!!! Stupid little....
-The destruction of the Ring. A little overdone on some parts, and underdone on others.
-Arwen
-Denethor's death. When I saw him running off the wall blazing with flames, I was like, "WTF?!" o_O
-The moment with Frodo in bed, and the Fellowship comes in to see him and they're are happy. Why don't I like this part? Everyone looks stoned. XD

[Arien the Maia]

do you have it in for Arwen durin's bane?

the only part I liked with her in it was when she came to Aragorn at the end and "married" him...that part always makes me tear up and I do NOT know why!

Val....I just got back from seeing it again for the 4th time and sure enough when that part rolled around I had a big goofy smile on my face!!!

[Christiana]

youve seen it 4 times already? lucky!

i thought thatt Aragorn "finding" Arwen was pretty cheesy. but i thought it was a nice touch that Elrond had tears in his eyes.

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Christiana
youve seen it 4 times already? lucky!

i thought thatt Aragorn "finding" Arwen was pretty cheesy. but i thought it was a nice touch that Elrond had tears in his eyes.

I had free movie passes that time got them for Christmas

[Christiana]

lucky! ive only seen it twice.
Ive heard that some heath org. was complaining that it promoted smoking, so thats why FJ had merry say the line "you smoke too much Pippin," or whatever it was. BTW, how many Academy Awards had it been nominated for?

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Christiana
lucky! ive only seen it twice.
Ive heard that some heath org. was complaining that it promoted smoking, so thats why FJ had merry say the line "you smoke too much Pippin," or whatever it was. BTW, how many Academy Awards had it been nominated for?

yeah, I can see where people would think that about the whole smoking thing....I don't think the nominations for the Oscars come out til February though

[Dúnedain]

I saw it again tonight for the 3rd time I am amazed at how well this movie goes multiple times around. Even though I saw it 2-times previously, it didn't lose anything. I was still on the edge of my seat and it still felt like it was only an hour long. I keep picking up on more little things every time as well. I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time!

[Elvet]

I saw RotK on Christmas Day, and finally have been able to pinpoint my dissatisfaction with the film.
I think the reason I wasn't as taken with this movie is that I had reread the book enough times now, and for once, the book has taken hold in my brain. In preparation for FotR, I dug out the books and read them the summer before the movie. This was the first time I had read them since I was a teenager. I tend to speed read (this held me in good stead during my university years) and unfortunately, my retention is poor. After I saw FotR, I was amazed at all the intricacies that I had missed when reading the books. The story was so much richer than what I had read. As well, I had all sorts of questions about the elves and the Grey Havens. So I went back and started again with the Silmarillion, Hobbit and LotR. I got Unfinished Tales and the Atlas of Middle-earth that year, too, and started my hunt for the 12 volumes of the History of Middle-earth. Just before TT was released, I reread LotR again. There was not much detail about Helm's Deep in the book (and battles are not that interesting for me anyways), so again, the movie was mind boggling. Now I was beginning to appreciate the movie as a separate vision from the books. I knew enough about the stories that I could tell what was different, but it didn't detract form the movie. I redid the full series from the Silmarillion in October.
I knew that this was the last time I would read RotK unaffected by P.J.'s visuals. Now that I've seen the movie, I'm hungering for the additional scenes that were left out (and hopefully will be included in the EE). I guess that's why I wasn't satisfied with the movie. I want to see the Houses of the Healing. The way Aragorn is recognized by the people of Gondor as the true King by covertly healing Merry, Eowyn and Faramir from the Black Breath is so much more interesting and tells more about Aragorn's nature as a ruler. How Faramir thaws Eowyn as they are both stuck on the sidelines having to watch the battle from afar. I wanted to see Eomer take his place as the King of the Rohan. I wanted to see the contingent of Elves arrive from Lothlorien and Rivendell, and to be at the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen. I feel bad that moviegoers will not understand why Denethor has gone mad with dispair and hopelessness, having been corrupted by Sauron through the palantir. Lastly, I will miss seeing the 4 returning Hobbit "showing their meddle" as they fight for their beloved Shire in a more direct way than they could have ever imagined.
Having said all of that, it was still a wonderful movie, and I think that P.J. does deserve some recognition for this achievement.