Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the wargs of fandom!: interesting review

» zn31 - interesting review

PS I had trouble editing this because the spellcheck ravaged it---hence the multiple postings.

Anyway.

Some thoughts.

#1, I don't care about literal book loyalty. In the least. To me, all the changes were fine. Jackson doesn't present "Tolkien"---he presents a *vision* of Tolkien. That's unavoidable. Which, as I say, is fine.

Points:

* Theoden does not come across as a "coward," as some implied---he comes across as someone who isn't quite up to the crisis, but means well, and is heroic in his own right. (He charges wargs, for example.) He is, however, consumed with the idea of destruction. He laments being the last of his line. He thinks the situation might be hopeless but wants his people to make a heroic, memorable stand at Helms Deep (he is very Viking-like in caring a great deal about how his people will be remembered.) I thought he was an interesting character. His "task" in the film, it seems to me, is to show one dark side in the theme of hope. Throughout the film (as in the book) people are constantly tempted to abandon hope (Legolas does this in the film---"I was wrong to despair")

Faramir. I have no problems, none, with changing him. I do have some cinematic problems with how he makes his final choice to release Frodo. It is way too movie convenient (which is to say, it was not properly grounded or well worked out, and I mean cinematically). Basically, we are shown this potential absurdity: Frodo nearly give the ring to the Nazgul, and on that basis...Faramir decides to let Frodo to wander (virtually) alone into Mordor? It's as if he forgot Boromir's warning---"what happens when Sauron takes back what is his?" So, on what basis does Faramir decide to forfeit his life in order to let this (to him) dangerously untrustworthy hobbit wander---with the ring---into the domain of the enemy? (?)

In short, they don't script it well and don't give enough useful screen time to the decision, so you are left with two choices:

1. It looks absurd and convenient.

2. You as the viewer are supposed to supply on the inferences and suppositions that explain Faramiies decision, ie. you are supposed to supply all the things the film DOESN'T. Even 15 more seconds of dialogue might have made this work. It doesn't work, IMO, as it stands.

As a whole, I think the film is magnificent. I only have problems with the last 20 minutes, where a lot of corners are cut. (Including the Faramir "decision," as described above). (Also t Osgiliath is supposed to be facing overwhelming numbers of Orcs, who hold the eastern shore, yet, when Frodo and Sam resume their journey, we see Osgiliath in the background... and there's no orcs anywhere, and the two of them don't act as if they might encounter any. It's as if they left the sack of Rome for a picnic.)

The last 20 minutes don't work for me CINEMATICALLY---but they do not undermine the whole film, which works brilliantly.

-- posted by zn31