I was very dissappointed with the movie. I didn't mind the ommissions, but the things that were added really made me cringe. The part with Arwen I found particularly unpleasant, also the fight between the two wizards was just stupid. I always thought that Gandalf and Saruman would struggle in other ways, like with the powers of their mind, and by adding that part in the movie, it seems to be saying that veiwers cannot understand any struggle that isn't physical. Some depictions of places and characters were also very false in my opinion. The scene at Bree for instance. In the movie, Bree looked scary and disgusting. There was nothing of the warm and inviting Prancing Pony, where the hobbits felt so comfortable that they endangered themselves through carelessness. Also, Elrond was not the kind and all-knowing being that he should have been. He was cold and contemptuous (not to mention ugly). In fact, all the elves seemed to get too much enjoyment from scaring people. Elves were mischievous in Tolkein's books, but they weren't cruel. They were perilous only because of their power. The only elf that I really liked and enjoyed was Legolas. I liked all the members of the company of the ring, with the exception of the two younger hobbits. They were made to seem totally ignorant of anything going on around them. They were idiots, although I got a laugh or two from them. As for all the people saying "you can't compare it to the books", I say why not? It is a work based on the books, and anyone who would undertake the making of a movie based on books that are so well read and well loved should be more conscious of making a movie that would be true to the books.
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