[Child of the 7th Age]

I agree with what Bird is saying. I would say that PJ's TTT is a grand martial epic and an amazing technical achievement. However, it lacks the charm, enchantment, and gentle affection that were interwoven through the first film. Partially, that is the fact that the second book has a different focus and setting. But it's also the choices PJ made in emphasizing action, peril, and suspense at the expense of developing his characters the way JRRT actually wrote about them in the book. <P>As such, I just didn't connect with it emotionally on the same level as PJ's Fellowship. Never once did I find myself fighting back tears. And to be truthful, that happened at least twice in the first film. It just didn't tug at my heart in the same way. I got a tiny bit of that in the last minute between Sam and Frodo, but even that didn't have the same pull for me as the ending of the Fellowship.<P>Were there things I liked a lot? Absolutely! I actually thought Eowyn and Aragorn were handled well. I liked PJ's portrayal of Sam. Gollum and his two personalities were compelling. We also had more insight into the friendship between Legolas and Gimli. There were even a few changes from the book that PJ made that felt "right" to me--Merry and Pippin's discussion about how the Shire would eventually be destroyed unless they did something, the presence of the Elves at Helm's Deep, how Merry used his wits to 'persuade' the Ents. <P>I've come to think of the movies as PJ's fanfiction, and an amazing fanfiction it is. I'm willing to shift things around, to put in new scenes, or even expand on Arwen's role. But the one think I have trouble with is changing the characterization in such a way that it actually goes against the spirit of what Tolkien was saying.<P>There are two cases of that in this movie. PJ didn't get his "F's" right, and I don't mean the word you're not supposed to say in public. I mean Frodo and Faramir. <P>I'm one of those who ranted a good deal about Frodo's depiction in Fellowship as a spineless wimp, with everything left out that showed he had a backbone. e.g, the BarrowDowns, his tabletop song at the Pony, his agressive beahvior at Weathertop. <P>This time we have the same problem magnified even further. The amazing thing about the book Frodo is that there are two sides to his soul, and they're both becoming stronger. On the one hand, he is falling under the spell of the Ring. But he is also growing in gentility and grace. The light in Frodo's face--the sign of an Elf-friend-- becomes stronger. He has visions, and is able to show true pity towards Gollum. PJ takes the latter sentiment, and implies that Frodo's mercy arises solely from the fact that he was scared witless at the thought of having the Ring turn him into another Gollum. <P>Was there some of that in Tolkien? Yes, but it's not the whole story. I never got a sense from TTT of how Frodo's 'mercy' related to his earlier discussion with Gandalf, which was a critical point in the writings, i.e. mercy which is pure and unadulterated rather than merely self-serving.<P>The scenes between Faramir and Frodo are among the most amazing in the book. They show the nobility of spirit in both of these characters, although each is portrayed in a very different way. PJ has swept this entirely away, in favor of creating more conflict and suspense. I actually found it difficult to see the changes he made in Frodo and Faramir. Once or twice, I just looked away from the screen and mentally plugged my ears. <P>Faramir was the one character in LotR whom Tolkien identified with most closely. I can't imagine what he would say about PJ's portrayal. It was light years away from the gentle man of Gondor. Instead, Faramir came within a hair of being Boromir #2. <P>Overall, did I like it? Yes, but not to the same degree as PJ's Fellowhip, which kept creeping into my mind for days (even weeks) after I first saw it. I have to admit I'm disappointed. Will I see it more than once? I've already got tickets for Saturday night. But, after I see it, I'm going home, taking out my well worn TTT, and rereading The Window on the West and The Forbidden Pool to remind me that the 'real' Faramir and Frodo are still there, very much alive and well!<p>[ December 18, 2002: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]