[Kransha]

As much as I hate to admit it, you're technically right about the two-dimensionality of the thought process in LotR. The plotline, characters, developement, and dialogue are not as trite, but the story's purpose could be interpreted that way.

On the subject of eagles; a statement which just seems like convenience for the author. It was important to Tolkein for at least some to survive, so he does exactly what Gandalf does, calling in a favor from Gwaihir. The eagles wouldn't have willingly carried Frodo from Hobbiton to Orodruin, but they were willing to make a brief trip into Mordor to snatch him from Mount Doom's gaping maw. They did drastically affect the story, except for the important fact that they allowed Sam and Frodo to survive.

Next point: Absolute evil, a very touchy subject. In my opinion (not necessarily that of others) you are right about the power representation. This is where LotR falters. Power is not always evil, it can be used for good. Of course, before the real story even started, Tolkein had established some facts that make more sense. The One Ring is not power alone. The One, Seven, Nine, and Three Rings are power, like the Silmarils before them (or after, in publishing order). The Elves did not let power change them, as their light was already waning and their autumn had come, they did not desire power and were not corrupted. The dwarves simply became reclusive with their Seven, letting the power get at them, but not so much that they lost all humanity. The mortal men, on the other hand, who "only desire power" were corrupted by the Nine Rings they were given. This does suggest that these men where comparitively easier to sway than the greater beings of Middle-Earth, but during the War of the Ring, the goal of man was to overcome that desire for power and find good. The lesson is not that power is evil, merely that the evil of power is evil, which goes without saying.

In addition, despite the flat level of the good v. evil, power plot, the sub-plots are what make it interesting. Each nation, race, and often individual represents an important aspect to consider. There is the lost cause of chivalry in Rohan, the wizened but undecisive elders in Ents, the madness and infinity of war in Denethor, the rights of all in Eowyn, man's frailty in Boromir, the power of seduction in Saruman, and everything else. The story is so incredibly multi-faceted, you could even go so far as to ignore that 2-D quality of the purpose.