Sounds fair enough to me. 
Fantasy fiction isn’t for everyone. I, for one, don’t particularly enjoy it. I read The Hobbit and the trilogy when I was younger, back in the '70’s, because it seemed like everyone had read it and loved it. It’s an extremely well written story, meticulously plotted, with some really beautiful use of language and several really long, really boring stretches.
I went to the first movie mostly because my son wanted to see it. He has devoured the trilogy, along with The Hobbit, The Silmarillion (sp?) and much of the history of middle earth. I got surprisingly engrossed in the movie. I actually went back and re-read the first installment before seeing the second movie. My impression of the book hadn’t changed, but again, the movie was completely engrossing. The characterizations, particularly of Sam and Frodo, were brilliant. The scenery, the details, all beautifully done. It sucked me in.
I won’t be dressing up as Gandalf for any Hobbit birthday parties or anything, but I’ll certainly go see the third movie. I’ve already re-read the second book (wow - talk about long, boring passages) in preparation. Now that film making science has progressed to the point it’s at, I think these stories are even better suited for the screen than for the page.
And as far as the love triangle thing goes, well you just can’t sell a movie these days, not in blockbuster terms anyway, unless you have some sex appeal, some romantic tension, or at least some well-featured hot chicks. For relatively minor characters, the ladies in question sure are featured in a lot of print ads, aren’t they? You can’t blame Jackson for this - lots of dough was spent making these movies and they had to be sure they’d make a good bit back.
And the apparant cultish devotion to these books and movies some people seem to have - hey, there are people who are that devoted to Star Trek. They’re dressing up and going to conventions all these years later. Then there are the freaks like me who get dressed up in Civil War kit to play antiquated music. Different strokes.
I was born in 1975 and didn’t read LOTR till about ten years later, but the first time I read it it changed my life. I was affected in such a deep way that things were never the same after that. It had something so beautiful, so poignant, so deeply universal that it touched my soul. Many of my favorite hours of growing up (and also now) were/are spent in middle-earth.
I was extremely skeptical about the movies when the first one came out. Having known and loved the characters/stories for so long, I was very afraid that a movie version would ruin it for me and destroy the pictures of the characters I had in my mind. I saw “Fellowship” in the theater and liked it, but it wasn’t until I saw the extended version on DVD that I really fell in love with the movies.
Like many others, I was upset about changes in “The Two Towers” but again, the extended DVD version is so much better. It explains plot changes much more and adds so much. I am so psyched to see “Return of the King” and can hardly stand the wait till I get to see it on Saturday. I think Peter Jackson has done an amazing job bringing my favorite books to life and for me, that’s high praise. Books have always been my best friends and for me to say that a movie lives up to the books is saying a lot. I think that this movie trilogy is making history and will be a classic…dare I say “the best movies ever made in my lifetime.”
I’ve got three sisters whom I begged to read the books for years and they wouldn’t, saying “It’s not for me.” However…since the movies have come out they are now LOTR fanatics just like me. One of my sisters hated to read and because of these movies, she has read all three books and all of the Harry Potter books and really enjoys reading now. I think that’s amazing.
Long live LOTR!!!
