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A True Tolkien Fan Can See Past the Cons
Robert G.

I agree wholeheartedly with lien Neill's "It Has Become a Nasty Fan" article. I have read the Hobbit, Fellowship, Two Towers and Return of the King, not to mention the parody, Bored of the Rings. I have not read the Silmarillion or any other Tolkien supplements of the sort.

Nevertheless, I call myself a Tolkien fan. A true Tolkien fan.

The countless nitpickers that nag and whine about Bombadil's loss, about Boromir's blond hair, about Weathertop, call themselves true Tolkien fans. I call them Tolkien Purists. They are not true fans.

Lord of the Rings was not written to be made into a movie, but it would make an exellent movie. Some things, however, must be left out. Bombadil was a perfect choice. He would offset the tone of a serious film, making it more like a Disney musical. In the books, he is found to be deeper, possesing of a kind of wisdom. How could that be portrayed in a movie?

There are simply so many pros in the trailer alone that I, a true Tolkien fan, can see past most of the cons. The music was exellent, and fit the epic scale well. I was dumbstruck when I saw the armies of Mordor marching across the screen. I could see that the special effects could portray Tolkien's world quite well. I could see that Sir Ian McKellen is a great Gandalf, that Elijah Wood is a great Frodo and that Sean Bean is a great Boromir. Outside of the preview came my only complaints.

Jackson, also a true Tolkien fan, wants to increase the role of Arwen Evenstar. As long as she is kept out of the fellowship, he can increase her all he likes: but it is important to remember what the book is about. It is about Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf. If it is about any relation at all, it is the deep friendship between Frodo and Sam, not the romance between Arwen and Aragorn.

We'll just have to see how good it is: we don't even know yet!