The Bashing Starts
P. Megson

I suppose that it is inevitable that with any seminal work that some people feel that they have some sort of "right" to it, and that their way is the only way. I also suppose that with any piece of cinema so ambitious and far reaching that after the initial wow factor the knockers would rear their ugly heads. Now here I am not talking about those who have made their opinions known but accept that "not having my fave scene/character/actor" does not constitute a valid artistic critique! I can only reiterate the words of many out there-Peter Jackson was making a movie, not a book! They are entirely seperate disciplines, with different constraints and requirements.

The thing that I loved the most about FOTR? Heart. It is obvious that heart and soul was poured into the making of this movie, and it shows if you let it. By this I mean that, on my trawls through BB's on various sites, that some people went to this movie with the express purpose of being disappointed-and so they were.

On the other hand, if you look at it with an open mind you will find beauty there. After all, the books are still there, and maybe, the movie will encourage more people to try them. But then, some people don't want to let more people into "their" sandpit.(this certainly doesn't include the majority of Tolkein fans, but the vociferous few) My vote is that LOTR:FOTR is one of the best movies that I have seen in over 20 years.Note I said movie and not book! May Peter Jackson keep it up for the next 2.