February 4, 2003

Ichibo's Right
Matt Mcnabb

I must say I agree with Ichibo about the fact that TTT diverged way too far from the books to garner my praise. The journey from Edoras to Helm's Deep is about 96 miles. It makes no sense that teh refugees from Edoras would shelter at Helm's Deep when the mountain stronghold of Dunharrow is only about 18 miles away. Note that the trip to Dunharrow would also lead the people of Edoras away from Isengard rather than toward it. I didn't like the treatment given to the coomon people of Rohan, either. Where did Tolkien write that they were all grubby and lice-ridden? It seemed that every shot of them showed them cowering and trembling with fear. Most importantly, though, why change the relationship of Frodo and Sam? PJ seems to have simply taken these great stories and simply inserted as many Hollywood cliches as possible to guarantee the film's success. I know, I know. you probably think I'm being nitpicky, but if all of these small details don't matter, then why go to the trouble of making so many changes and ruining or omitting essential elements of the story. Besides, Tolkien reveled in the small details of things. I can forgive certain transgressions such as combining unimportant characters into one (the film verion of Eomer seems to be Erkenbrand and Eomer combined).

I will, on the other hand, admit that there were some things that were done extremely well. The realization of Gollum was magnificent (I even noticed that he had some of Andy Serkis' facial features). The most impressive thing I noticed was during the destruction of Isengard. When the Onodrim break the dam and flood the valley, they seem to take root in the ground as the deluge sweeps every orc there into the chasms in the valley floor.

On the whole, I was disappointed in the film.