February 26, 2004

RotK Characters
Thorongil

I thought the FOTR was great. I thought theTT was a fine movie. But my opinion of ROTK is very low. (2 out of 3, still not bad P.J.) My main complaint is that no one's character was not Holywoodized. They were all given blatant flaws and none of them seem heroic. The books have been criticized by some who say all the characters are perfect. We know the characters are not perfect, their flaws are just subtle.

Take Gandalf; yes Eonwe, they gave Ian some neat stuff to do, but he comes across as completely weak. In the first movies, they showed us that he wouldn't use magic against non-magical opponents. That was fine, even great. (Who needs another magic-wand movie?) But in ROTK he also lacks confidence and will-power. For instance, instead of it being his idea to attack Mordor, someone else thinks it up. He doesn't think it will work.

With the combination of his magic being diminished and his having no confidence, he looks weak and indecisive. Where is our Great Mover of Deeds?

Thorongil

P.S: Strider, my favorite Tolkien non-LOTR or Hobbit book is the Unfinished Tales, all the way! (The third age part, not the first two.)