Don't tell me I'm the first...!

[Churl]

MODERATORS: I copied this post to jerseydevil's thread, "What people think of Two Towers." Feel free to delete this thread to prevent redundancy if you wish. (The system wouldn't let me delete my post on my own.)

EVERYONE ELSE: please reply to jersey's thread.
_____

OK, then, I guess someone has to start it off.

I just got back from a midnight showing of The Two Towers. I won't reveal any spoilers in this post. I'll just give my quick, vague, awed reactions.

First: As implied above, I was absolutely floored by the film. The dumbstruck superlatives you're reading in professional reviews aren't hype or hyperbole.

Second: Like much of the rest of the film, Gollum amazed me.

Third: Jackson's Towers is not Tolkien's book. More precisely, it is much less like Tolkien's Two Towers than Jackson's Fellowship was like Tolkien's.

Finally (for now): To me, the film's departures from the book do not diminish the power and spectacle of either. If you hate the thought of the movies being made at all, then you won't like it. I'm more tolerant of interpretation, however, because no interpretation will diminish the wonder of Tolkien's original words. Certain changes I disagreed with strongly, of course; some will bother many. But if anyone's questioning whether or not the film justifies the anticipation, don't worry. You'll be amazed.

I look forward to the coming discussions...

[hama1]

Well, I had a different reaction. My feeling at the end of FotR was "My God! Has it been three hours?" My feeling at the end of what seemed like three hours of TTT, but was only actually one was "My God! Is this thing ever going to end?" Now it is clear from other areas on this site, that I am no purist and have no problem with interpreting or adapting Tolkien's work. However, if New Line and PJ went to the trouble and expense of buying the rights to the character and place names from TTT, they might as well have gone all the way and purchased the rights to the actual story.

Yes Gollum was pretty amazing and generated the most reaction (generally laughter) from the audience I saw the film with. The battle scene at Helm's Deep was also impressive but I felt contrived and left me distant. I certainly felt no sense of triumph or elation at the eventual victory. Actually, given the characterization of Theoden, I found myself hoping Jackson would make another of his 'minor' changes and the Orcs would win.

I also found the dialogue he chose to leave out or not to stress puzzling. It seemed that great opportunities for drama and character development were missed. I am definitely going to have to re-read TTT and see if I can make sense of the choices Jackson made. I am not saying they were wrong but perhaps he is too clever for me.

Perhaps it is just that the initial thrill from FotR of seeing these charcters and places come to life is gone. However, in the end my feeling is if this is what I have to look forward to for RotK...I'll wait for it to come out on video.

[Khamûl]

Since the thread starter copied and pasted this into JD's thread, I see no reason why this should stay open.