Tirinor,<P>Good thoughts. I hope that if I am ever caught in the paradox which you describe you will point it out. The lack of scenes to build relationships may merely point us in the direction that PJ is taking the next two films. My expectation is that the Legolas & Gimli relationship will not be fully formed.<P>My fear regarding book comparison is that we would be slavishly comparing the books to the film and never look up to see what has occurred on screen. Some comparison between the books and the film is not only necessary, but good. My point was simply that the comparison should not override all other considerations of the movie. For example, plot development. If I were to watch the film without comparison to the book, I might think the plot is moving awfully slow. I know that Frodo has a BAD ring, and it must be destroyed, and he's been traveling around to get to where he has to destroy it. He's still traveling. Along the way we've picked up some threads here and there, but nothing truly substantial so far. Not much plot there. But here comparison reveals that we are in fact, right on schedule.<P>My secondary point was (or if it wasn't, it should have been) that comparison between the books and the film should be made in consideration of the time and financial constraints that PJ was working under. PJ had to make a short film that would appeal to mass audiences as well as the Tolkien reader in order to foot this enterprise. I believe that once that is taken into consideration, we find that the film mirrors the books quite well.<P>Finally, I have tried very hard to examine the film in the same manner that I would view any other movie, however, as stated before, this is in all likelihood impossible. I thought the cinematography was excellent, and the soundtrack was enjoyable. There were bits that I would have changed, but only because I've read the books (I think). Characters critical in the first tome were reasonably well developed, albeit with some flaws. Besides, audiences seem to love it. As Rhud points out, this is certainly not an indicator of a "good film", but it does indicate that, if nothing else, the film is entertaining.<P>For what it's worth...
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