I did NOT like the movie adaptation that Peter Jackson made.<BR>I never doubted that The ROTK movie was going to be a great and intriguing story for those who had never read the books. It is an impressive movie production for those in the film industry. This trilogy is an achievement in the history of movie making that has pushed the enveloped in the CG area. It is a great entertainment especially for the videogame generation.<BR>There was never any doubt in my mind that with the amount of money allocated to this project, the use of barely known actors, the directing by a low paying B-Movie director and the substantial savings of making them in New Zealand, these films were not going to be successful at the Box Office.<BR>I expected it to be a great spectacle no matter how many senseless changes and omissions for the sake of time or due to the inexperience of Peter Jackson and arrogance of the screenwriters of what "work or does not work", and that "action is better than characterization".<BR>Peter Jackson could not handle the visualization of the whole storyline and action. After so much unnecessary filming and resources available to the project, I did not expect it to be so incomplete, inconsistent, incoherent and wrong. The extended version of this movie will show unimportant sequences, more interaction of all the characters that were glossed over in the previous 2 films, improvements in the timeline, editing, music and details that will please the fans and help to understand Jackson's story better; However, unless the story is totally different, the extended edition will NOT correct the damage done to Frodo, Gandalf, Gimli, Denethor, Elrond, Saruman, Théoden, Eomer, Faramir, Gondor, Mordor, Sauron, The Pelennor Fields, The Ride of the Rohirrim, Dernhelm, and Beregorn. The significance of the opposing strategies of Gandalf and Sauron will not be saved. The significance of Aragorn and his role in the War and return as a King will not be corrected.<BR>After seeing the Two Towers, I knew that Peter Jackson could not catch up with the story unless he made a 4 or 5-hour movie or leave out great cinematic and dramatic opportunities from the original story. <BR>He did not have enough time for post-production either. This is reflected in the fact that: <BR>1) He could not handle the correct geography and the very specific description around Minas Tirith including The Pelennor Fields, the situation and lower altitude of Osgiliath on the Anduin River. He failed in the portrayal of the structures described by Tolkien: a wall surrounding the Pelennor Field, farms, barns, homesteads, the Causeway Forts. All these details had a function in the story which not only made it credible but also added to the drama and complexity to "The Battle of our Times". For example, it made no sense that Faramir and anyone in his company would go blindly to fight openly to nearby Osgiliath without the protection of a fort, a wall, a trench, a hill or Gandalf to fend off from the Nazgul! It diminished Faramir from a wise, brave, sensitive and respected leader to a crybaby who would lead his fellow Gondorians to their certain death because he wanted the approval of his mad father. Military leaders don't act like that and followers are not as stupid to follow them either. <BR>2) There was no planned defense or war strategy by either side at all. After the lighting of the beacons no army showed up except for the Rohirrim. No Mordor army was sent out to block the roads to prevent their arrival. At the end the significance of their effort was diminished after Peter Jackson decided that battle had to be won by ghosts. We ended up with a very simplistic battle of CG enemy armies, allied CG horses and ghost, and a deficient filmable real human armies; It was a battle without real drama and few moments of identifiable feelings opposite to what Tolkien described in his tale.<BR>3) Peter Jackson could not realize on the screen the weather of Mordor. He was not able to include its dramatic effect on the mood of the characters and of people of Minas Tirith and the urgency of the ride of the Rohirrim. He was not able to include the plot twists in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields caused by the dark clouds of Mordor, the changing of the wind, the clearing of the sky and the falling of rain.<BR>4) The fall of Sauron and the destruction of Mordor were inferior sequences both in credible drama and special effects.<BR>5) He probably missed that the special effects of the death of Gollum in lava were not credible.<BR>6) The editing was a rushed and awful job. It detracted from the drama of both the destruction of the Ring and the Last stance of the Army of the West at the Black Gate. The lack of attention to detail and confusing timeline diminished the credibility of the story.<P>I wish that for the Extended Edition DVD, Peter Jackson would submit the original 4 1/2 movie he said he made instead of trying to fix the theatrical version with 20 or 40 minutes or more extra footage.<BR>I am thankful to PJ that as a result of these movies more people will read the books and admire Tolkien.<BR>I hope that whatever film company makes "The Hobbit" they will use the same actors, CG people, costume and art designers but pick a better screenwriter team, and a smarter and more considerate director than Peter Jackson
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