Shizuku - excellent post that hits the nail right on the head!
The saddest thing of all is that PJ felt the
need to lessen all the heroic elements of the book in order to appeal to the ubiquitous 'modern audience'. As I said in a previous post, I'm still baffled why he thought it was necessary when he's dealing with a book that is
still a huge best seller, being read, enjoyed, even
loved by this same 'modern audience'. Why the need to change what is already successful?
If it is simply to appeal to non-readers, then I feel he is tragically underestimating the intelligence of the movie-going public, and their desire to see good old-fashioned heroism. After all, this is a fantasy film set in a quasi-medieval world, not some gritty drama set in the modern world. It
needs characters with an instinctive sense of Good in order to function as Tolkien intended. It's a very sad day for all of us when heroism and nobility are seen as traits to be played down rather than celebrated.
