I see this Withywindle of a thread has meandered back to the sequence at hand. Well done,
Farael! Although it was interesting to read about Aragorn vs Boromir.
I'm at real odds with PJ on the subject of Lothlórien. He decided to make it dangerous, uncomfortable and dark. When reading the book, I found it in general to be welcoming, blissful, sun-drenched, beautiful and restful.
Quote:
Lothlórien
"Perilous indeed," said Aragorn, "fair and perilous; but only evil need fear it, or those who bring some evil with them."
|
I feel that the Fellowship deserved a break after the loss of Gandalf in Moria, and that the movie needed a little lightening as well. I really don't know what PJ hoped to achieve by seemingly turning the Fellowship's closest allies against them (a theme regrettably repeated later with Faramir; also Elrond was not as benevolent as in the book). Right from the word go, they are arrested at arrow point by Haldir and company. I wouldn't be surprised if moviegoers who had not read the book were unsure whether these elves were "goodies" or "baddies".
I really missed seeing fields of flowers, and Cerin Amroth, the "heart of Elvendom on earth". I disagree that this would have been difficult to film.
The view of Caras Galadhon in the EE was another one of those Moria moments where we are supposed to gape in awe, simply because the characters are doing so. I think that it should not be shoved in the audiences' faces so bluntly, and we should be left to form our own impression of whatever newfangled CG monstrosity PJ is showing us.
I personally don't like the stairways in Caras Galadhon. I much preferred the idea of rope ladders; what do others feel about this seemingly minor change? Perhaps PJ and co had a good reason for the change.
The entrance of Celeborn and Galadriel was likeable enough, but again we have too many shots of the characters' reactions guiding us, and we aren't left alone to bask in Cate Blanchett's reflected glory. Absolutely superb casting and performance of Galadriel. The only problem IMO is that Cate would also have made a fantastic Éowyn! The introduction scene was, however at odds with the book. In the book, Celeborn and Galadriel are far more humble. They are seated on the same level as the Fellowship, and rise when their guests enter. In the movie, they seemingly descend from on high, and remain elevated above the Fellowship, aloof one would almost say. Sam's (book) description of Galadriel as merry as a hobbit lass with flowers in her hair would be out of place. I thought Celeborn's dialogue was a bit wooden and laboured in this scene, but he is much better later in the EE when he speaks with Aragorn.
I liked the Mirror scene. I did miss Sam, but perhaps the scene works better without him; I'm not a big fan of Sean Astin as Sam at any rate, so I'm pretty happy with just Galadriel and Frodo there. I liked Frodo seeing the Eye of Sauron here; in fact, I think this should have been the first time in the movie that he saw it. I disliked Galadriel's use of "you know whom I mean" or whatever it was, simply because the "you know" line has been bashed about quite a bit between her and Saruman ("you know of what I speak", referring Gandalf to the Eye of Sauron). Just a minor annoyance, really. I must be in the majority, but I quite enjoyed her transformation. She looked regal and positively dangerous; it was interesting to see what she would look like had she stretched out her hand to the One Ring and set herself up as the Power over Middle Earth, and contrast this with her normal self, Galadriel.
"To bear a Ring of Power is to be alone" didn't really make sense to me. None of the bearers of the Three are alone, are they? Even Thráin had his son Thorin. Maybe she meant that to bear
the Ring of Power was to be alone? However, I did like "even the smallest person can change the world" (have I got that right?), since it seems to be one of the main themes of the book and the movies.
I was pleased to see the gift giving added in the EE, although Sam's rudeness in asking for "one of them swords" was really grating. Whatever happened to:
Quote:
Farewell to Lórien
Sam went red to the ears and muttered something inaudible, as he clutched the box and bowed as well as he could.
|
Saruman and Lurtz may have been a gratifying scene for those who love to see our delightfully evil villain, but now that it comes down to it, I wonder how the movie would have been if the identity of the orcs was a mystery, as in the book? I mean not only their creation, but their owner? So that Aragorn and co have to piece it together from the evidence: the white hand and the S-rune.
I don't think we really needed to see Saruman instructing his new creation in the origins of orcs. But, whatever, the scene was okay so no real complaints from this corner.
And that's my two cents on FOTR Sequence 12.
