Am I the only one who didnt like the Lord of the Rings?

[waylon]

Finally saw the trilogy this weekend, rented the first 2 and saw the 3rd in the theatre. I wasnt all that impressed with the first one, the 2nd one just confirmed my first impression, and the 3rd made me sorry I gave into the pressure to see them :)

Im in the hole about $150 after renting the movies, taking the family to dinner, and entrance into the theater. (popcorn and soda $35, are you shittin me????)

I should have walked away after the first one but I became consumed by the boredom. I needed to see it through to the ugly end. Im a little poorer and alot wiser so if you have ANY doubts about seeing the trilogy, take my advice and dont get involved. Once you start, you cant stop!

[frogfromthenorth2]

1. Wrong thread maybe?

eom

[maggrwaggr]

2. the first one bored the hell out of me

so I haven't bothered to see the others.

I don't understand why so many people thought it was so great.

[Walt Starr]

3. First, wrong forum

Second, yes, you are the only one. IMHO, it was the finest example of cinematography in the history of the genre.

[drdigi420]

4. im with ya

twas a boring geek fest that would only entertain dungeons and dragons kids and fantasy set designers

total waste of time

I have tried 3 times to watch it, I got bored and distracted before I could finish it each time.

Long, lame, only interesting to those that have been told they should like it and believe it and arrested adolescents.

and who cares if it's the wrong forum.

does GENERAL discussion not cover GENERALLY bad movies?

[LuminousX]

5. They were incredible

and I am one of those begging Jackson to make the Hobbit into a movie.

I would love to see how Jackson would do Smaug.

There are more lessons about what it means to be 'human' in these movies than anywhere right now. The meaning of honor. The meaning of fighting a fight you know you will lose because you've given your word.

Standing up against the great evils when it would be easier and healthier to slink away... realizing that while we carry with us the sins of the past, we also carry with us the means of our own salvation.

Long live Tolkien. Huzzah!

[scubadude]

9. Hey, if Smaug turned out like the Nazgul's steeds....

he would stink! I thought I was looking at the "Never Ending Story" again. The effect, with those floppy winged things was laughable at best.

Ron

[Selwynn]

14. I heard you say this before, and it didn't make sense then either :)

I thought they looked great!

[atreides1]

6. What....

....exactly were you expecting.

I'm sure that there are more people like you, that didn't like the movies, but most are either Tolkien purists, haven't read the trilogy,
or just don't get it. Which category do you belong in?

[scubadude]

7. I didn't like them that much either. I'm a die hard Tolkien fan.

I believe they are the best attempt so far to capture the essence of LOTR but that's it. I give them a C, maybe C-. I don't like Jackson's direction. The sense of timing just isn't wright. Also some of the effects just don't cut it. Some are great though. A mixed bag to me for sure.

Ron

[Skittles]

8. I wanted to hang myself watching the second one

boring computer-generated crap

[mmm]

yes, but didn't you love the part

where the evil Gungulator made all those people
fall like dominoes? That part was cool.

[waylon]

10. re: wrong thread

sorry, new here kinda

Just seemed like every scene was 15 minutes longer than it needed to be. Tedious!

Nope, never read the books. I dont much get into the sci fi, fantasy, fiction type books. Maybe reading them would have added to it but I cant help but think that it was still overdone.

Its apparent that they couldnt find their the editing room. 10 hours of my life that I will never get back!

[Must_B_Free]

23. I agree - too long

what the hell did they need that last farewell for? I need to look at frodo's face for another 5 mintes before they all fly away on the good ship lollypop? My wife and I were dying on the long slow scenes. Hated the Arwen parts. Did she have any lines? Not enought explanation of the immortals.

And when they had the army of sould, why did they let them go? WHy didn't they take them to Mordor and let them kill all the orks?

Was that one giant ork the one from the beginnging of film 1? It looked like his hand was lopped off perhaps from the broken sword when it took the ring off with it.

[Bridget Burke]

11. I loved the books & loved the movies.....

However, I realize that not everybody has identical tastes.

Apparently you rented the first movie & didn't care for it. Wouldn't it have been more intelligent to stop spending money at that point?

Just out of curiosity, what recent movies would you recommend?

[HEyHEY]

12. saw half of the first one

And I can safely say I hate em all!

[kcwayne]

13. Utterly boring

I tried reading one of the trilogies years ago and put it down after a few chapters.

I went to the first film and couldn't believe I sat through three hours to come to no conclusion, not even a temporary one.

I won't bother with the other two. I just don't care for the fantasy genre, especially the ones caught up in feudal societies and the whole "chosen one" crap.

I do remember a spoof that Mad did back in the 70's called Bored of the Rings. I wish they would make that into a movie... At least it would be funny.

[Bridget Burke]

15. Takes all kinds.....

Some of us consider Golf boring!

[kcwayne]

19. and tiddlywinks, and Bush's sex life, and ....

many other things that float some people's boat and bore others to tears.

I am not sure what the connection of golf or tiddlywinks or Bush's sex life to the Rings is, but at least we know you won't be dressing up in knickers and yelling fore!!!

Of course, if you want to go to next year's Halloween party looking like a Hobbit, golf knickers come in handy.

[Bridget Burke]

22. Golf is one of your "interests"

That's the connection.

"Bored of the Rings" was done by the Harvard Lampoon crowd, not Mad Magazine.

[kcwayne]

27. I stand corrected, I think

I am getting old and the memory is fading, but you are probably right.

I was wondering if the golf reference was a wild guess on your part or if you were associated with Ashcroft's Patriot Act Enforcement department and had access to my FBI files. I forgot that I had listed golf in my profile.

And really, I am happy you don't like golf because it means there are fewer people on the course when I venture out to play :}

I am also quite happy that you like the Rings because the company I work for will be producing the DVD's and the more people like you buy, the longer I will be employed. So fill your bin to the max!!!

[Selwynn]

16. Read the books six times and loved the movies too --

I didn't expect or want the movies to be literal adpatations of the books. That would have translated into a 20 hour manrathon of a movie that I don't think would have turned out as well on screen as many die hard fans seem to think it would have.

I wanted a cinematic experience that capture the same emotional impact and themes that are present when reading the books. Through the help of absolutely stellar casting choices, PJ managed to do that for me.

[Loonman]

17. I think it did the books justice

A fine series.

[maggrwaggr]

18. it was like watching somebody else play a video game

I mean the Orc battle in the climax of the first movie ...

Just went on ... and on .... and on ....

I like action movies, don't get me wrong. But this just put me to sleep.

[markses]

20. It is maudlin trash for the most resentful elements

The whole good v. evil theme is little more than mid-20th century fascism inverted into its smiley-faced variety (together with typical mid-century neo-paganism), while the filmns themselves are incredibly maudlin exercises in teen-age melodrama. Damn near unbearable tripe. I was dragged along to the first, actually wanted to the second in an "It'll be SOOOO terrible" kinda way, and saw the third with a mixture of disgust (at the film) and awe (at the efficacy of the marketing strategy, which has the supposedly "fringe" market segments lining up and glorying in their non-conformist conformity).

Between the laughable story (I read these books when I was 11, and hated them for their bullshit then too) and the "righteous" crowd, it was suitably amusing.

[Walt Starr]

21. Interesting that you thought the books were trash

IMHO, Tolkien is one of the greatest in English Literature.

[Bridget Burke]

25. Tolkien was hardly a fascist....

Nor, as a devout Roman Catholic, was he into neo-paganism.

If you hated the books, why did you expose yourself to the movies? All three of them?

There are several movies out right now that I don't think I'd care for. So, I'm not buying tickets. Perhaps I'll catch them on TV later & realize they were excellent. Or maybe I'm right to spend my entertainment dollar elsewhere. Should I force myself to go to those films, then bitch loudly about wasting my time & money?

What current films would you recommend?

[Loonman]

24. I'll take LOTR over under-lit, badly acted, pretentious...

....indie crap any day.

[sweetheart]

26. read the books 10 times

and all the other books... hell, i live in the place where tolkien wrote the books (north scottish highlands) and i worship his written work... as for the films... B+... compared to the previous attempts, a best.

As a book purist, i'm miffed about the cutting of tom bombadil and goldberry from the first, and the perversion of farmer maggot..
missing the evil guy in bree.

Frodo showing the ring to the nazgul at osgiliath was a gross mistake and it miffed me... as the only reason the quest stays secret is that sauron thinks the 2 hobbits are in rohan..!!

cut the director some slack... but they tried well.

Look forward to the next attempt.

[jonnyblitz]

28. i was going to do like you. rent the first two then decide whether

to see the one that is out just to see what all the fuss is about. I think I will pass. I am not a big fan of fantasy so I suspect I will have the same impression. I don't have the same taste in movies as my 11 year old nephew anyways...