The 2/3rd Towers
Dec. 31st, 2002 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sdelmonteAt last, we saw The Two Towers, and 2/3rd of it was brilliant. But 1/3rd left a good deal to be desired.
Some of the problems come either from what I think are flaws in the book - the least engaging of the three, to me - or from trying to integrate the three separate plot tracks into one film. And I figure that some other problems came from being made to edit the film down to 3 hours, and will be cleaned up in the extended DVD.
But some scenes, or choices of how to play the scenes, left a good deal to be desired. The extended visit to Rivendell was muddled and failed to add anything to the romance of Arwen and Aragorn. We had two bit of speechifying, one by Galadriel and one by Sam, that were just pretty words and pretty pictures and little else, even though the words should have added something to the story. We got exposition instead of story, and that never works.
The place the film ended seemed odd, although I'm not sure when else it could have stopped without having Jackson butt heads with the stuido executroids about length. And while I withhold judgment about this reworking of Faramir till RotK, I didn't get why he changed his mind about the Ring. There were also a few scenes - not many, but more than in FotR - that had pacing problems.
The biggest flaw, though, was the diminishment of the hobbits. While they are not the only stars of the book, they still filled half the pages, and their parts felt really puny compared to the characters in Rohan. At points, Sam and Frodo seemed like an afterthought, and while I love Gollum, he took a few too many scenes from them. I figure, however, that this too will be corrected on the DVD and will change in the grand finale.
The end result is a film that pales somewhat in comparision to the first. Maybe given the slightly disjointed nature of the book, this couldn't be helped. But I didn't sit in my seat and say that I wasn't leaving until the next one premiered. This time, I'll wait at home, with my expectations for RotK a bit lowered, knowing that once again there will be two stories to mesh into one. At the same time, I can't wait. And I expect to see this one again in the theater. As what worked here worked so well....
The acting was great, especially that of newcomers Bernard Hill as Theoden, Andy Serkis as Gollum, and Brad Dourif as Wormtongue. Hill gave Thoeden a Shakespearean air of indecision and nobility, one which may not have been in the book but was needed amongst the more perfect stalwarts who surrounded him. I also can't wait to see where Viggo Mortensen goes from here. He should be a star.
The look of the film, at all levels, was stellar, and the battle of Helm's Deep was spectacular. The CGI to make Gollum is a wonder, aided and abetted by Serkis' performance. The new music for the film was very good, especially the vaguely Celtic themes used for the Rohan scenes.
Two last thoughts. 1) I didn't mind Gimli being played for laughs, so long as he was still played as a great warrior, which he was. 2) Aragorn is making a big mistake. I'd take tough, down-to-earth Eowyn over the ephemeral Arwen any day. (Although Toon would clobber them both with her magic edit staff.)
Some of the problems come either from what I think are flaws in the book - the least engaging of the three, to me - or from trying to integrate the three separate plot tracks into one film. And I figure that some other problems came from being made to edit the film down to 3 hours, and will be cleaned up in the extended DVD.
But some scenes, or choices of how to play the scenes, left a good deal to be desired. The extended visit to Rivendell was muddled and failed to add anything to the romance of Arwen and Aragorn. We had two bit of speechifying, one by Galadriel and one by Sam, that were just pretty words and pretty pictures and little else, even though the words should have added something to the story. We got exposition instead of story, and that never works.
The place the film ended seemed odd, although I'm not sure when else it could have stopped without having Jackson butt heads with the stuido executroids about length. And while I withhold judgment about this reworking of Faramir till RotK, I didn't get why he changed his mind about the Ring. There were also a few scenes - not many, but more than in FotR - that had pacing problems.
The biggest flaw, though, was the diminishment of the hobbits. While they are not the only stars of the book, they still filled half the pages, and their parts felt really puny compared to the characters in Rohan. At points, Sam and Frodo seemed like an afterthought, and while I love Gollum, he took a few too many scenes from them. I figure, however, that this too will be corrected on the DVD and will change in the grand finale.
The end result is a film that pales somewhat in comparision to the first. Maybe given the slightly disjointed nature of the book, this couldn't be helped. But I didn't sit in my seat and say that I wasn't leaving until the next one premiered. This time, I'll wait at home, with my expectations for RotK a bit lowered, knowing that once again there will be two stories to mesh into one. At the same time, I can't wait. And I expect to see this one again in the theater. As what worked here worked so well....
The acting was great, especially that of newcomers Bernard Hill as Theoden, Andy Serkis as Gollum, and Brad Dourif as Wormtongue. Hill gave Thoeden a Shakespearean air of indecision and nobility, one which may not have been in the book but was needed amongst the more perfect stalwarts who surrounded him. I also can't wait to see where Viggo Mortensen goes from here. He should be a star.
The look of the film, at all levels, was stellar, and the battle of Helm's Deep was spectacular. The CGI to make Gollum is a wonder, aided and abetted by Serkis' performance. The new music for the film was very good, especially the vaguely Celtic themes used for the Rohan scenes.
Two last thoughts. 1) I didn't mind Gimli being played for laughs, so long as he was still played as a great warrior, which he was. 2) Aragorn is making a big mistake. I'd take tough, down-to-earth Eowyn over the ephemeral Arwen any day. (Although Toon would clobber them both with her magic edit staff.)
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Date: Dec. 31st, 2002 09:02 am (UTC)Bernard Hill et al
Date: Dec. 31st, 2002 10:00 am (UTC)Brad Dourif, btw has also had a varied caried includin the film of Ragtime and a memorable turn in Joss' "Alien Resurrection"
Happy New Year from Movie geek
Re: Bernard Hill et al
Date: Dec. 31st, 2002 02:54 pm (UTC)Brad Dourif I know from his very memorable guest role in the X-Files episode "Beyond the Sea." His scenes with Gillian Anderson are electrifying.