Heretical Views

Brad DeLong reposts an oldie of his alledging that the movie of Lord of the Rings was in some respects superior to the book. Let me be as a hammer to this heretic.

January 02, 2002
Places Where the Lord of the Rings Movie Is Superior to the Book
I'm sick and tired of reading about how the Lord of the Rings movie is different from the book and hence inferior, so I thought I would start keeping a list of elements in Peter Jackson's movie that I think (and that others think) are clearly superior to their counterparts in Tolkien's book:

Improvement in the Logic of the Plot: Galadriel's opening, explaining just how it happens to be that the ring is still around--just why Isildur did not wish to/could not destroy it: "But the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring has a will of its own."

No way. In the book this idea is developed gradually and subtly. Nor is the corrupting effect of the ring confined to men - as Galadrial is forced to concede - man, elf, and maia are all vulnerable. Gandalf feared to take the ring. Galadrial's statement rather clumsily fills a gap created by the movies compressed narrative.

Improvement in Characterization: Gandalf's panic when he discovers that it is indeed the One Ring that Frodo possesses, and Gandalf's desperate desire to seek help, especially the help of his friend, mentor, and leader Saruman, for "he is both wise and powerful. He will know what to do."

For very good reasons, he does not get hysterical and start blabbing the news all around. He doesn't go to Saruman until he is urgently summoned there.

Major Plot Hole Closed: Recall what happens in the book when Gandalf discovers that Frodo has the One Ring. Gandalf keeps the news a secret, and tells Frodo, "Hang out in the Shire for six months or so, and then we will all mosey on off toward Rivendell." This makes no sense. Gandalf's first reaction to learning the identity of the ring should be to get it to a safe location. His second reaction should be to seek help. As long as Gandalf is ignorant of the Treason of Isengard, he should immediately inform the other Maia- and near-Maia-class good guys in Middle Earth--Saruman, Rhadagast, the Blue Wizards, Cirdan, Elrond, Glorfindel, and Galadriel--of what is going on. Instead, in the book he tells nothing to anyone save Aragorn. The only reason that Elrond has scouts out is that Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod sends back a message that Frodo is bearing a "great burden without guidance"--but I do not believe that Gildor knows what the burden is. By contrast, in the movie Gandalf's reaction to discovering the identity of the Ring is to immediately try to mobilize the White Council, and get the Wise thinking about what needs to be done. He rides to Isengard to tell Saruman what he has learned and get help. In the book, it genuinely does seem as if, as Saruman tells Gandalf, "your love of the halfling's leaf has clouded your mind."

Actually, there is a bit of a puzzle here in the story. As a wearer of one of the rings, Galadrial can see the thought of Sauron. Why can't she, Gandalf, and Elrond communicate in thought with each other? The movie, of course, does nothing to repair this.

(Adrian Hon) Improvement in Characterization: The excission of Tom Bombadil.

Burn Heretic! Burn!

Improvement in Characterization: Elrond's view of human "weakness" as revealed by his comments about men and his detailed memories of Isildur's unwillingness to/inability to destroy the ring.

Pulleeeze! Elrond, descended from Man, Elf, and Maia, is quite aware of the weakness of all.

Improvement in Characterization: Aragorn's fear in Rivendell that he will prove too weak, just as his ancestor Isildur proved too weak when the test came.

(Dian Tarb) Improvement in Characterization: Aragorn's visible reluctance to be king and uncertainty about whether he was worthy to be king added depth to the character.

Tastes vary. Too bad yours is lousy.

(Adrian Hon) Improvement in Characterization: The transformation of Isengard into a war city is extremely well done.

Peter Jacksons video game special effects were one of the most annoying things about his LOTR. Ditto King Kong.

Improvement in Plot: Saruman casting his spells from the tower of Orthanc to affect the weather on Caradhras.

Retch!

(Adrian Hon) Improvement in Plot: The Moria scenes.

Major Plot Hole Closed: In the book Gandalf does not know what it is he faces in Moria until the Bridge of Khazad-Dum itself. He says things like "its power was terrible." But it doesn't seem to occur to him that it is the--well-known to both Gimli and Legolas as Durin's Bane--balrog. Are we really expected to believe that Olorin the Maia does not recognize the feel of the power of another Maia? In the movie, it is pretty clear that both Saruman and Gandalf know well what lurks at the bottom of Moria--and thus why Gandalf is so reluctant to take the Moria road. The plot hangs together better if Gandalf knows that inside the Mines of Moria is one of the other Maia-class beings in Middle-Earth, knows that it is one of the very few things in Middle-Earth that might well be able to kill him, and thus knows what he is getting into when he enters the Black Pit.

Gandalf may have suspected that Durin's Bane was something like a Balrog, but he didn't know till he faced it. Jackson's Moria reeks of that video gameish scenery I despise.

Improvement in Plot: Galadriel's warning that the ring is beginning to work its corrupting effect on all the big people in the fellowship--that the whole thing (not just Boromir) is beginning to break. The result is a much clearer motivation of Frodo's decision to strike off for Mordor on his own.

I'm not sure why you dolts are so enthralled with the "Aragorn as wimpy, self-doubting unhero. I found it disgusting.

Improvement in Plot: Galadriel's message to Samwise: that there is still hope as long as he, Samwise, remains true to Frodo.

The sort of corn-ball new-agey phoney psycho-spiritual babble that I'm confidant Tolkien would have disdained as much as I do.

Major Plot Hole Closed: In the book, why doesn't Aragorn follow Frodo and Sam when they strike out for Mordor? Destroying the ring is job 1. Thus helping the ringbearer is job 1.1. Aragorn's sword might well make the difference, so he should be following them as they strike out from Anduin for Mordor (if only to protect them from Gollum). In the movie, however, Frodo explicitly tells Aragorn that he can be of no further help: men are weak, and the one thing Aragorn cannot protect Frodo against is a ring-maddened Aragorn. Thus the best thing that Aragorn can do is get out of the zone of influence of the ring so it cannot corrupt him. In addition, in the movie Aragorn swears to Boromir as Boromir dies that Aragorn will not let the White City (of Minas Tirith) fall. Thus there are two powerful and explicit reasons for Aragorn to let Frodo go. By contrast, in the book this decision is not well motivated at all: I remember that when I first read the Two Towers, my reaction to learning at its beginning that Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were heading *away* from the ring at full speed was "huh?"

Retch and double retch! Aragorn as wimp again raising its ugly head.

I might as well mention a few more of my pet peeves about the movie: The stupid special effects associated with putting on the ring, the lousy realization of the balrog. But I should go out and rent it. It's been a while.