I also stand corrected about Glorfindel versus Elrond's sons. I understand the desire to save time, but that change still made the movie much less enjoyable for me. Maybe if I lived in a country where I could use the word "guy" at work without being accused of being sexist or non-inclusive, it wouldn't bother me. As it is, that kind of pandering really taints a movie for me.
I mentioned some big and some small issues in my original post. In a later post to HairoftheDog, I tried to hit the main points about the characters that bothered me. The little points were mostly a case of looking at the movie and thinking "Gee whiz, they changed even that!" Had I known that people would be so upset by my list, I would have hit only those main points on this thread. Some people would probably still be furious with me for daring to admit that I didn't like the movie, but the negative impact would have been less.
In any case, I'm not bothered that you disagree with some points on my list. I appreciate your reply and your concern. I'm glad to know that a few people agree with me on some points.
So.....have you decided whether to watch the movie again or not? :)
That's not all that fair to us WFTR.... We all said we can agree on the points, we just came to a different conclusion!
It was just overwhelming to try to talk about thirty gripes at once. This morning we have talked about some of your points again amongst ourselves, like the Arwen situation, without anyone getting upset.
Perhaps it is that I don't know you well enough to not feel threatened by your criticism of it. We criticize the movie alot here, believe me in that. It is not a sacred cow.
Ever seen how people can bad-mouth their own family member harshly, but if someone from the outside says the same thing they are tromped? Same thing.
No harm no foul.
The "ranger caught off his guard" line is the worst offender, IMHO, but even that doesn't bother me too much; sort of like finding an insignificant blemish on a beautiful work of art.
Comments by Jackson show that not only is he a fan of LOTR, but that his knowledge of it and of Tolkien is substantial. Apparently everyone involved gave their all to the project, it seems to have been a 110% effort in every way. I guess these things are what show through in the spectacular result. The book is often said to read more like history than fiction, my feeling is that the movie succeeds completely in this also, and for many of the same reasons.
I may want to freepmail you for some tips on putting up a webpage, if it's OK.