Well, it went down last night just as predicted. As I say every time I write about movies, I’m not much of a movie critic, and I certainly can’t say much about such a big movie after just one viewing, but I’ll give a few points to consider. If you haven’t read the book, these most certainly will be spoilers. If you have read the book and want to find the non-canonical elements of the movie yourself, same deal. You have been warned.

• The changes made to the demise of Gollum were dramatically minor, but theologically significant. While I realize that modern-day Pagans have found plenty of points of contact with the trilogy, the final confrontation in Mount Doom was crafted in such a way as to be perfectly compatible with Christian, even Augustinian, theology. Jackson’s version is less so. As Ralph Wood writes:
  

  When Jackson’s Frodo spies Gollum dancing victoriously with the Ring, he wrestles the wretched creature to the ground, until finally they tumble over the volcanic brink. But of course Frodo clings valiantly to a ledge as Gollum plummets into the river of fire. Nothing of Tolkien’s profound sense of providence remains, nothing of his conviction that it was first Bilbo’s and then Frodo’s forgiveness of Gollum which enabled the final victory over evil.

• Sauron’s Lawyer–sorry, I mean the Mouthpiece of Sauron–is absent. This is a minor and understandable omission from the film, but it stuck out to me. The meeting between Aragorn and the Mouthpiece, together with the Theoden/Gandalf/Saurumon confrontation in The Two Towers (which would have fit in the beginning of this movie, had there been time for it), comprise my two favorite scenes in the trilogy. Jaw-dropping, vigorously masculine projection of will from oneself against the evil intentions of others. Those parts were a great pleasure to read to my boy. This is how it’s done, son. Watch these guys.
• The siege of Minas Tirith is different. Not critically so; it works in the movie and all, but we missed out on the meeting of Gandalf and the Captain of the Nazgul after the city gate is breached. Some good, if brief, dialog was exchanged there in the book, but was completely absent here.
• Nontrivial tweaks were made to the relationship of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum. These are described in the article I linked to above (and in a post from yesterday afternoon). Disappointing and seeming pointless, but not as bad as what Jackson did to Faramir in the last movie.

Overall, still another outstanding film experience. I want the DVD. And the extended edition. Now.

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• Posted by Tim on Thursday, December 18, 2003 at 6:40:23 am PST
• Category: Miscellany
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