Well, I've just got back having spent most of the day with Dan, Iain and Chris. I'm most impressed with this film, though I have some reservations.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The Prologue
Fantastic opening section, though personally I would have preferred a much longer 'Shadow Of The Past' scene between Gandalf and Frodo to explain most of what goes on here. The vista of the Last Alliance army, with hoards of orcs attacking was an absolute stunner. Sauron, in all his spiked-armour glory was one serious
badass. I loved the way he crushed everything in his path with the power of the ring.
The explanation of how Gollum came to possess the ring was, IMO far too truncated.
The Shire
Perfect visuals. I felt rather cheated in the way that Merry and Pippin kind of 'fall into' the journey and the way in which farmer Maggott is demoted to nothing more than a voice. I'm a big fan of the Maggot scene and though this has obviously been snipped due to time (as have many other sections) I was a bit disappointed at how it was handled.
Bree
Well, the gang do get there a bit too quick, but everything in Bree I found wonderful. Again, time seemed to have been the enemy here but the way PJ changed the Prancing Pony scenes, I thought was very well done. Butterbur, another favourite secondary character of mine, was particularly well cast.
To Rivendell
What no Midgewater Marshes? Oh well, the scene at Weathertop was terrific. That 'wind rush' effect when Frodo slips on the ring provides some of the most memorable images I've seen in any film, ever. Absolutely stunning work there. The Nazgul, in their uncloaked form are brilliantly realised.
Arwen changes
...didn't bother me at all. The way PJ has worked those scenes is logical and I though Liv was rather good. Her voice especially. The scene at the Ford was just masterful. The "If you want him..." line I thought would come across as really corny, but it seemed to work OK - but then followed by the Nine raising their swords in defiance - pure brilliance. Then the water. Wow.
Rivendell
Several big 'wowowowow' moments. Amazing visuals. I loved the Bilbo and Frodo scene. Not too sure about Bilbo's 'eyes' thing but that's a minor point. I thought Elrond was great, much, much better than I expected.
The Council scene lost some of the gravitas it possesses in the book. It worked fine but I thought it could have been a little better.
The Ring Goes South
No warg attack, and I was not impressed with the additional Saruman scenes. I felt PJ took the implication of his involvement - which is highly subjective anyway - way too literally. Nice detail of Legolas walking
on top of the snow while the others wade through.
The scene at Moria gate I liked, but was on the brink of thinking "Where's the watcher?" when one of it's tentacles grabs Frodo. A nicely done scene, though maybe Frodo spent a bit too much time up in the air. Not sure why the create didn't just slam the doors shut as in the books, but I suppose PJs method is a bit more dramatic on film.
Moria
Gorgeous stuff. The grandeur of the visuals is uparalleled really, however I felt the inclusion of Gollum here to be perhaps the film's single biggest mistake. I just didn't like it and felt it was giving the audience too much.
A bit more time in Moria would have been good, perhaps with Gimli giving more of the history. However the scene in Balin's tomb is one of the most visceral action scenes I've ever seen. The troll - good god.
The Balrog scene seemed short to me, and I would have liked to have scene the orcs/trolls stuff mentioned in the book. As for the big creature himself - most impressive. Stunning design and realisation but after seeing the troll the smashing through everything in the earlier scene, the Balrog seemed to not actually
do an awful lot. In fairness the actual Bridge of Khazad Dum scene was pretty faithful to the book while the troll scene was hyped somewhat. The scene following Gandalf's fall was one of the most heartfelt things I've ever seen in a film. The sense of loss is
perfect.
Lothlorien
I don't like this section of the book, but as some of the other folks have mentioned, what is in the film is just too short and there's not enough explanation. Only Bilbo gets a gift. Another 5 minutes in Lorien would probably have been enough.
The Anduin
Again, we're back to stunning visuals, but the boat journey does seem a bit quick. No orc attack or flying Nazgul.
Amon Hen
It seemed to me that the final twenty minutes or so were flawless. The fighting between what's left of the Fellowship and the Uruk-Hai is just fabulous. Sean Bean turns in a magnificent performance here, very moving.
The scene between Sam and Frodo here was one of those lump-in-the-throat affairs.
Overall
Wonderful stuff. The negative feelings I have for some bits are overwhelmed by how superb the bulk of the film is. It's been a very long wait for this movie, but PJ has delivered the goods. Job done.
