Never piss off a tree
Dec. 24th, 2002 11:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khaosworksWatched The Two Towers last night.
Not bad at all. When's the DVD?
That's it, really. I have been irretrievably contaminated by the HoYay/Slash/Secret Diaries crowd because the number of HoYay moments and associated snarky comments that came to mind at this viewing came fast and furious. On the whole, I liked it, but it also reminded me of why "The Two Towers" was my least favorite of the three volumes.
Basically, it's 3 stories instead of one, which kind of breaks up the narrative as far as I was concerned. I liked it when they were all together, and when they're apart it's somehow less interesting. And also, aside from the set pieces like the siege of Isengard and the battle of Helm's Deep, the rest of the volume seems like pretty much filler until the hobbits get to Mordor and Aragorn gets his teeth into the entire Return of the King bit in Gondor.
I also thought that the editing on this was a bit off - too abrupt in some spots. I'm not sure if it's due to Jackson making all three stories run simultaneously (unlike the volume) or was it because of the reported conflicts he had with New Line about the length of the movie. I'm inclined to suspect the latter, since FOTR was much better put together. I'll reserve judgment on this until I see the extended edition.
There was at least one "You gotta be kidding me," moment in the movie - that's when Gimli rides down on Legolas, and the latter grabs the bottom of the horse, goes under and flips himself in the air swinging down into the saddle in one smooth arc, completely defying the laws of physics. Not only that, it stands out because it looks really weird. I mean, I can accept Legolas being Teenage Mutant Ninja Elf, xtreme sports maven, never miss a shot uber-warrior guy, but this was a bit much. Even the three of them carving their way through hundreds of orcs and uruk-hai with nary a scratch didn't bug me.
Also, less pretty scenery - I'm not against wide open plains, but they can get a bit monotonous. Still, can't be helped, since that pretty much describes Rohan.
Aside from that, great movie. Gollum was wonderfully realized, with just the right combination of malevolence and pathos. The Ents were wonderful, although I would have loved hearing Treebeard singing as he walked through the forest. Moral of the story - never piss off a tree. I also hadn't quite realized until now the ecological irony of Isengard being downed by a flood unleashed by the Ents. After all, flash floods in prehistoric times were due to large scale deforestation by the first human settlements, which gave rise to the Universal Flood myths.
And of course, the HoYay. Legolas: "You look terrible." Aragorn: (Laughs) Me: "Oh, just kiss already, mister still-the-prettiest." Sam: "They had one thing they held on to." Me: (tremolo voce) "Each other!" Sam: "That there's still good in the world worth fighting for." Me: "Oh. That too."
Bernard Hill. God, I love the man. His Theoden was everything I hoped it would be. That moment his trembling fingers seized the sword, and the moment when he and Aragorn ride out into the orc horde brought tears to my eyes.
Here's to next year, and the day when I'll gather my friends and loved ones and we'll watch the entire fucking thing, extended versions and all, back to back. Ten and a half hours. You only think I'm kidding.
Not bad at all. When's the DVD?
That's it, really. I have been irretrievably contaminated by the HoYay/Slash/Secret Diaries crowd because the number of HoYay moments and associated snarky comments that came to mind at this viewing came fast and furious. On the whole, I liked it, but it also reminded me of why "The Two Towers" was my least favorite of the three volumes.
Basically, it's 3 stories instead of one, which kind of breaks up the narrative as far as I was concerned. I liked it when they were all together, and when they're apart it's somehow less interesting. And also, aside from the set pieces like the siege of Isengard and the battle of Helm's Deep, the rest of the volume seems like pretty much filler until the hobbits get to Mordor and Aragorn gets his teeth into the entire Return of the King bit in Gondor.
I also thought that the editing on this was a bit off - too abrupt in some spots. I'm not sure if it's due to Jackson making all three stories run simultaneously (unlike the volume) or was it because of the reported conflicts he had with New Line about the length of the movie. I'm inclined to suspect the latter, since FOTR was much better put together. I'll reserve judgment on this until I see the extended edition.
There was at least one "You gotta be kidding me," moment in the movie - that's when Gimli rides down on Legolas, and the latter grabs the bottom of the horse, goes under and flips himself in the air swinging down into the saddle in one smooth arc, completely defying the laws of physics. Not only that, it stands out because it looks really weird. I mean, I can accept Legolas being Teenage Mutant Ninja Elf, xtreme sports maven, never miss a shot uber-warrior guy, but this was a bit much. Even the three of them carving their way through hundreds of orcs and uruk-hai with nary a scratch didn't bug me.
Also, less pretty scenery - I'm not against wide open plains, but they can get a bit monotonous. Still, can't be helped, since that pretty much describes Rohan.
Aside from that, great movie. Gollum was wonderfully realized, with just the right combination of malevolence and pathos. The Ents were wonderful, although I would have loved hearing Treebeard singing as he walked through the forest. Moral of the story - never piss off a tree. I also hadn't quite realized until now the ecological irony of Isengard being downed by a flood unleashed by the Ents. After all, flash floods in prehistoric times were due to large scale deforestation by the first human settlements, which gave rise to the Universal Flood myths.
And of course, the HoYay. Legolas: "You look terrible." Aragorn: (Laughs) Me: "Oh, just kiss already, mister still-the-prettiest." Sam: "They had one thing they held on to." Me: (tremolo voce) "Each other!" Sam: "That there's still good in the world worth fighting for." Me: "Oh. That too."
Bernard Hill. God, I love the man. His Theoden was everything I hoped it would be. That moment his trembling fingers seized the sword, and the moment when he and Aragorn ride out into the orc horde brought tears to my eyes.
Here's to next year, and the day when I'll gather my friends and loved ones and we'll watch the entire fucking thing, extended versions and all, back to back. Ten and a half hours. You only think I'm kidding.
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no subject
Date: 2002-12-23 08:26 pm (UTC)A.
no subject
Date: 2002-12-23 10:20 pm (UTC)The cool thing is next Dec. 17 I'll be at a Tolkien convention where we -will- watch all three movies (only two extended editions, though) in one day.
358 days and counting.
Legolas the Uber-Dude
Date: 2002-12-24 12:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-12-24 06:30 am (UTC)