5 Things Tolkien Would Have Liked About the Lord of the Rings Movies (And 5 He Would Have Hated)
Image Source: Wall Street Journal
It’s no controversial statement to say that the Lord of the Rings has been one of the most profitable series of all time. While it’s hard to pinpoint exactly, the books usually rank in the top five best selling books of all time, while Peter Jackson’s films went on to gross well over a billion dollars in today’s money to go along with seventeen Oscars including Best Picture for Return of the King. When it comes to the film, Jackson did make his fair share of changes that people have their own opinions on. But what would Tolkien himself think of said changes? Would he agree that Jackson made a lot of improvements, or think that his works had been ruined?
We’ll call it a bit of both.
Now, before we begin, let’s give Tolkien’s intelligence its due credit. There’s no doubt that he’d understand that things get lost and changed in translation between film and print works. They’re different mediums, and what would work for one might not work for another. Movies have a limited time to tell a story, whereas you can make a book as long as you’d like. Also, this is all pure conjecture.
I’ve never met Tolkien, and he never saw any of the movies, so I could be completely wrong. I know his son Christopher absolutely hated them, but that doesn’t guarantee that J.R.R would have. Also, this isn’t a list of good and bad things about the movies themselves, merely a thought experiment on what Tolkien might have thought. With all of that in mind, let’s begin. In no particular order…
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#5 Liked: The Visuals
Now, obviously what Tolkien saw in his mind’s eye and what Jackson put on screen would doubtlessly be different, but it’s undeniable that Jackson created a rich Middle Earth that feels like a real place. There is, of course, a lot of CGI in the film, but that can’t be completely helped. What could be practically made was. Take Bag End, for example: the set makes it look like something that various hobbits have been living in for generations, not a polished, new set made for a movie. Each weapon and piece of armor has dings and scratches that tell of its history.
What we get isn’t a brand-new world, it’s almost like we’re shown one of many stories that this universe has to offer, and it existed before we saw it, and will continue to exist long after the story ends. It’s highly unlikely that much if anything that Tolkien envisioned matched perfectly on the screen, but it’s undeniable that Jackson put a ton of work into creating Middle Earth.
Image source: Youtube
#5 Hated: Gondor
In the books, Gondor is described as a powerful nation that has been fighting Sauron for as long as anyone can remember. Sure it’s a shell of what it was during its glory years, but it’s still a force to be reckoned with and a dangerous foe. In the movies, the average Gondorian soldier wouldn’t be able to stop a wave of kindergartners unless they are Faramir. During the battle there are piles of dead enemies from both sides.
The Gondorians are overrun from the sheer force of the attackers, but they actually put up a fight. Speaking of Faramir, he’s a pretty weak character in the movies, too. To quote the books: ‘I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory.’ That sound like movie Faramir to you?
On top of that, Denethor’s character is a complete mess. To quote the books again: "Denethor looked indeed much more like a great Wizard than Gandalf did, more kingly, beautiful, and powerful; and older." His downfall is that he engages in a battle of wills with Sauron through the Palantir, but then again… who wouldn’t? Saruman, the most powerful Istari did as well. What chance did Denethor have? He still didn’t need to make him a whiny cowardly mess, though. Jackson probably made the Gondorians weaker so that Mordor could seem stronger, but he overdid it.
Image source: tellmeatale
#4 Liked: Sam
The general consensus is that the protagonist of the series is Frodo. It’s not, and Tolkien himself even said it. It’s Sam. Frodo does rightfully get his fair share of the credit for taking the ring as far as he does, but he doesn’t get anywhere close to Mordor without Sam. Sam rescues Frodo from the clutches of the orcs.
Image source: HM Turnbull
Sam carries Frodo to Mount Doom. Sam defeats Shelob, the daughter of a Lovecraftian spider. Sean Austin does a perfect job of portraying the strength and loyalty of the most badass gardener in any media ever.
#4 Hated: Weak Frodo
On the flipside, we have Frodo, who again, deserves his fair share of credit for everything he did to destroy the Ring, and he can’t be blamed for taking the ring at the very end. It’s made clear that nobody short of Eru himself could destroy the Ring. Unfortunately, like with Gondor, Jackson makes Frodo far too weak, to the point where it gets kind of annoying. He’s carrying this great burden, yes, but he doesn’t really do anything in the movies to help himself. He needs everyone around him to do everything, save for actually physically carrying the ring.
Image source: Nerdist
#3 Liked: Rohirrim Charge
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“At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:
Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
With that he seized a great horn from Guthlaf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains.
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City.”
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Jackson nailed it.
#3 Hated: Video Game Legolas
Image source: YouTube
There’s certainly no doubt that the elves in Lord of the Rings are powerful and magical. They certainly have powers that the other races don’t. For example, the scene on the mountain in Fellowship of the Ring were Legolas is walking on top of the snow instead of through it like the rest of them lines up pretty well, as does his general skill with a bow.
However, it’s when Legolas becomes a video game character that Tolkien would probably start rolling his eyes. Surfing a shield down the stairs or… just the whole bit where he kills the mumakil and rides its trunk down is kind of silly. It’s really cool on screen, but it’s hard to imagine Tolkien feeling the same way.
Image source: YouTube
#2 Liked: Score
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A good score can be the difference between an amazing film and a mediocre/terrible one, and the score for the Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic in cinematic history. The ethereal score for the elves, the terrifying music signaling the threat of the Nazgul, the sad but eventually triumphant theme for Rohan… it’s just about perfect. Again, it might not have fit everything that Tolkien would have imagined, but he couldn’t deny that they didn’t go halfway with the music.
Image Source: Amazon
#2 Hated: “Arwen is dying.”
Book or movie, this was a huge mistake. What, were the stakes not high enough already? Did Aragorn see Sauron getting the ring back as merely a minor inconvenience unless the woman he loved was directly threatened by the quest failing? This was probably done to show that “oh, yeah, Arwen is still part of this story” but why was her fate tied to the ring anyway? If Tolkien felt like this was a good idea, he would have put it in himself.
Image source: Polygon
#1 Liked: Gandalf
Ian McKellen absolutely destroyed the role of Gandalf. He perfectly achieved the balance of a wise, friendly mentor who wants to help the people of Middle Earth and an actually powerful wizard that could hold his own. Now, Christopher Lee was the only person who worked on the films who actually met Tolkien, and he received his blessing to play Gandalf if there was ever a film series. Lee was a better Saruman, though. In any case, McKellen’s Gandalf was perfectly written and perfectly played.
Image source: Cinemablend
#1 Hated: Aragorn killing The Mouth
Aragorn is shown and described as one of the most noble men in Middle Earth. His honor is beyond reproach. As such, there is absolutely no chance that he would kill the Mouth of Sauron during a meeting between the two, no matter how much The Mouth was needling him. As an audience we enjoy it because the guy is being awful, but the character would never even consider it. In fact, he wouldn’t need to. In the books his sheer presence alone causes The Mouth to flee in terror. Even at the penultimate battle, Aragorn is still seen as a dangerous foe to the forces of Mordor. He wouldn’t decapitate a guy because he was annoyed.
Image source: Fiction Horizon
This list is hardly exhaustive and doubtfully accurate on both sides. You could make this into a novel rivaling a Harry Potter book. We’ll definitely never know unless we invent some resurrection technology, which would be… bad. However, given the differences between the two, it’s at least fun to imagine what the author who brought Middle Earth to life would have thought of three of the most popular movies of all time.
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