An improvement on the original story

When I saw "The Fellowship of the Ring" the first time in a movie theatre, I was thrilled by the special effects, and the interplay between these and the dramatic sceneries of wild nature. However, by the time the Balrog appeared, I also felt a certain "monster fatigue". Still, I was sufficiently hooked to read Tolkien's actual novels, something everyone in Sweden does already as a kid - everyone but me, that is!

Reading the LOTR novels does explain a thing or two. While most of "The Fellowship of the Ring" seems to be written for children, the sequals "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" are obviously directed at an adult audience.

This must have created serious trouble for Peter Jackson, who decided to solve the discrepancy by turning the movie version of "The Fellowship" into something more darker and more dramatic. In my opinion, this actually improved the original story! Thus, we are not forced to endure (in a movie for adults) how Gollum and Bilbo play a childish game of riddles, how Sam constantly wants to see the romantic elves, and how Frodo and Sam meets Tom Bombadil.

Yet, it also creates the "monster fatigue" problem: despite the great special effects and the suspense, I nevertheless felt a certain amount of tedium when the Balrog showed itself. Larger and larger monsters, all the time...

Despite this, and despite not really being a Tolkien fan, I nevertheless give "The Fellowship of the Ring" five stars. I found the hobbits convincingly comical and innocent. They really have no idea what they are getting themselves into, do they?

The ringwraiths are just as ghostly and ghouslih as I imagined them to be (I found them less scary in the actual novel, ironically). The elves look convincingly elvish and immortal, the orchs are suitably deformed and evil, and Saruman is the perfect crook. And yes, he is starred by Tolkien's biggest fan, Sir Christopher Lee, who apparently knelt before the old man the only time they ever met. Unsurprisingly, Lee is the only actor with a perfect Tolkienesque pronunciation! Frodo's bizarre visions when he accidentally puts on the ring add spice to the dish, as does the suspense ending with Gandalf being apparently killed by the Balrog.

Yes, this is how I imagine LOTR to look like. Or at least want it to look like...