I know it seems like blasphemy, since I know many dopers are huge fans of Tolkein and LOTR, but frankly, I didn’t like the book (I tried to read one of them when I was younger, didn’t get very far), didn’t care for the movie, the first one, whatever it was called.
I guess I’ve never been into the fantasy genre. I am not intellectually (or otherwise) engaged by the exploits of dwarves, fairies, wizards, elves and all that hoo-hah.
In fact, that stuff bores the crap right out of me.
Loved both movies, enjoy well-written Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but HATED the first book. I read “the Hobbit” twice as a youngster, and again about 2 years ago, and quite enjoyed it. At about age 14, I started “Fellowship,” and was bored senseless. Didn’t finish it. When the movie came out, I felt ready to try again - I’m 29 now, what the hell, right? I HATE HATE HATED the book. I FORCED myself to finish it, but didn’t read the next two. It’s well-written, but crushingly boring. I’m sure I’ll be roundly reamed for such heresy, but there it is. I’ve read the first 3 or 4 “Wheel of Time” books by Robert Jordan, and got more involved in that story than Frodo’s. While not better-written, they were simply more interesting to me.
I wonder how many people who “love Tolkien” don’t really love Tolkien, but just pay homage to the supposed master?
As a geek, I felt kind of weird when I reached age 25 without ever having read LOTR. So I did. And man, it was a struggle for me. It just didn’t grab me. I found it tedious, to say the least, but I finally finished it. Having gotten my merit badge for reading it, I didn’t look back to it at all.
When the first movie came out, I went to it, thinking I’d probably like it okay, but knowing I wasn’t a huge Tolkein fan. I really really enjoyed it and was there on opening night for the next movie. In fact, the compliment I gave the movie was that it made me want to re-read the books, but so far that hasn’t happened, and whenever I pick up FOTR to read I always find something else I’d rather do instead.
I remember now that it was “The Hobbit” that I tried to read. I only saw “Fellowship” on video after a strong recommendation by a friend. I think I spent half the movie reading a magazine and web-surfing. My attention just could not be grabbed.
And I don’t HATE it, I just think I’m totally indifferent.
It probably isn’t an homage to anything other than being trendy.
Since the late 90’s when it became “cool” to be a computer geek, people have been trying to do other “geeky” things to fit in with the herd. I’m sure a few fans have been picked up from this wave, but not nearly as many as it seems.
Oh, you can put me in the “eh…It’s ok” column.
Well, see, in this thread I’ve heard both takes on “The Hobbit”, one who loved it and one who thinks it was not as good as the others.
Yes, I’m sure I was also about 13 when I tried to read it. But, again, I’ve never been very interested in the fantasy genre. The only sci-fi I ever cared cared for was Star Wars (except for Jedi - stupid Ewoks!)
Tolkien lover checking in. I do wish that the style were not so over-written. It wasn’t even necessary for JRR to use that writing style, since he does know how to write, and do quite well, in a less affected style… for example, The Hobbit and the earlier parts of Fellowship of the Rings.
I think the way Tolkien characterizes elves, and to a lesser extent men, makes them seem like images etched in stained glass. (For me) compelling beyond a doubt, but not as characters.
I read Tolkien for the rich sense of history and legend. Peter Jackson has done a terrific job, I think, of delivering something that smells like Tolkien without all the pedantry of JRR’s prose. And one of my long, long projects is to re-do the Silmarillion in a more accessible way… there are some beautiful stories there, of real-mythology quality, in this often very tedious book… it would be something like Greek myths for kids.
If it’s not the prose that bothers you… and you don’t like fantasy, I am curious (and only curious, not arguing) to know whether you like mythology.
The LOTR movies for me are an one-time enjoyable experience. I wouldn’t watch them a second time even on TV.
Basically, the story is people run on for days and days. Every now and then, someone/something bad comes along. They either defeat it or escape and split.
Hopefully, at the end, there will be a good resolution.
The movies are good(Elfie likes swords and…elves), but I absolutely hate the books. It’s the tediousness of his writing style. I don’t think I’ve made it past page 40 on any of them. The thing is, I do like fantasy to some degree, and I know he’s supposed to be the Godfather of the genre so I should like his books, but thank god other people have only lifted the ideas, rather than the atrocious prose.
I love adventure in all its forms, so Lord of the Rings is a wonderful story to me. But, I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t like it, as with all things. However, can you think of another story that is actually more well-liked?
Then replace dwarves with “group 1”, etc. It’s not the different races that make the story, it’s the characters (irrespective of the race). It’s funny that Jackson addresses that very point in the documentary on FoTR about Tolkien and the story–that good fantasy is not escapism, but about the human condition.
That said, I didn’t like FoTR when I first read it. I thought it much of the first 100 pages was tedious and too convenient–how Bombadil rescues them from the tree on the forest and then again in the barrows. I was very happy when Jackson and crew elided that entire part of the story.
You sound like many an Ann Rice fan. I am not one, on the whole, but I have read several of her Vampire Chronicles books. She never writes in 30 words what she can write in 150. But I’ve found her characters to be more interesting than Frodo, et. al. And her acolytes just revel in the “rich historical background” of her universe. Pfft. If I can skip pages at a time, and lose nothing of the story, there’s a problem.
I never quite had that problem with FOTR - his prose is much more interesting than hers, though nearly as purple. I tolerate her flowery prose better than I tolerate his uninteresting characters and situation, though I’ve been truly impressed by neither.
One other thing that bothered me about the books (I just re-read them after seeing TTT)–Aragorn’s dialogue is almost entirely unusable for a movie. He can’t seem to utter a sentence without an “alas.”
Oh, I’m so glad to know that I’m not the only one. I LOVED both movies, I think they’re good examples of the movie industry firing on all cylinders: talented actors, well-written script, clever director, good use of makeup, CGI, scaling, etc.
But the only time I can bring myself to read the books is when I’ve just finished watching one of the movies for the first time and I have to answer a question for myself. (FoTR: Merry and Pippin are gonna be okay, right? TTT: Who the hell is “she”?)