# LOTR was boring and banal. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863 "2003-04-02T02:36:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shep\_proudfoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@shep\_proudfoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shep_proudfoot)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/1 "2003-04-02T02:36:08Z")
Maybe, I didn’t get it. For the first thing, I enjoy science fiction and some fantasy movies. I thought LOTR was boring and slightly dull, except for the special effects and the stunning scenery. I bought the DVD and took me three times to get to the end of it. I even smoked a joint watching it and I fell asleep. Boring! Frodo is a hobbit, the tall old dude with the big hair was a wizard, the other tall old dude who was the badguy in Star Wars II was the other bad guy, something about a ring which had evil powers, and one should never put it on because you will disappear into another deminsion, or something. There were bad guys, satanists, I guess riding black horses. I enjoyed the fight scene where Frodo gets stabbed by the big ogre, but lives. Frodo is either a fantasy Jesus or has more lives than a cat. Steven Tyler’s daughter was in it, I don’t think she is all that cute. I think the actor playing the tall old dude is dead, they should put Patrick Stewart to replace him, but can he do tall, long hair, and wise? The hobbits and trolls had ears like vulcans, not much makeup. Oh well. My musings on this boring banal picture. SP ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/2 "2003-04-02T02:44:40Z")
Dude, that was the _other_ tall old dude who died–the one in Harry Potter. This tall dude is still alive and kicking! (your name leads me to believe this is an April Fool’s Joke) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/3 "2003-04-02T02:45:00Z")
It’s Proud_feet_!!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/4 "2003-04-02T02:55:27Z")
I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with you, **Shep** , lest you beat me with your belt whilst screaming “Get the fuck out of here, ya fuckin’ little weasel!!” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/5 "2003-04-02T03:26:19Z")
To me, the film seemed to be too heavy on dialoge. It’s been (mutter, mutter) twenty-odd years since I read the books, but I did _not_ need the hour long exposition which things were given. The sequence which really drove this point home with me was when they were in the inn, hiding from the ring wraiths, and what’s his name, the archer dude, says, “They are ring wraiths…” and goes on and on about them. I didn’t _need_ that. All I needed to hear was, “They are ring wraiths, they are what you would have become if you let the ring control you.” That’s _it._ The visuals effectively conveyed why being a ring wraith was a _bad thing._ I didn’t need some wannabe Green Arrow (Yeah, I know, I know, LOTR came first, and I’m sorry they reduced your character to saying, “Worst episode ever!” Now, deal.) spending an hour of my time telling me about how evil and nasty they were. If they’d have cut a lot of the dialoge down and sped up the sequence with the fuzzy looking valium queen, it’d have been an enjoyable movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/6 "2003-04-02T03:41:39Z")
It must be an April Fool’s joke. The joint remark made me think it, plus the name. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/7 "2003-04-02T03:53:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Steven Tyler’s daughter was in it, I don’t think she is all that cute. Anyone who would say this MUST be joking. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/8 "2003-04-02T04:14:53Z")
That’s weird, I thought that the movie explicitly showed them _killing_ the troll. Apparently it escaped. Also, I thought April Fool’s jokes were supposed to be funny. ---
**Author:** ![gris\_gris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/439d5e/32.png) [@gris\_gris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gris_gris)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/9 "2003-04-02T05:43:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mahaloth \* > \*\*It must be an April Fool’s joke. > > The joint remark made me think it, plus the name. \*\* What I smoke joints and watch movies all the time, whats the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![Fibber\_McGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a6a055/32.png) [@Fibber\_McGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibber_McGee)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/10 "2003-04-02T05:53:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \* > \*\*That’s weird, I thought that the movie explicitly showed them _killing_ the troll. Apparently it escaped. > > Also, I thought April Fool’s jokes were supposed to be funny. \*\* They’re supposed to be, but only about 1 in 1000 or so actually are. Picking a specific day on which such jokes are supposed to be played rather defeats the purpose. Only dullards fall for practical jokes on April Fools day, unless those jokes are so calculated and mean as to lack all humor. ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/11 "2003-04-02T15:03:03Z")
As **Dooku** pointed out but some of you may have missed the reference **Shep Proudfoot** is a character from **Fargo**. I think the OP might have missed the part at Bilbo’s Bday party where the “Proudfeet” remark comes from. Or possibly just a coincidence. Either its an April Fools joke or an actual complaint. Either way its pretty lame. ---
**Author:** ![Fingolfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eada6e/32.png) [@Fingolfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fingolfin)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/12 "2003-04-02T16:25:39Z")
**RELEASE THE HOUNDS!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/13 "2003-04-02T17:05:47Z")
Hey, _I_ didn’t think it was so hot either, although I wouldn’t go so far as to call it “boring.” To me, virtually _everything_ in that film had been done before, in movies that captured my interest or entertained me better. Braveheart, Highlander, both “Conan” films, Princess Mononoke, etc., had already thoroughly mined very similar material in one way or another, and did it better. And after four of five Star Wars films ending with The Big Battle, I am getting very, very tired of them. As if the final outcome was ever in doubt, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Optihut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/edb3f5/32.png) [@Optihut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Optihut)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/14 "2003-04-02T17:15:39Z")
**As if the final outcome was ever in doubt, anyway.** Hey… I thought Qui-Gonn was going to live. _sob_ ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/15 "2003-04-02T18:36:56Z")
Knocking LotR is not an April Fool’s joke. Claiming that it wasn’t a boring, poorly acted, overlong piece of nothing: that’s the joke. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/16 "2003-04-02T18:58:56Z")
Smoking a jopint and **not** falling asleep would have been the surprising thing. ---
**Author:** ![DaddyTimesTwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@DaddyTimesTwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaddyTimesTwo)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/17 "2003-04-02T19:07:44Z")
And I swear I’m not smoking right now. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![shep\_proudfoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@shep\_proudfoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shep_proudfoot)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/18 "2003-04-05T05:02:58Z")
This is Shep again. I did name myself after the Indian on Fargo, which unlike LOTR, was an intellegent, excellent film. Liv Tyler looks like her father to me, so I don’t think much of her. I wouldn’t do Lisa Marie Presley either because I don’t want her to say after sex “Uh, Thank ya, Thank ya very much,” or trying to hook me up to a e-meter and saving me to Scientology. LOTR just was not what I thought it would be, that’s all. When a movie is based on a book, I hate these people who have to read the book before they watch the movie, or they did read the book… QUESTION-IS THERE ANY FILMS WHERE THE MOVIE WAS BETTER THAN THE BOOK? I love Star Wars, all incarnations of Star Trek (except Voyager), Planet of the Apes, Logan’s Run, plus most stories films and movies about space, time deminsions or the future. I liked Bicentinnial Man with Robin Williams for example. Brazil is another excellent film. One movie I disliked was Dune, maybe for the same reason as LOTR. Too surreal perhaps. The original post was to make the LOTR nerds mad at me. I failed. SP ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Mook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Mr.Mook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Mook)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/19 "2003-04-05T07:05:18Z")
Isn’t that by definition trolling? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863/20 "2003-04-05T07:12:31Z")
> [@](#): > > To me, the film seemed to be too heavy on dialoge. Well, some of us graduated past picture books sometime around the age of 7 or 8. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lotr-was-boring-and-banal/165863.md?page=2)