December 14 will see the release of perhaps the decade’s most hotly anticipated picture. Being such a beloved childhood book, we asked whether or not it will live up to its esteemed reputation…
Sean Hayes tells us why he is looking forward to Jackson’s latest frolic in Middle Earth
When Peter Jackson first set out to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s mammoth text The Lord Of The Rings in the late 1990s, few would have predicted the mega-franchise his efforts would soon spawn. This was, after all, a much-beloved property in the hands of a man at that point best known for low-budget New Zealand zombie movies. It was unsure whether he would be able to produce the massive, sweeping scale that Tolkien’s prose demanded.
Jackson, of course, proved the doubters wrong and then some. His cinematic trilogy transcended their genre status to become works of definitive visual beauty, masterfully epic storytelling and astonishing performances: The eye of Lawrence Of Arabia with the spirit of Star Wars. Jackson enjoyed Oscar glory for his efforts, and everyone immediately started asking when he was going to make The Hobbit. After a decade, he’s finally getting around to it next month, with the first part of a new trilogy. It wasn’t always planned as such, though: For one, it was originally supposed to be just two movies, until Jackson and his team decided to expand the story to a larger scale more resembling the Rings trilogy. Second, the films were originally supposed to be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who dropped out after spending more than a year on the production. Some bemoaned the loss of getting to see del Toro’s vision of Middle Earth, while some suggested we may have dodged a bullet; del Toro’s concept art reveals he was planning on radically changing some of the design aspects of Jackson’s Middle Earth, even incorporating some steampunk-inspired elements.
Whatever your stance on this, there’s no denying the sense of warmth at getting to return to a recognisable Middle-Earth, with the trailers already capturing the feel of the first trilogy. For fans of Rings, this new story could provide everything that was great about the originals and then some – for one thing, Martin Freeman’s likeable persona could make Bilbo an altogether wittier protagonist than Elijah Wood’s angst-ridden Frodo.
Emily Murray lets us into why she won’t be camping outside the cinema this December
Everyone seems agreed that Lord of the Rings are some of the best films in recent years, with some calling it the best series of all time. I can understand why people enjoy them, but I would much rather endure an Adam Sandler film than watch one of Peter Jackson’s – and that’s saying something!
I do appreciate the art and talent involved, for example, they look spectacular, Andy Serkis is a brilliant Golem, Jackson makes great use of motion capture and the stories are classic tales. However, for me there are problems making them unenjoyable. As a film addict watching films doesn’t require effort, but Lord of the Rings was hard to endure. Although I don’t usually have a problem with long films and the fantasy adventure genre, these are dull and monotonous. My hours felt wasted watching dreary characters endlessly walking and momentarily coming across uninteresting action scenes. None of the performances are anything special, although Andy Serkis his great, he does better proving his talent in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The trilogy lacked anything of interest, emotion and comedy, making the three long films extremely tedious to watch.
After my disappointment with Lord of the Rings, I am apprehensive about The Hobbit, and so cannot join in with the excitement. Although it is a better book and the adaptation stars the fantastic Martin Freeman, I won’t be seeing it. It is most likely to be never-ending and as lacklustre as Lord of the Rings, especially since they have stretched out a significantly shorter book into three parts! So on the week of release I am going to relaxing on my sofa at home with the box set of Merlin, for my dose of great family fantasy adventure and entertainment.