The following is a letter that I wrote to Ray Cavender, one of my dad's old college buddies. He didn't like the film, upset mostly about the overabundance of battles. This was my response:

My dad and I recently talked about the movie and he had mentioned to me just how much you disliked the film and said he'd send along your comments. I went with a buddy of mine about 2 weeks ago to see LOTR, but first let me preface this by saying that I was not at all enthusiastic about seeing the film, despite the overwhemling enthusiasm displayed by some of my colleagues. A number of folks I know have already seen the film two or three times and, prior to the film's release, wanted nothing to do with "The Making Of""s or other inside-scoop related stuff. They wanted to go into the film with no preconceived notions.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this...Anyway, the only real knowledge of the film I had before going to it was that it was a long, 3 hour film. After watching about the first 1.5 I was so taken by the film's beauty and luster that I kept wondering if the film was about to end. (When Frodo gets to Rivendell and the Fellowship forms, I had almost convinced myself that the movie was nearing its end and that I'd have to wait a year for the next episode.) Basically, I had a totally different reaction compared to yours. I would have been happy to see the film go another 3 hours!

Still, I totally agree with you on the battle scenes. There were too many, they were too long, and they were all much too exaggerated. (I'm nearly positive that the book didn't paint these battles to be quite so epic.) Furthermore, the movie would have been better, if its makers had spent less time on fight scenes and more on character and mood development.

The Lord of the Rings, itself, is a pretty incredible story, and Tolkein's adeptness at establishing an aesthetic is awe-inspiring. I thought, for the most part, that the movie -- when not embroiled in blood, magic, and brute force -- did a good job of capturing the beauty and mystique of the original work, and I often sat wide-eyed in the theater, waiting to see how the book's own magic would be interpreted on the silver screen.

Also, I have to say that I'm predisposed to this stuff. Dad read us all three books when we were kids, and I have vague memories of sitting on our couch while he described the intricacies of the Middle Earth landscapes and painted pictures of dark nights with dark shapes riding on dark horses. Having to go to bed after an exciting literary outing of this ilk was hard, and I know that I would have been happy to stay up, lose sleep, and imbibe more of Tolkein's fantastic elixir. Part of that kid was with me in the dark room that night when I was watching the film. I just wanted it to go on and on.

In any event, I thought you might like to know how someone of my generation (who has a kinship with the trilogy) might feel about the movie. There are certainly others of my age (or even younger) who would maintain that the movie did little to reveal Tolkein's cereberal qualities (a valid point), but LOTR was fun, emotional, and represented at least the spirit of the book well, and I can't wait for the next installment!