Hi,
I'm not a "real" Java developer, I've given up for now commercial interest in it, but I have comments about this movie too.
First of all in the defense of the Hindus posting with lackluster reviews, I have to say it does pale in comparison to the Mahabharata in my opinion. The battle in this epic is simply amazing, and I always longed to see something as good while watching LOTR 3. The TV series of the Mahabharata is such a blast to watch. It would need to become a more widely popular story in order to ever have a chance of a big budget filming like LOTR though. Don't know how that will ever happen.
But I love the LOTR story as a good peice of work, and I have silly comments too. I think in most cases I am actually wishing to re-write Tolkein.
The battles scene weres still a lot of fun. The feminist thing was a beautiful execution but my guts says aesthetically she should not have "penetrated" the king of the nasgool with her sword but beheaded it. Somehow it seems like a more feminine kill, in the worst un-nurturing way, instead of a pseudo-male kill.
This was the end of the 3rd age, what does that represent?. It was so close to being a story about how good and evil have outgrown being purely represented by different individuals and are now both exist in the same man (and thus the powerful magic must also dminish). This would be the case if Smeagol voluntarily destroyed the ring in a moment of self-conflict, realizing the right thing to do. It could be the beginning of a more postmodern, less mythic time.
In Hinduism and Greek mythology there is the same 4 ages. In Hinduism I have heard this comparison. In the 1st age good & evil lived in the same universe but on different planets, or planes. The 2nd on the same planet but in different countries. The 3rd in the same country but in different people. And in this the 4th in the person. LOTR was so tantalizing close to this appealing mythic structure.
I also wanted that Aragorn should have expressed supernatural anger at the undead soldiers for their crime, calling them to their oath, and by not neglecting them given them the opportunity, that they did take to fight again. He would represent the regal combination of anger, authority to speak for their past allegiance, and compassion by caring for their oath. It seemed liked a more fleshed out moment of authority than just his lame "Will you join us? Yay!" thing.
And instead they just kind of leaped off of the pirate ships. Hooray! That was lame.
I guess that's me trying to mine out more of the meaning that has come to appeal to me. The stories that appeal to me retain the mythic spaces/ times by exhibiting a logical transition to our postmodern existence.
[ December 29, 2003: Message edited by: Meadowlark Bradsher ]