After the King has recently been re-released as a trade paperback, which is unsurprising because it’s an anthology of stories “in honor of J.R.R. Tolkien,” and everything Tolkien is being re-released because of the movie. I did manage to see Fellowship for the second time over vacation; I got even more out of this viewing, but not all of it good. I continued to appreciate the quality of the acting, the evident care that had gone into everything, and the references to the books (“A shortcut to what?” “Mushrooms!”); the second viewing allowed me to notice more of the details that underlie these virtues of the film (and see the scene that I’d missed when I ran to the bathroom the first time).
But while I still enjoyed it greatly, a few things bothered me more. One of them, Gandalf & Saruman’s confrontation, seemed basically a one-shot deal, and so may not affect the next installments. But, upon reflection, my dissatisfaction with Galadriel’s portrayal (which bothered me right away) extends to all of Lothlorien’s treatment. I think something subtle but important is lost by the movie’s change in tone—though I’m not sure how much this will affect whatever parts of the story that make it into the second and third movies. At any rate, I still loved the movie, am deeply impressed and relieved at the quality of the adaptation, and can’t wait to see the next one (and the one after that); but now that I’ve got a little objectivity back, it’s not quite as fabulous as I’d thought, is all.
(Oh, and I nearly forgot: did I really say that the Harry Potter movie turned Dumbledore into a Gandalf clone by sucking all the whimsy out of the role? Shame on me. Gandalf, as Ian McKellen’s brilliant performance reminded me, has more whimsy—and sense, and power, and strength—in his big toe than Dumbledore has in his whole body.)