LOTR's Crappy Ending

[Shuai]

Let me just ask a question. Who else thought LOTR had a crappy ending? I mean, come on. The ring ends up in the volcano, and the good guys just win. The Dark Lord and all his evil shadowspawn automatically turn to ash. That sucked. I mean, you think Tolkien could have made a more dramatic battle scene. You know, have Sauron's army destroy most of the humans and elves first and make it seem hopeless, and then at the last minute have the ring drop down into the mountain. Who agrees?

[Admin]

I think the ending is awesome. I don't think it could have been any better.

Frodo goes all the way to the end and then he fails, he gives into the ring. Even a hobbit can't destroy the ring, no one can. Except then Gollum attacks and bites off his finger before plummeting to his death. That ending is awesome. I cannot wait for that scene in the movies. Frodo is going to look at Sam like Isildur looked at Elrond thousands of years before, and he's going to say "No."

That is going to be one of the greatest cinema moments of all time.

[Eric, son of Chuck]

My thoughts exactly. Uncanny. Get out of my head, get out of my head!

[MarsMonster]

the ending is just as it should be - it fits perfectly in the book.
tolkien made something like a code for how magic and his world in general works and then just let the situation develop. it is not like the attack of the clones (a random example - i liked the movie) but the book was meant for another type of audience.

[AquaQuorum]

I also was incredibly impressed at Tolkien's ending, especially the masterful way in which he wove in the Pity of Bilbo. I also believed that the Scouring of the Shire and The Gray Havens chapters gave the books a down-to-earth ending that made it all the more realistic. A sort of "unhindered rise into heaven" ending would have been another option, but would have made the series seem detached from our world, at least more so than it already was

[crisaor]

I think the ending is awesome. I don't think it could have been any better.


I agree. It's perfectly fit for the series, both narration and story-wise.


Frodo goes all the way to the end and then he fails, he gives into the ring. Even a hobbit can't destroy the ring, no one can. Except then Gollum attacks and bites off his finger before plummeting to his death. That ending is awesome. I cannot wait for that scene in the movies. Frodo is going to look at Sam like Isildur looked at Elrond thousands of years before, and he's going to say "No."

That is going to be one of the greatest cinema moments of all time.

Well, for what i've seen so far, i wouldn't bet on Peter Jackson doing that part as per the book says. And even if he would, to call it one of the greatest cinema moment of all times is exaggerated in my opinion.

[Shuai]

People, you don't understand what I'm trying to say. The scene where Frodo is forced by Gollum to lose the ring is great, but I think the battle between Sauron's forces and the good guys should've at least began.

[Admin]

It did begin, there was a major battle in Gondor. Then they decided to invade Mordor.

They had already defeated Sauron, they had stopped his invasion, they had simply not killed him or prevented him from attacking again in the future when he had rebuilt the armies he had lost.

[Shuai]

Uh... Could you find that quote? Because I'm just not convinced.

[jamesting]

Tolkien did not write for the money, as most mainstream book-writers of today, who seem to write their books for slick hollywood. Tolkien wrote for the love of writing, of creating the middle earth myth and universe. He did not do it for money.

The LOTR was not a story about great physical battles and wars. It is not Conan the Barbarian. In the book, the major battles were told after the fact. For example, the ents' attack on Sauruman was not directly portrayed as it was in the film. I don't think Tolkien gave a damn about wars and battles. I think the book was really a spiritual journey. Have you ever wondered why a book so long and so rich in its descriptions fail even to mention anything religious? Yet, many scholars on Tolkien conclude that the LOTR has a definite christian message. In fact Tolkien said so himself in his private letters. One would imagine Tolkien rolling in his grave at the thought of how his work is being mutilated, twisted, and paradied (like the orcs were gross parodies of the elves) by Hollywood.

When Tolkien was alive, in fact, Hollywood approached him to make a movie out of his books. Tolkien rejected the offer.

I would suggest a book by Jonathan Pearce "Tolkien: Man and Myth". Excellent reading.

[Admin]

For example, the ents' attack on Sauruman was not directly portrayed as it was in the film.

You sure, I remember him describing the Ents pounding on the walls of Isengard until they crumbled. I'd call that a direct description of the battle.

[crisaor]

Tolkien did not write for the money, as most mainstream book-writers of today, who seem to write their books for slick hollywood. Tolkien wrote for the love of writing, of creating the middle earth myth and universe. He did not do it for money.
The LOTR was not a story about great physical battles and wars. It is not Conan the Barbarian. In the book, the major battles were told after the fact.

Agreed 100%


For example, the ents' attack on Sauruman was not directly portrayed as it was in the film.
There are many things that were not portrayed in the film as they were in the book concerning this battle. What are you referring to specifically?


One would imagine Tolkien rolling in his grave at the thought of how his work is being mutilated, twisted, and paradied (like the orcs were gross parodies of the elves) by Hollywood.
Tolkien is probably rolling in his grave because of what Hollywood did, but i think you're wrong about the orcs. If I remember correctly, the orcs are indeed gross parodies of the elves, created by Melkor to overshadow the creations of Eru. Check the Silmarillion.

[Balihar]

Some facts:

a) Allen & Unwin Publishers approached Tolkien to write a sequel after The Hobbit. He agreed! Finance was a motive! Beethoven and Mozart also composed for financial rewards.

b) Tolkien belonged to a Christian group of Oxford Dons, who rejected modernism and wanted to ignite Christian values (good defeating evil) into their works. C.S. Lewis was another member.