22.12.01

I find myself wondering how much of a difference in scale there is between J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring and the new movie directed by Peter Jackson. Is Saruman's tower really supposed to be so unbelievably tall? Did the fellowship really slaughter scores of hulking, snarling orc-goblin creatures with only one casualty? Are all of the waterfalls of Middle Earth so tremendous?

Then I wonder if it's the scale which makes it a successful film. What if all these places and events were a little more mundane, or at least more recognizable, if the movie wouldn't work. I'd like to see that version, though. ...And the soundtrack sounds way too much like Williams' score for "The Phantom Menace"

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