In defense of The Two Towers (which is your favorite?)

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Viggo's views here seem entirely in line with those he gave years ago after LotR's came out.
And he is spot on about secondary characters.
Legolas and Gimli are good examples, they have absolutely zero development after FotR- there is no sea longing for Legolas, no Glittering Caves for Gimli, no riding into Minas Tirith together, no pact to travel together when all is done.
Once Pj has set up his tak eon the characters- Legolamb the handsome superhero and Gimli the jokebutt there is no more progression.

Faramir and Eowyn are badly sidelined, Merry may as well have not turned up for RotK, Pippin isnt set up for his part in the final battle by wanting to match his friends courage ect ect.

Fellowship was always my fave in the trilogy, even before reading the books I found it the most balanced and focused of the films, to me (along with the first hour of AUJ) it was really where PJ nailed the spirit of the books.

It's good he feels comfortable enough to be honest, nothing in this interview gives me the impression he is ungrateful to Jackson (edited drastically in all likelihood-look at how websites reported Christopher Tolkien's Le Monde interview (which some people took as a personal insult-you can respect peoples right to honesty whilst not agreeing with their views), editors will always try and sensationalize things with an angle), merely that on reflection he had a few issues with his approach to the story, and the way the chaotic production impacted on the story of LOTR, I guess for members of the fanbase it's often hard to forget filming these films is a job to actors, and like all jobs there are things we don't enjoy or would do differently about them.


Although Mortensen has struck me as a 'serious' actor who wouldn't normally do these types of films, he has spoken in the past of the great camaraderie he has with his fellow Rings actors, and it's obvious he respects Jackson's creative talents (and the options LOTR gave him), but I don't see why he shouldn't share his views, after all he saw things from an inside perspective so perhaps is better placed to offer an objective view.

You can't deny Jackson has a reputation (good or bad depending on your point of view) for employing SFX, one of the most common complaints with TH is an apparent overuse of them, Mortensen seems to have similar issues with the films as many people I know, so I'm personally not going to take his views any more seriously than those I've heard many times before, just welcome them for being insightful.

As for The Hobbit, to me it was always a small intimate story, on screen it has become a large story with a meandering focus-I came out of DOS rather indifferent, as I wasn't entirely sure who I was supposed to be caring about.

Mortensen owes Jackson alot, but certainly not undying loyalty, nothing he said in that interview (which he was under no obligation to share-would people rather the cast and crew stay silent without giving their illuminating views) gives me the impression he's ungrateful to Jackson, and his personal views (influenced by a distance of many years, his subsequent career in low buget drama's and a personal connection none of us have to the films) won't change the way I feel about the films. Jackson is human not a god, neither is Mortensen

Thanks to the OP for sharing, I think everyone is overreacting a bit.

Just my rambling, badly organised views of course.





I wouldn't necessarily call it sneaky on Mortensen's part (He has spoken very highly of Jackson and the film's before, and I know a retired journalist-not all interviews are accurate transcripts of conversations) but it does seem kinda odd he chooses to share his grievances quite casually all these years later. I don't personally have an issue with his views, but it does come across as a little ungrateful, Mortensen wouldn't have had the career he had if it wasn't for LOTR, though judging by that article it's not perhaps something he'd actively aim for usually.

That said I sometimes think, as members of a fanbase we too can be a little ungrateful, Mortensen was under no obligation to share his views, and he doesn't owe Jackson or the film's his undying loyalty, with an insider's view of the filmaking process he's certainly better placed to offer an honest view then me or you, at the end of the day he's only human, and LOTR remains a job to him, a special one perhaps but a job all the same.

It reminds me of Christopher Eccleston's attitude to Doctor Who, he has spoken highly of his colleagues and remains proud of is time on the show. Yet he had a horrible time shooting the show and chose not to renew his contract for a second season:

http://badwilf.co.uk/...y-he-left-doctor-who


I don't entirely agree with his decision, but I certainly respect it. he has gained a reputation amongst Whovians as being selfish and disrespectful (even though he actually entered discussions to reprise the role for the recent 50th Anniversary special) as though him owing them a favour is somehow more important than his personal integrity, I find such a viewpoint in some ways just as selfish even if I share some of the sentiments.

I don't think Mortensen is ungrateful, though he could perhaps has phrased things better, I'm glad he was at least honest, and whatever he apparently feels about the films doesn't effect the way I will perceive them-I can't change his views any more than my own.

David H wrote:Now that you can read TORn again, I can't!! I just gives me an Error message.
They can't have banned me for what I was thinking, can thay?  

Forest Shepherd wrote:Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method, however, were great. Maybe it's an order of viewing thing. If you see Eastern Promises first you greatly prefer it, and if you see A History of Violence first it ruins Eastern Promises for you.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Viggo's views here seem entirely in line with those he gave years ago after LotR's came out.
And he is spot on about secondary characters.
Legolas and Gimli are good examples, they have absolutely zero development after FotR- there is no sea longing for Legolas, no Glittering Caves for Gimli, no riding into Minas Tirith together, no pact to travel together when all is done.
Once Pj has set up his tak eon the characters- Legolamb the handsome superhero and Gimli the jokebutt there is no more progression.

Faramir and Eowyn are badly sidelined, Merry may as well have not turned up for RotK, Pippin isnt set up for his part in the final battle by wanting to match his friends courage ect ect.

halfwise wrote:I'm not sure it's fair to compare siege scenes and say "hey, they look alike, was there some subliminal borrowing going on?"  Because, well...a siege is a siege.  Like a birthday party is a birthday party.  You're climbing walls or blowing out candles in either case, no way around it.

That being said PJ is definitely a student of films of this period, so it is fairly likely that he had scenes floating around in his head.  But it would take real effort to make one siege look dramatically different from another.