My very own Zelda game

[OB1]

Wow...

I did read the book first, but others who haven't who aren't known for liking cheesy action movies or special effects fests loved the depth that was conveyed. You really didn't pay attention to how it was told, just the overall story. You didn't go to the movies with a "I'll see it just to show I"m not biased, but I know they will suck" attitude did you?

Oh heavens no, I walked into the first movie with extreme anticipation, the second with slightly less anticipation since I didn't find the first as great as I hoped it would be, and the third more excited than the second since I thought everything would have a payoff which would make up for my disappointment with the first two.

Smeagle was kinda ruined in the 3rd movie, but you know, his development arc was a counter to Frodo's. Frodo was one who managed to break the grip of the ring (it wasn't supposed to be heavy, it was an EMOTIONAL weight that was having a physical effect on him), while Smeagel, first showing that he COULD break free, eventually fell again. It was SUPPOSED to be a sad moment where you would be all like "he was so close!" and then you are supposed to frickin' CRY you insensitive robot!
Hmm, I guess it's all personal opinion, but it's just really hard to see how anyone could just label it as a special effects movie and not see the depth of character...

When I said "rough" of course I meant emotionally-speaking. I didn't think that the ring was physically heavy.

It did not seem as though Gollum broke free. It seemed as though he was playing Frodo and Sam, and towards the end of the movie and in all of RotK it was clear that he was evil. His internal struggle was well-acted but seemed more like an excuse to show off great CGI and acting than real significance, and during his final moments I felt only disappointment that they went where they did with his character. I thought they were setting him up for a final act of goodness and redemption, but in the end all I felt was "what a jerk!".

And just so you know, I'm not one of those people who try to act all macho and tough during movies, as I have cried plenty of times in the past. LotR just had very little emotional impact on me. I didn't care too much for the story or the characters. But to each his own. There's no correct answer to this.

If you're curious, one movie that brought tears to my eyes and had a great emotional impact on me was Akira Kurosawa's "Ikiru", a movie about an aging bureaucrat who finds out that he has stomach cancer and realizes that his entire life has been a waste of time, so he seeks to find meaning in his final days. It's a movie with a very simple plot but an incredible amount of emotional depth and meaning, and considered to be one of the greatest films ever created.