Journey to Middle-earth has been an emotional one
Fifteen years after filming began in New Zealand on the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, director Peter Jackson's Middle-earth saga concludes this week with “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”
The journey from “The Fellowship of the Ring” to today has been very long, but very rewarding — even if the latter half of it ultimately feels unnecessary. For many of us, it has been a personal journey rooted in our love for Tolkien's books, or fond memories of watching the animated “Hobbit” TV special, or sharing the now-classic movies with our families.
I saw the first midnight show of “Fellowship” at AMC South Barrington, and I hated it — blame a sweltering theater and uninformed expectations. In more comfortable environs and a better idea of what I was getting into, I embraced Middle-earth and its lovable heroes with open arms. I saw all 179 minutes of “Fellowship” seven times at suburban theaters, including one memorable trip with my mother. Completely swept up in the adventure, she couldn't believe three hours had passed as Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) set off through the rocks of Emyn Muil toward Mount Doom and Sauron, and exclaimed, “It's over?!?”
“Lord of the Rings” has been a fixture in the family ever since. When we bought my parents a new TV for Christmas in 2004, the first thing Dad put in the DVD player was “The Return of the King,” and Dec. 24 ended with him singing along to Annie Lennox's “Into the West” over the end credits.
I admire the Middle-earth saga for the staggering amount of work it took to create, from Richard Taylor's armor and weaponry, to WETA Digital's motion-capture work with Gollum (Andy Serkis). I admire it for making people all over the world fall in love with Ian McKellen, who, as an openly gay Shakespearean actor in his golden years, is not exactly the prototypical blockbuster movie star. I admire it for its complete lack of cynicism in a cynical pop culture world.
Jackson's movies are broad, emotional epics. They don't have giant robots blowing up cities with Pepsi ads in the background. They don't have a wisecracking billionaire leading a band of superheroes. They don't assume the worst in their characters or their audience.
Old-fashioned? Certainly. But Jackson's version of Tolkien's world will stand the test of time, and be shared by movie fans for generations to come.
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald copy editor and a tireless consumer of pop culture. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.