A Disappointing Ending

 

   We finished watching the last movie in the Lord of the Ring series. This could possibly be the worst movie I've ever seen.

   Part of this is because the movie was long, over three hours. I'm at the point where I simply cannot sit for that long. I have to get up and move around a little or I'll get stiff and sore. There were too many long battle scenes and too may things that were drawn out that could have moved along a little quicker. It felt long and clunky. I covered my eyes for much of the movie because I couldn't watch anymore fighting and killing.

   There were a few good parts. I like the part where Eowyn, a shieldmaiden, carried a sword in her saddle and rode with the men to battle. She and Merry Brandybuck killed the Witch-King. I liked the fact that Galadriel, a female elf, was a powerful character.

   I enjoyed watching Aragorn, one of the Fellowship of the Ring, discover he was the heir to an ancient kingdom and wielder of a special sword. He summoned the spirits of an army that broke it's oath to help defend a certain place. This army helps to defeat the evil forces.

   The biggest disappointment was Frodo. As the ringbearer, it was his quest to take the ring of power and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom as the ring must be destroyed in the place where it was made. Frodo had gone through all kinds of trials on his way to destroy the ring. At one point he told Gollum, a creature who had the ring and had been greatly changed by it, that he needed to destroy the ring for his and Gollum's sake. At one point he was tricked by Gollum and sent Sam, his friend and companion during his quest away. Frodo later realized his mistake when Gollum lead him into a dark place and tried to attack him. 

   Sam helped him and rescued the ring which he gave back to Frodo. When they finally got to the fires, Frodo claimed the ring for himself instead of throwing it into the fire. Gollum bites Frodo's finger in an attempt to get the ring back. He and Frodo wrestle for the ring and Gollum gets it only to fall into the fire with it and the ring is destroyed.

   I must admit I was sad that in the end Frodo claimed the ring. Maybe it was Pollyannaish of me, but I had hoped that Frodo would have thrown the ring that had caused so much trouble and trial into the fire. I wanted him to be the one that could carry the ring without coveting it, the one that understood that it had to be destroyed so that no one could have unlimited power again.

   When he put that ring on his finger at the edge of the fire, the movie was ruined for me. The ending it had was probably more realistic, after all most people when offered ultimate power would probably take it. I was looking for fantasy, not reality, because I wanted a break from reality. While the ring  was destroyed which saved the people of Middle Earth and was in some ways a happy ending, Frodo was destroyed and for me that ending isn't happy.