What The Lord of the Rings Did Right

Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” (LOTR) is a crown jewel of film that has withstood the arduous test of time. This is not only because of its excellent storyline and morally uplifting themes, but because Jackson was given control to develop the movie with minimal corporate influence, allowing him to focus on the story rather than the restrictions.

Set in Tolkien’s fictional world of Middle-earth, the movies — released in 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively — follows the Fellowship of the Ring, primarily two Hobbits: Frodo and Sam. With a motley crew of seven others, they embark to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron: the main antagonist of the series. 

Jackson’s films showcase epic stewardship and camaraderie in the face of evil — themes that can resonate with anyone. This relatable storyline, and the profound and dynamic characters that accompany Sam and Frodo firmly establish the LOTR trilogy among the best of the best. 

One of the reasons these movies worked so well was because of the directorial control that the studio granted Jackson. The production company behind LOTR, NewLine Cinema, gave Jackson a lot of authority in the trilogy’s screenplay, which he used to be as faithful to the source material as possible. 

Even though the disease of corporate control was just picking up speed around the time LOTR was released, the movies were immune to its fevers and chills. 

“[Jackson] knew what he wanted out of these scenes, and he was able to execute that pretty well,” said Shaun Hallahan, film and photography major and the events coordinator of the MSU Movie Club. 

The club’s Student Advisor Matthew Wilbur described what is called auteur theory, when all of the decisions made in the creation and production of a movie tie back to the director. He said that when the director’s decisions are pushed aside in favor of a corporate studio’s whims, the movie suffers. 

“When you look at something like “The Hobbit,” [Jackson] kind of faltered because he had to cater to the studio,” Wilbur said. “He didn’t enjoy making ‘The Hobbit,’ and that affected how much motivation he had to actually fight for what he wanted to see.”

Studios prefer violence because it heightens stakes. As a result, most action movies these days are hellbent on self-conceited revenge plots, wherein violence is too often used as a crutch. 

In “Deadpool,” most of the scenes were filled with guns and sexual innuendos. I didn’t pick up on a plot besides getting revenge on Francis, Deadpool’s torturer. To the contrary, LOTR concerned Middle-earth’s millions of inhabitants and was chock-full of character interactions and development. No scene was useless.

In addition, the combat scenes in Jackson’s works weren’t replacements for plot development — they were the plot development. I was glued to my seat when Sauron’s army of ten thousand Uruk-hai (Orc-Men) attacked Helm’s Deep, a Middle-earth stronghold. Many people were taking refuge in that citadel, and would have died if Helm’s Deep had been taken.

And don’t forget the War of the Ring: The battle fought between all of Middle-earth and Sauron’s battalion in “The Return of the King,” the third and final movie in the trilogy. That battle determines all of Middle-earth’s fate. All seven and a half hours of the previous movies led up to that scene. No violence is mindless.

LOTR is also founded on themes of camaraderie and passion. Sam is the most devoted character I’ve ever seen, defending Frodo from monsters — including Shelob, a huge, demonic spider — and refusing to back down even when the One Ring turned Frodo against him. 

In action movies, the most collaboration I see is teaming up to teach someone a lesson. “I think where stories used to be is they had a foundation for love and passion,” said English teaching major Brady Stefferson. “The foundation for movies today is self-empowerment. Our culture has taken on one of pride rather than humility and sacrifice.” 

With its surplus of heart and lack of corporate influence compared to action movies today, Jackson’s LOTR was destined to make cinematic history. The dynamic characters and the rich storyline set it leagues above any modern action film, and I don’t see it being dethroned anytime soon.