Lord of the Readalong 2020 discussion

I just finished the book today, so of course I had to watch the movie. Turns out fight/battle/war scenes are just as boring to me on the screen as they are in the book! haha. It was good to see some of it come to life. I always have a hard time picturing it in the book.

I don't mind the addition of Arwyn/Eowyn love triangle with Aragorn. I don't remember the Elves coming to Helm's deep though. That didn't happen in the book, right?

What I did really appreciate in the movie is the back and forth structure that we didn't get in the book. Instead of focusing on Aragorn and crew for 1/2 the time and then Frodo/Sam the other half, the movie went back and forth, which was WAY better in my mind. Helped keep things moving.

I didn't love that the Faramir storyline was changed so much either, but again it helps give a bigger picture of the world.

If anyone else watches the movie after finishing, please share your thoughts!

I also watched the movie right after I finished the book, which was last week.

You are correct, the elves did not come to Helm's deep, they were occupied fighting a series of battles defending Lothlorien from orcs.

In the book Aragorn never had a great fall down a cliff.

When the battle of Helm's deep started turning bad Theoden saved the day, in the movie it was Aragorn.

There are lots of little differences but the overall story is the same.

I struggled to get a mental picture of the mountains and towers in the books so in the movies it was a relief not to have to think that hard.