Critique logo

Lord of the Rings (Critique)

A critique of both the movies (Peter Jackson) and the books. I'm sure I will catch heat for not loving the books. I think they're terrible - even though I love the world and the genre he created. Here goes!

By L.C. SchäferPublished 2 years ago 1 min read
Top Story - August 2023
Lord of the Rings (Critique)
Photo by Ergo Zakki on Unsplash

Movies: decent adaptation, wonderfully cast. A lot of detail cut to make these books fit to the screen, and yet characters gaze meaningfully for minutes on end. At least I finished them.

Books: Genre-defining, standard-setting in terms of world-building, and detailed to a fault. Love the world, but couldn't finish.

MovieNovel

About the Creator

L.C. Schäfer

Book babies on Kindle Unlimited:

Glass Dolls

Summer Leaves (grab it while it's gorgeous)

Never so naked as I am on a page

Subscribe for n00dz

I'm not a writer! I've just had too much coffee!

X

Insta

Facebook

Threads

Sometimes writes under S.E.Holz

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments (35)

Sign in to comment
  • Denise E Lindquistabout a year ago

    Sometimes I think I am the only one in the world who hasn't read the books. The movie was fun. The movie! I think that is all I saw at the theatre?? "I'm sure I will catch heat... " It sure won't be from me! 😉❤️

  • Lost In Writing2 years ago

    A Finnish penpal introduced me to the first book of Lord of the Rings trilogy and I absolutely LOVED it. Then I read the whole trilogy and all the other truthful books about the world & myth: The Hobbit, Silmariklion, etc. When I finished I had THIRST for more, I found out there were several others but those were by his son and curator, but of those I was very disappointed because they were more annotations than anything else. Many years later the first movie came out. The movies are great (seen those several times) but I am glad I read all the books first. Me wants a Lord of the Rings toe ring 😂

  • Mark Graham2 years ago

    Agreed the movies were well detailed, and I have read and loved the books and read the complete series, and planning to re-read them soon.

  • Ian Read2 years ago

    Personally, I loved book Frodo better. Also, I will not forgive Jackson for cutting out Tom Bombadil (jk).

  • Manisha Dhalani2 years ago

    I had to DNF LOTR too. It was too heavy for me, but I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the movie series!

  • B2 years ago

    So, I've never read LOTR, but I have the book. The Delux suede hardcover version, to be exact. (If I was going to own it, I was going to own it in the best format🤣). One day I will sit down and read it.

  • Babs Iverson2 years ago

    Wonderful authentic critique!!! Congratulations on T S too!!!❤️❤️💕

  • JBaz2 years ago

    I appreciate your critique, I will be on the side of I loved the books, and yes I read them more than once. Yes, they are long and over stuffed and oh so magically wonderful. I felt the movie did a great adaptation of the books, Even adding to the story. Congratualtions.

  • Paul Stewart2 years ago

    As much as this absolutely annoys me to my core and you're doing a pee on my childhood. This is a well argued critique. I don't need to agree to enjoy the art. Well done on it getting Top Story, LC!

  • Dana Stewart2 years ago

    Absolutely loved the movies, but you are right there is a lot of wasted space. The books are the iceberg underneath the surface, so much more detail. I remember being confused a good bit when I read them but still enjoyed.

  • Caroline Jane2 years ago

    Great honest review. I struggled through the books and the movies. Not my genre, although I appreciate them for defining a veritable epoch of fantasy.

  • Mattie :)2 years ago

    I love the film franchise! Couldn't through the books either. Very different, yet that's ok. Great commentary, friend and congrats on top story :)

  • Honest critique, and well worded-out. Congrats on TS :)

  • Kendall Defoe 2 years ago

    Honestly, I prefer the books...although I liked the films pre-Hobbit.

  • Dana Crandell2 years ago

    I love your assessment of the movies. So much wasted space and missed storyline! I still enjoyed the adventures, but the story was lacking. I did finish and enjoy the books. (I'm stubborn.) Congratulations on Top Story!

  • Alivia Varvel2 years ago

    These are my absolute favorite movies in the world, and you’re absolutely right. What’s up with all the looking off at nothing in these near 4-hour movies? 😆

  • well done on top story! 🥰😁✨👌

  • Mariann Carroll2 years ago

    Congratulations on Top Story 💕🥳🥳🥳🥳

  • Hannah Moore2 years ago

    Ha ha, I hear you! I spoke about the hobbit as my life changing book, eguchbi love, but these were... It was like reading a linguist and word builder pleasuring himself. I'm sure he enjoyed making it greatly, but perhaps didn't need to be joined on the journey.

  • Great choice of topic! While I'll agree to disagree respectfully, you really can't go wrong with Tolkien 😁

  • Matthew J. Fromm2 years ago

    Really need to finish my WIPs so I can turn my intention to a full review of the books now.....congrats on the top story! My critique entry here: https://shopping-feedback.today/critique/the-lord-of-the-rings-b53780fwt%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class="css-w4qknv-Replies">

  • Lynn Fenske2 years ago

    Again you've written a brilliantly concise review. Kudos to Vocal curation team for recognizing your talent. As for Lord of the Rings, I tried reading the book and gave up after three attempts. So why watch the movie?

  • Cathy holmes2 years ago

    I've not seen, nor read them. But, yeah you might be in trouble for this one. 😁

  • The Dani Writer2 years ago

    Lord of the Rings!!! All YEAH!!! I'm still biased, so all the 'hype vibes!' 😁

  • Characters gaze meaningfully 🤣🤣🤣 I've never read or watched LOTR. But I loved your review!

Find us on social media

Miscellaneous links

  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Support

© 2026 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.