My Lord of the Rings Journey

After watching and enjoy The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, I figured it was time to finally watch the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  Prior to seeing the Hobbit I had only ever seen the first Lord of the Rings Movie, the Fellowship of the Ring when it was originally released in theatres back in 2001.  I went to see this movie with my family, it was before I really discovered my joy of sci-fi.  I didn't know what to expect and was not really that impressed. Going in I did not know anything about the story and I definitely was not expecting it to be a three hour movie (I blame this one on my mommy) and it just didn't grab my attention.  I have not seen the other two movies.
Anyway, I have decided that I need to let go of my aversion to Lord of the Rings, give the movies a chance and watch them.  I am going to blame this resistance on the teenage girl who didn't want to see the movie in the first place and didn't understand the joy of sci-fi. I also didn't want to be disappointed because of all the hype surrounding it. I will see what I think after I watch them.
Going in to watching these movies, I know what I do about Lord of the Rings is based on what it out there in general society and Pinterest.  I know that one does not just walk into Mordor (Pinterst) and that Frodo works to save Middle Earth by getting ride of the one true ring, by throwing it into Mordor.  That the ring is intrinsically evil and that it has to be destroyed for peace. I also know that Gollum is a great character and I am looking forward to learning more about his history.  At least that is what I hope. I am watching the extended edition DVDs.

Here we go....

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
I have enjoyed hearing the background of the basic story.  It has helped to have things make more sense, but I struggle with understanding who everyone is.  Characters seem to come in and it is like I should already know who they are.
I have found that I really like the three supporting Hobbits, Merry and Pippin are awesome, they are funny and kick some serious ass.  Sam is supporting and great, but at times a tad melodramatic.  It was not until this watching that I realized how often Frodo gets hurt and it seems like he doesn't really do what he can to not get hurt.  I don't get why they are so focused on how important Frodo is when the other Hobbits do not seem to be effected by the ring as the others are. 
I have noticed how much some of the actors have aged in the last decade, the only one who really seems to have gotten more beautiful is Cate Blanchett, she is definitely more ethereal now then she was back in 2001. Her age seem s to makes her more intrinsically wise.  She seems to embody her character the best out of everyone. 
I don't really get how easily Gandolf dies, he seems to just give into the fall, and how easily everyone else lets Frodo and Sam go off on their own.  I get why they so quickly go after Merry and Pippin and it would make more sense if they had that as the focus as opposed to we have to let Frodo go.
I don't get why the elves are leaving middle earth.


Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
I have discovered that Gollum is my favorite character.  He is great to watch and the internal conflict that is played out is externally fantastic to watch.  I think that they go into a bit too much depth of the supporting arcs and they could have been easily been condensed. I miss Pippin and Merry but they continue to be funny whenever they are the focus.  I don't really get the point of Legolas, and I feel as if I don't know any of his back story but I like the Gimli and his persona (it might help that there was a lot of Dwarf lore in The Hobbit).  I continue to think that Frodo needs to get a grip on what is going on, and I that Sam is being overly mean to Gallum because Frodo is being ridiculously short sighted.  This is obviously the middle of the journey and is drawn out. For being such a brilliant Wizard Saraman is too easily defeated by water and trees.

Lord of the Rings: The Return on the King (2003)
As I have discovered my joy of Gollum, I like that they show his background and how he got the ring. Although I had always imagined that the voice of Gollum came about after he started to physically change.  Pippin actually annoys me with grabbing the orb, but Merry continues to be great. As the battle begins I like that everyone is involved and that Legolas and Gimli continue their banters and that they finally admit that they like it each other openly.  I have grown to really like the interplay between these two.  I continue to be frustrated with what a sap Frodo is but I like that Sam continues to support him.  Gollum continues to be am enjoyable hot mess to watch.  At the end of the movies I would have liked to see more then just the Hobbits continued story and I want to know what the other characters have been up to, but I understand that it is about ultimately a story about the Hobbits.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movies, but feel that there is so much you really needed to know to follow the story without scratching your head.  I would like to have been walked through some of the points better but I think that once I let go of understanding everything I was able to follow the general story. 

I would not say that I am a huge Lord of the Rings Fan but I am intrigued enough to want to learn more about the surrounding lore.  I guess I will have to read the books for that.

I would say that these are should watch movies, but they required your attention to follow what is going on.