The Parable of the ‘Ring’

Impelled by Kenneth Turan’s enthusiasm and my own lifelong high fantasy addiction, I raced to see “Lord of the Rings” the first day it was out (“Fulfilling a Grand Quest,” Dec. 19). I was not disappointed, which is surprising since it is so rare for a film to catch the magic of a much-loved book.

One point driven home to me as I watched the film was the inadequacy of the frequently repeated phrase that the story is about a war between good and evil. Far from the simplistic dualism of our current leaders, the “fellowship” must not only be concerned with defeating the external “evildoers” but must also constantly beware of the potential of corruption or weakness within themselves.

Listening to the cheers in the theater, I found myself hoping that the young audience will not just see a Saddam Hussein or an Osama bin Laden in the evil wizards but will also realize that for us, as for Frodo and his fellowship, it is not sufficient to worry about the opposition’s weapons. We must also understand that we cannot use or keep such destructive power ourselves without turning into the same evil we oppose. The ring of power is an apt metaphor for nuclear weapons: Let’s reinstate the ABM treaty and cast them all into the fiery pits of Mordor.

LEONE HANKEY

Los Angeles

In response to Kenneth Turan’s glowing review of “Lord of the Rings,” I would like to offer an opposing viewpoint. I admit I am hardly a Tolkien groupie, although I did read the first book and had a “Frodo Lives” bumper sticker on my 1980 Gremlin. But the movie I saw was an almost three-hour snooze-fest.

There was one badly done CGI battle scene after another with enemies I couldn’t keep straight. All this mayhem was punctuated with Cate Blanchett thrown in, dressed as some Celtic fantasy gone terribly wrong, and a love respite with Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler set to truly the most insipid Enya song yet.

The film ended not with any sort of climax or tying up of loose ends but with a lame promise that in one year we could see three more hours of this stuff. The “Hobbit” is getting to be no habit with me!

MARK WINKLER

Los Angeles