The Lord of the Rings series is undoubtedly a masterpiece in the history of film. The adaptation and characterization of the original work are very successful. Due to adaptation needs, the character and plot of some characters will inevitably change. Even so, the evaluation of most characters after adaptation is still relatively positive, but it seems to be different here in Frodo. One of the reasons is that many of the changes made by the screenwriter to Frodo are mainly the weakening of his original image (from the perspective of the audience's impression, it exceeds the weakening of Faramir, because he has not received so much infamy compared to Frodo).
Record the typical changes in the three movies:
Movie: On the top of the storm, only Frodo of the four hobbits throws a sword and falls.
Original: The other three were too scared to move. Although Frodo was scared, he still faced Witch King and stabbed him with a sword before he was injured.
Movie: After Frodo was injured and unable to move, Arwen became the savior and took him on horseback to confront the ring spirits by the river.
Original: It was someone else who came to save him, but it was himself who confronted the ring spirit by the river. He tried his best to raise the sword and said: You can't get the Lord of the Rings, and you can't catch me! Then he fell down due to injuries.
Movie: In Moria, Frodo is mostly dodging.
Original: Frodo drew his sword and stabbed Orc in the foot after Boromir chopped an Orc arm.
Movie: Frodo was tempted to wear the Lord of the Rings in Osgiliath, but Sam stopped him.
Original Work: Generally speaking, he has been stubbornly resisting the Lord of the Rings, and it should be said that he is really shaken only at the last moment.
Movie: Frodo drives away Sam under the dual effects of Lord of the Rings and Gollum.
Original: Without this plot, Frodo has always known that Gollum is not completely reliable. He trusts Sam very much. Their friendship and loyalty are the main content of the book.
Movie: Frodo is directly stunned by Shelob, and Sam fights with the spider alone.
Original: Frodo and Sam flee at first. Later, when Frodo realized that it was useless to escape, he used Elendil's Light and Sting to scare away the enemy. But when he was about to exit the cave, because Frodo gave the crystal bottle to Sam, he was stung because he didn't see Shelob in the dark when he was exploring the road ahead. That's why Sam fights alone.
Movie: Frodo has no strength to fight Gollum in the Doomsday Crater and needs Sam's help.
Original: Frodo brought Gollum down with injuries alone. (This plot in the movie was before he was stung by a spider, and he was not as exhausted as in the book at this time)
In general,
Movie: The focus is on his weakness, fear, and being bewitched by the Lord of the Rings, and his subjective efforts are relatively less prominent, so some viewers will feel that he always needs help.
Original: Focus on describing his bravery, wisdom and perseverance. Of course it is also because the book can describe in more detail.
Some people may think that these differences will not change their impression of this character, because no matter how large the changes are, it will not change the ending that he did not drop the Lord of the Rings, and Frodo’s line itself is not a battle line, and does not have much impact. So it is not important. But after all, he is the protagonist of the Lord of the Rings series. The adaptation of the movie does have a certain influence, and many lines and plots that reflect his quality in the original work have been deleted. Some adaptations may be due to length and age considerations, because Frodo is already fifty years old in the original book (the Hobbit is 33 years old), but some are simply discrediting, for example, he drove Sam away.
Perhaps the screenwriter is well-intentioned and wants to show how far-reaching the influence of the Lord of the Rings is, hoping that the audience can have a higher empathy ability. But at present, it seems that what has been exchanged is just a sentence of "waste" from the audience. Only watching the movie can really appreciate how hard he is. There are very few audiences. For example, many people may only remember Sam's "I can carry you" after watching a movie, and will not pay attention or understand that Frodo can't stand up at this time, and he can't open his eyes and is still crawling with his hands.
All in all, Tolkien himself said:
Frodo deserved all honour because he spent every drop of his power of will and body, and that was just sufficient to bring him to the destined point, and no further. Few others, possibly no others of his time, would have got so far.
——JRR Tolkien, Letter 192; The Letters of JRR Tolkien
"Frodo can afford any praise, because he has exhausted every drop of his will and physique, and that is just enough to get him to the key point of his destiny, and he can't go further. There are not many of his contemporaries. -Probably no one at all-can do this level." (Translator: Song in the Stone)
In any case, I love Frodo in the movie and in the original book. The presentation is different, but I tried my best. As the Lord of the Rings is an excellent series of movies, the adaptation made by its screenwriting team must have its own reasons, but the individual will be a little bit unreasonable.
View more about The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King reviews
