I suppose that it was only a matter of time until I finally checked out one of the biggest films of all time. While this may not be as big as Star Wars or Godzilla, many would say that it could match up with Terminator and The Mummy. Just about everyone as seen this film and just about everyone seems to like it a lot. It’s one of those films that you really can’t get away with disliking…unless you’re everyone’s boldest reviewer…DReager1!.
Of course, it doesn’t get much worse than disliking something just to dislike it. Disliking something because it’s immensely popular is also pretty sad. That being said, the film had a lot of potential in it, but it just ended up dropping the ball on all accounts. I think a remake with today’s effects and camera angles could have been a lot better. Well, let’s see how the film turned out!
The plot involves a powerful villain by the name of Sauron who is quickly defeated when someone deals a glancing blow to his hand and gets rid of his ring. His material form is destroyed and the world is saved. Unfortunately, the humans lack strength of character like Bilbo and they make sure that the ring survives to see another day! In the current days, Bilbo gives Frodo the ring and dooms him to a life of fear since everyone wants the ring. Frodo quickly heads out with a band of adventurers to destroy the ring and save the city world in the process.
Sounds cool in theory right? Well, the first problem is the fact that the movie is just too long. It’s nearly 3 hours and that’s usually not a bad thing, but it is in this case. The movie feels really dragged out and they could have taken out a full hour or two and saved us with the pacing. Other movies can handle the stress of being long like Man of Steel or the first 180 Yugioh GX episodes, but others just don’t need the length. I was supremely drowsy by the end of the film and I probably couldn’t have run a marathon by that point.
One thing that is a big negative for the film is the “graphics” or special effects in the film. This came out after the year 2000, but I’ve seen better effects in the old Godzilla films or Star Wars. Even the Star Trek TV show looked a lot better. The problem is that the film takes place in an area that feels ancient and it helps the movie to feel ancient. The main characters walk barefoot as if this is a medieval film and it certainly didn’t help matters. I’ve never been a fan of films that felt old and it’s why I always love future movies since they attempt to be the complete opposite of these.
The soundtrack is really good so I’ll give the film props on that. The opera themes can be pretty intense and you just can’t forget the themes. Well, you may forget the specifics, but the actual opera part is pretty cool. I hope that the future films can keep the music score cool since it was one of the few big positives for the film. It’s definitely an above average film score.
I can’t really say that the characters are a positive. Frodo is pretty weak and unlikable. Bilbo is an awful character who has one of the weakest minds that you’ll run into. The rest of Frodo’s friends are also decently weak minded and even Gandalf could barely control himself. It really makes you wince since these guys are definitely no Tai or Takuya. The Ring may have some control over the mind, but any decent warrior should be able to block its effects. Then again, these guys may not be true warriors.
I know that Gandalf is a fan favorite character, but I definitely can’t get around to liking him. He got completely clobbered by Saruman and he could only hope to create a tie against Balrog. Balrog was a likable character, so there’s always that. He was a monster that you could root for and he never goes down without a fight. Taking down Gandalf was definitely cool and I hope that he gets to appear again someday.
Unfortunately, this film also uses a lot of plot hax to aid it. This is pretty unavoidable when you have humans fighting supernatural beings so it’s to be expected, but it’s something that the writers should have thought of. I don’t really think that Strider can take on 5-6 Wraiths. I mean, we can always count on the possibility that they’re truly that weak, but then why are they so feared. If Gandalf is half as tough as he acts, then one magic spell should finish them off. They are not yet dead or alive, so they don’t even have much in the way of speed.
The fight scenes also aren’t that fun because they’re some of the most down to earth ones that you will find. It’s very gritty and like what you will see in generic war films or in Narnia. Swords clash and that’s about it. They will destroy the villains and the villains will destroy the heroes. There just isn’t any time for flashy maneuvers or dramatic battles. The fight scenes were just pretty bad and not really my style. Still, having fight scenes like this is better than not having any at all…although that is definitely debatable.
The film does have a cliff hanger to lead into the next film and I’m hoping that it improves upon this one. That being said, I can’t say that my hopes are really high since the new Hobbit films have some of the worst effects that I’ve seen in ages and they’re extremely new. Still, the next film may have more fights or something and that could help. Sauron’s also going to need a pretty big comeback if he is to be taken seriously in the future films as well. Having an ordinary human defeat him is the ultimate way to ruin a villain’s reputation.
The Lord of the Rings may be another true classic to bite the dust, but it isn’t the first time that it has happened. The Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic, James Bond, Some of the Star Trek films, and many others have not been that good as well. Live Action films typically do not hold up well, so the older that they are, the more chance that they will not succeed.
Overall, Lord of the Rings is definitely not as good as the hype would have you believe, but it’s almost all right. It had potential to be fun, but everything was just against it. The pieces were assembled correctly, but you can only get so far without good effects, characters, or fight scenes. It’s still a step up from the Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond films, but that’s not saying much I’m afraid. I don’t really recommend the film unless you’re already a fan. If you want a real adventure, then go watch the cutscenes for the Legend of Zelda CDI games on Youtube.
Overall 3/10
Sorry folks, no stats this time!
Terminator is a pretty solid movie franchise and it should be noted that the Terminators are still some of the greatest film antagonists out there. That being said, could the video game really match up to the films? In theory, it should be easy to make an incredibly awesome game based off of the films, but not everything is as good as it should be. I guess you’re about to find out!
The game’s plot is pretty simple. The resistance has been fighting the Terminators for a very long time and both sides are weakened. The planet is running out of resources which has heavily affected both sides. We decide that it’s time to finish things once and for all and quickly head to the main base to finish things. Unfortunately, the master A.I. has the same thought and begins his final plan. Things quickly heat up as we’re met with drama, betrayal, and epicness!
Now, there are only 10 levels in the game which can be a cause for panic. That’s not usually a very filling amount of time and you may figure that the game won’t last for long right? Well, the levels are decently long and while they’re not as long as Shattered Dimensions or something like that, they’re all right. It is still a negative since the game can definitely be beaten quickly. Luckily, the rest of the game is still good enough to warrant a purchase. 10 levels is the bare minimum of what I would consider legitimate and not an unfinished game, but it is still cutting the whole thing a little too close for comfort.
There are only two big negatives that I would really care to mention and they are pretty unique. One is the fact that the camera can be supremely annoying. It will shift at the worst times and sometimes moving from one door to another can be pretty time consuming. There’s just no stopping the camera and it seems to have a mind of its own! It doesn’t go around switching the opponent that you’re locked on too by itself like Armored Core 2, but it definitely moves around way too much. That can definitely get a little tedious during big boss fights where a slip up can mean instant death via infinite (and unavoidable) grenade attacks.
The other negative would be the poor lighting. If you play the game with a high setting for brightness, then you’ll be okay. Otherwise, it can get really hard to tell what is happening and you could get lost since the map is not helpful at all. This isn’t the first game to suffer from lighting problems and Indiana Jones is the main one that comes to mind. I’ve only come across this on the PS2, but I personally just blame it on the games. The PS2 is too awesome to be at fault.
The actual gameplay is still really great and it should be the main selling point for you. It’s basically a 3D Shooting game that plays our like Freedom Fighter, but with much cooler opponents. You’ll quickly get spoiled on the rockets, but the laser blasters are fun as well. After the last few games that I’ve played, it was fun to have such intense action. This is definitely my kind of gameplay and it essentially guaranteed that the game would at least get a 7/10 rating. This gameplay is not found in a whole lot of games and I’m always happy to run into one of them. The boss fight in level 7 was extremely intense and did a good job of making you feel the danger and suspense.
The Soundtrack is easily 5 stars and it was a lot better than I ever could have imagined. Nearly every theme used is fast paced rock music and it really puts you into the game. I doubt that I would have enjoyed the game quite so much if the soundtrack was not present. I dare say that it’s one of the best soundtracks for an American game. I definitely won’t be forgetting the themes anytime soon!
You play as different characters as you go through the levels. We’ve got the main character who is equipped with a good ole gun and some other standard weapons. We’ve got the Captain, who comes with all of that plus a rocket launcher. Finally, we’ve also got the lady who is likely the sub commander and she has the same weapons as the main character. For the final level, you get a cool ray weapon which does massive damage to the enemies. It’s pretty fun, but you won’t have much of a chance to really use it. I would go more into the characters and say how cool they are like with most reviews, but this just isn’t one of those. It’s like the Prince Caspian game. If a game is totally based off of a movie then it may not need character bios, but there can be exceptions. On the other hand, if a game is as short as this one and the characters don’t really get much character….then I won’t really talk about it either. The only names that you’ll walk away remembering are Reese and John Connor. Needless to say, they were decent characters at best.
I nearly forgot to mention that there is also a level up system. You can upgrade health, ammo, etc. Upon beating the game, I’m not even close to upgrading everything. It would probably take quite a few playthroughs for that so I have to wonder what the actual point of it is. I just don’t think that it was really balanced enough. Sometimes, you can go a whole level without getting any upgrade points. Perhaps you get more if you play on the higher difficulty levels, which would make sense. Still, it was an interesting thing to add and I definitely went for upping my health. That never hurts after all!
Overall, this was a great game! It may look like a cash in at first and maybe it could be called that. Still, once you start playing it, you will realize how much fun it can be. It just doesn’t get much better than this and it has only helped me to become an even bigger Terminator fan. The ending is pretty great (Although, not fighting in the past as the final boss was a missed opportunity) and while you will be expecting it, it doesn’t take away from the coolness factor. I know that there is another Terminator game for the PS3 and I plan on getting it soon, but it’s going to be tough to match up against this one. This is definitely one of my shortest reviews in a while, but there’s really not much more to say about this game. I highly recommend it and you should enjoy the game as long as you like shooters. There isn’t really any replay value though and if you don’t like shooters, then you don’t really have a reason to play this one. Still, how can you go wrong with such a low price? (Got it from Best Buy for 5!)
Overall 7/10
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