Yeah, pretty much. One could say that Frodo was completely incapable of resisting the Ring and it was ultimately sparing Gollum's life that caused the Ring to be destroyed. But I think to those who didn't read the books (and maybe even people who did?), Gollum falling into the lava via basically tripping over his own feet would be kind of a let down. I know it was for me -- I remember back when I was in middle school reading to that part and going, "Really?" That, and the movie version really does work better with the strange, sad relationship Frodo and Gollum have in TTT and ROTK -- especially with this line of Frodo's in Shelob's Lair:
FRODO: I have to destroy it, Smeagol...for both our sakes.
TL;DR, I kind of have mixed feelings about the book scene. On the one hand, yes, relevant moral message, but on the other hand, Frodo and Gollum basically fighting to the death over the Ring...much more cinematic. And Frodo being saved once again from falling by Sam is definitely more powerful than the book version (which already wasn't bad -- well, other than Gollum falling in the lava, which was kind of disappointing) considering it was ultimately Sam's heart that saved them both. As Frodo put it in TTT, "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam." In terms of moral complexity/detail/characterization Tolkien succeeds, but in terms of emotional content and heart...I think the movies definitely best Tolkien in that department, IMHO.
But I might be biased because I totally ship Aragorn/Eowyn. Tolkein wrote it that way first and then threw Arwen in later because he wanted Aragorn to have someone more feminine.
Yeah, I'll freely admit that kind of bugs me. That, and in a way Tolkien had a bit of a crush on Eowyn, so he kind of had her end up with Faramir (who he freely admitted was his author insert. :) instead. That and he doubted that Eowyn could really be happy with Aragorn. I'll admit I didn't ship Aragorn/Eowyn at first (I mostly saw them as good friends, really, and I think they work better as friends), but I'm warming up to the ship -- at least a little.
I didn't *hate* movie!Denethor per se, but considering all the good stuff in the LOTR movies was amazingly good, it was kind of a letdown, really.
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FRODO: I have to destroy it, Smeagol...for both our sakes.
TL;DR, I kind of have mixed feelings about the book scene. On the one hand, yes, relevant moral message, but on the other hand, Frodo and Gollum basically fighting to the death over the Ring...much more cinematic. And Frodo being saved once again from falling by Sam is definitely more powerful than the book version (which already wasn't bad -- well, other than Gollum falling in the lava, which was kind of disappointing) considering it was ultimately Sam's heart that saved them both. As Frodo put it in TTT, "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam." In terms of moral complexity/detail/characterization Tolkien succeeds, but in terms of emotional content and heart...I think the movies definitely best Tolkien in that department, IMHO.
But I might be biased because I totally ship Aragorn/Eowyn. Tolkein wrote it that way first and then threw Arwen in later because he wanted Aragorn to have someone more feminine.
Yeah, I'll freely admit that kind of bugs me. That, and in a way Tolkien had a bit of a crush on Eowyn, so he kind of had her end up with Faramir (who he freely admitted was his author insert. :) instead. That and he doubted that Eowyn could really be happy with Aragorn. I'll admit I didn't ship Aragorn/Eowyn at first (I mostly saw them as good friends, really, and I think they work better as friends), but I'm warming up to the ship -- at least a little.
I didn't *hate* movie!Denethor per se, but considering all the good stuff in the LOTR movies was amazingly good, it was kind of a letdown, really.