Tolkien

Rauhaisaa kerrontaa Tolkienin elämästä ajalta, jolloin hän kirjoitti tunnetuimmat teoksensa. On totta, että elokuva etenee varsin verkkaisesti, mikä saattaa suurelokuvien aikana pitkästyttää jotakuta, mutta itse nautin ystävyyttä ja tavallista rakkautta käsittelevän elokuvan ylenpalttisesta miellyttävyydestä. Kaipaisin lisää Derek Jacobin kohtauksia ja Tolkienin mielikuvituksen näkyjä ensimmäisen maailmansodan juoksuhaudoista. (13.06.2019)

An intimate and honest account of the youth of the author of the most famous novels of the century. The story is not about “The Lord of the Rings” or “The Hobbit”, it’s about Tolkien, his love, his loss, his friendships and the major experiences and encounters that gave form to his imagination, his views over the question of good and evil and his relationship to language. If you don’t expect Hollywood celebratory chorals and grandiose artificial sequences, you’ll get a deeply felt and realistic portrayal of a commonly uncommon man that in a likeable manner represents the first figments of his famous works, the familiarity with which the creators expect in advance. Some of the emptier scenes made me realise that I would also like to see this biopic in those grandiose Hollywood hands, but I’m convinced Tolkien himself wouldn’t be offended by it. Nicholas Hoult is precise and Thomas Newman is fully charming again. (24.09.2019)

A biographical film with classic editing, but I didn't mind. However, I have to complain about the portrayal of Tolkien's friends, who were important to the story, but all they way to the end they were more or less interchangeable. A pity. Nicholas Hoult is still sympathetic, though, and so is Lily Collins (and beautiful). I also liked how the screenwriters smuggled various Tolkien inspirations into the plot and how the director used shots here and there that recalled Peter Jackson's films. (30.12.2020)

There should be one more film to bring Tolkien's biography to its conclusion. These are just the younger years and a reminder of the fact that even "The Lord of the Rings" is just a response to the horrors of the Great War. Like anything written by the Lost Generation, including A. A. Milne. And of course, before the war, everyone, without distinction, went on dates by taking their sweethearts to Wagner operas ;) (01.02.2020)

If you see Tolkien as the architect of all the fantasy worlds you love so much, then you will think that this film is exactly for you. This is what I thought, at least. That’s why I was looking forward so much to this film. But what did I get? In my opinion, the most boring biographical film I have seen in a very long time. A total disappointment. The acting performances are good, Nicholas Hoult as the young Tolkien is alright, and Dome Karukoski is not a bad choice for this type of story either, as he has some experience under his belt. The problem, however, lies in the script. There are some interesting moments throwing some light on author’s books, but the result is incredibly boring. The story takes place during Tolkien’s studies. He met friends who influenced his fate. In the beginning, their club seems like the gathering of young elite of that time. It didn’t sit well with me. Over the time, the story began to focus on WWI and the battlefield shots didn’t look bad, but I didn’t want to watch a war movie but a biopic, so it didn’t sit well with me either. Tolkien didn’t deserve this, and it’s no wonder that his family washed their hands of this film. (08.01.2020)