I’ve never cared for the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy. And no, it’s never been due to Tolkien purism; until this past October, I’ve never tackled the original novel. Though reading through the novel (I own a single-volume paperback edition, and I’ve over halfway through) has made me like the Jackson films even less. What saves the movies are the casting, production values, and score; it certainly isn’t the direction or script, which has little of the subtlety, poetry, and wit of Tolkien’s writing.