I enjoyed the Potter films that I've seen, they're great escapist kids movies, but the LOTR trilogy is a cinematic masterpiece.
I don't think it's an insult to compare Rowling to Tolkien, she's clearly influenced by him and has an ever growing audience not unlike the one Tolkien has. But Potter is more or less a celebration of all the fantasy cliches, it simply puts it all into a giant blender. LOTR does the same thing to an extent but it had a lot more going for it, better character development, more action, a better balance of drama and humor, etc.
I haven't actually read the LOTR books but I adore the movies and apparrently while they leave out some events and characters they're still pretty loyal. Tolkien has created an extended universe unlike anything I've ever seen besides Star Wars and Star Trek. He was obsessed with detail, providing backstories for all the races and giving them all their own unique cultural traits, taking tons of influences from old folklore but blending it into something new.
I'm not saying Rowling hasn't done the same herself, it's just that Tolkien did it better. Still, she deserves props, the Harry Potter series has gotten tons of kids into books, has helped revived the fantasy genre and a lot of kids probably got into stuff like Tolkien through her.
|