What actor was least like their character from the book?

[Legolas_BowKing]

What actor was least like there character from the book?

To me i think it was Elrond. He just didnt seem to have the power and wisdom like he did in the book.

[afro-elf]

Yeah, I can see what you mean by Elrond.

However, for me it was Gandalf.

He seemed like a disshevelled, drunk, pedophile. He seemed to lack any wisdom or the diginity of an Istari. Did you see the way Elrond and Saruman dissed him as if he were nothing but an addled minded simpleton.

He seemed weak and unsure of himself. I only hope that it is to contrast him with Gandalf the White.

[athelas]

Definitely Arwen with her Xena elf thing. But we would have to watch the next 2 movies to find out if she really differs that much.;)

Elrond had that "Agent Smith" feel. I dunno why, but I just couldn't shake it off while watching him.

[Rána Eressëa]

Damn. I though Gandalf was one that they paid most attention to when making him like his character. Of course, ones from the "evil side" dissed him. They need to make themselves feel better somehow. Don't ya know that's how bullies work? :) And don't mistake his silences for weaknesses -- that's never a good thing to do. I'm a smart, wise person, but I shut my mouth up most of the time. I feel like someone's steretyping me when they say stuff like that.

As for Elrond, yeah, he was "kind of" different. He expressed a little too much resentment for humans than the Elrond from the book. Other than that, he too still came off wise and knowing.

I think they royally screwed Arwen. But, then again, I have to admit I liked the change :)

[afro-elf]

Damn. I though Gandalf was one that they paid most attention to when making him like his character. Of course, ones from the "evil side" dissed him. They need to make themselves feel better somehow. Don't ya know that's how bullies work? And don't mistake his silences for weaknesses -- that's never a good thing to do. I'm a smart, wise person, but I shut my mouth up most of the time. I feel like someone's steretyping me when they say stuff like that.

Rogue Elf PLEASE don't think what follows is a flame in anyway. I just know from experience that the written word can be construed in a manner that was not intended due to lack of vocal signals. And after I wrote the follow I thought it could have sounded rougher than I intended.


Elrond isn't evil and he seemed to speak down to Gandalf as if he were an insignificant ninny.

I never mentioned anything about him being silent.
I said weak and unsure so your stated is non sequitor.

Gandalf is an Istari. Not a inebriated seeming, paranoid,
undignified weeping willow.

Gandalf was a being of bearing, dignity, strength. He exuded these qualites. Gandalf in the movie was NONE of these things.[

[Hapira_Brandybuck]

while Gandalf did seem a little unsure, I think it worked pretty well because at first, he didn't understand much about the ring but as the movie went on, it seemed to me that he got an idea of what to do

I dunno, it's hard for me to explain but I disagree with it being gandalf

I think it was probably.... Boromir I expected him to be a little more... what's the word? defiant in a selfish sort of way I also imagined him blonde, but that's because when I read, I don't pay a lot of attention to physical descriptions of people unless there's a certain feature mentioned through the whole thing or if the person is said to be similar to a celebrity

[Rána Eressëa]

Originally posted by afro-elf

I never mentioned anything about him being silent.
I said weak and unsure so your stated is non sequitor.


Uh, actually, I was just stating "if" you thought his silences were weaknesses. That's all. I never said that you mentioned he was silent :) It's just you come off as if Gandalf was potrayed in a horrible manner and so far most people said he kept too quiet and never "fough back" persay and that's was made his character so different. I was just putting it in the context as what most people were thinking.

And as for pedophile...I'm not sure where you got that from...

[FrodoFriend]

Yeah, were does the pedophile thing come in? I thought Gandalf was good, except the "Is it secret? Is it safe?" scene, which was a little too . . . disturbed(?) seeming.

Arwen was the most different, but I liked her.

I think Gimli and Merry were the ones who got screwed over. Gimli came across as kind of stupid and incompetent, not at all sturdy and steadfast like he's supposed to be - randomly yelling at Legolas? Being pulled up by his beard? Getting caught off guard by Haldir? Not cool. And Merry just didn't get much to say, which upset me because he's one of my favorite characters. :(

[Renille]

I think Arwen was mutated into a totally different person. I don't know if I liked it or not. Hmm...
Farmer Maggot! They made him a big bad guy with a scythe instead of the wise but crusty old hobbit he really was.
For those who don't care about Farmer Maggot...
Gimli was changed for the worst. He reminded me of a shruken "Barbarian" from the 1965 movie "The Fall of the Roman Empire." Except they had blond hair. (don't ask...I'm watching it in Latin...)

[Wayfarer]

I would have to say that the most changed character was... elves.

Elves were completely different in the movie.

Arwen... was completely wrong in more than half her scenes. The 'love scene' was ok... but the dialogue felt wrong.

Elrond... sucked.

Galadriel... had way too much of a sinister feel.

aside from that... gimli was ok for the most part, gruff but still reliable. And elves did make fun of dwarves beards... The lothlorien scene was dumb though.

Gandalf... was somewhat bad. He wasn't as great and powerful as he should have been... but not as bad as he could have been.


ermm... go not to the Wayfarer with a question, for he will give you a half a dozen different replies.

[luinilwen]

my two cents:

i think boromir was wrong. in the book, he comes accross as arrogant in a proud sort of way, although in the movie he seemed ignorant and basically just a jerk.

i hated the whole arwen warrior elven-princess thing, personally. she's (tyler) credited for all three movies, which is funny considering she's not even mentioned in TT. i think she'll replace the dunedain in ROTK and possibly fight in the battle of the pelennor fields, but how they'll squeeze her into TT i'm not too sure...

i think the movie marred the characters of merry and pippin too. it seemed like they were only there for occassional moments of comic relief - hopefully this will only be used to contrast with their knighthood in ROTK.

[Earendil]

Galadriel!!
I'm sure Cate Blanchett would've done a wonderful job without all that flashing and looking like a photo negative.

Haldir was not at all what I had in mind, I thought he's nose was too big....

And Legolas' eyebrows didn't suit his hair colour... but I won't hold that against him :)

[Starr Polish]

You stole my quote ;)

Yeah, the eyebrow thing may be distracting to some people, but it didn't bug me. I even thought his hair really was blonde until I saw a picture of Orlando Bloom at a premiere. I guess it's because my sister is a natural blonde with dark eyebrows. It'd be odd to dye your eyebrows, a la Jerod Leto.

[Earendil]

great minds think alike :p ...

yeah, i agree blond hair suits Mr. Bloom

can't wait to see more of Gollum!!! sorry.. I'm off the topic

[Starr Polish]

One of my friends said that Legolas looked like a girl. GRR!!!!!

Eh, she also fell asleep during the movie, so FEH to her...her opinion doesn't count.

[luinilwen]

great minds think alike yet fools rarely differ :D

i'm a bit of a fool (of a took) so i'll agree with you - i think cate blanchett was ideal for galadriel. i think she has this catlike beauty like a lioness... very regal, noble and powerful.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Cate Blanchett was a great Galadriel--but she would have been SO much better without that crazy special-effects stuff! They should have stuck more to the book there--and that way have included Nenya! But more to the subject, I think Arwen was probably the biggest change, and the only part that really bugged me was her line about "If you want him, come and claim him!" Which seemed incredibly corny and quite different from the effect I thought the Nazgul have on people. But some other big changes were Elrond being a little more sinister and Agent Smith-ish ("Mr. Baggins. You seem to have been leading two lives. One, as a peaceful Hobbit of the Shire, the other as the bearer of a dangerous magical ring. One of these lives has a future, the other does not."), Saruman seemed totally different, and...well, there was a lot of other stuff, which has all been mentioned, so I won't take more of your time :)

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

One more thing...
I know a lot of people who have said Legolas looked like a girl. Grrr to them!!

[luinilwen]

they only think he looks like a girl because of the long blonde hair... and the smooth skin... and his little mouth... hmmm i just had a friend over who said he looked like a girl but i think he (my friend) looks a lot like orlando bloom himself! he'd look like a girl too if he had to wear a long blonde wig!

[Agburanar]

Definately Boromir, although Sam and everyone else except Bilbo were wrong too, there was no way Sean Bean was going to play anything BUT the hero. Bad casting mistake I think.

Saruman was not good either, but I don't know if it was just a bad script, I think, for the most part, the casting would have been passable (but not good) if the script had been better.

[afro-elf]

It's just you come off as if Gandalf was potrayed in a horrible manner

I believe he was. To use the vulgar argot of the chronically challeneged he came off as a wuss.

I find it hard to reconcile the noble, wise, diginified, discerning, ISTARI in the book, with the the feeble being in the movie.

All I ask is next time anyone reads the books to carefully study Gandalf and will the chasm of discerpency will be obvious.

And as for pedophile...I'm not sure where you got that from

Its a classic stereotype: disshevelled, drunk, homeless, pedophile.

Are you familiar with Jethro Tull? Their biggest hit was about this kind of person. The song is called Aqualung. I think that Ian's portrayal of Gandalf was more along the lines of this.


I thought Gandalf was good, except the "Is it secret? Is it safe?" scene, which was a little too . . . disturbed(?) seeming.

For me he seemed that way through the entire movie.

Saruman was a pathetic parody of of every cheese ball evil wizard.

while Gandalf did seem a little unsure, I think it worked pretty well because at first, he didn't understand much about the ring but as the movie went on, it seemed to me that he got an idea of what to do

Unsure of oneself and uncertain over a topic are not the same.
Gandalf was uncertain about the ring. In the books he was not an unsure being .

way I also imagined him blonde, but that's because when I read, I don't pay a lot of attention to physical descriptions of people unless there's a certain feature mentioned through the whole thing or if the person is said to be similar to a celebrity

The movie was wrong here also. . Aragorn and Boromir, are GRAY eyed and with BLACK hair.


i think boromir was wrong. in the book, he comes accross as arrogant in a proud sort of way, although in the movie he seemed ignorant and basically just a jerk.

I agree with the first part of Boromir being arrogant. But he seemed to be a muscle bound jock to me. In the movie his concern for his people was more pronounced.

He was the ONLY character that I liked in the movie better than the book.

Legolas was fine. His otherworldliness worked well.

Aragorn was fine also.

Gimli I've mixed feelings over. If you read the book carefully he is sort of the fall guy. The lesser intellectual flame of The 3 Hunters.
He acted fast and thought later. I really feel that he was short changed :) (pun intended) in the books and the movie.

Liv as Arwen was not so great. She was better than I hoped. BUT she is a rather homely. And her BS PC FEM revisionism only lessens the light of Eowyn.

Agent smith as Elrond. COME ON. He has the blood of The Edain, Eldar and Maia in his veins. NOT Orc.

the casting would have been passable (but not good) if the script had been better.

Here I concur. I feel the script was dumbed down to the lowest common denomanator. The cerebral majesty of Tolkien's work was gutted to appeal to a mass of teeny poppers, fantasy fan-boys ( and girls) and the general public.

It seems Hollywood feels the lesser the thought the bigger the prize. Give them flash but gut the depth.

For me it was naught but a big budget B- movie.

What if the Ridley or Tony Scott had done this movie?

Sorry if I sound bitter, but as an educator I am appalled at the overwhelming amount of acerebral fluff that gets passed of as entertainment.

But hey "bread and circuses" you know.

[jerseydevil]

afro-elf:

I couldn't agree with you more - excpet when it comes to Aragorn. He just seemed weakened. Now he's running away from his heritage??? Give me a break.

In addition I didn't like Pippin and Merry. As I've said in previous posts - I thought they both came off as immature imbecilic 30 year olds. They were just innocent in the book and Pippin was my favorite character in the books. But in the movie - I just hated him. I also think they should have been younger - definitely younger than Frodo - so then what's with the 5 o'clock shadow thing. Hobbits didn't even shave (at least I never pictured them as developing facial hair). I just think the characterization of them should have been closer to the book and they should have gotten younger actors to play them.

I also could not stand Gandalf. It started when he did those stupid facial expressions in Hobbiton and then when he hit his head on the chandelier and beam. How many times had he been to Bilbo's house???? Also he seemed to come off as a duddering old man - instead of the wise lore master that he was. Even look at the way Elrond talks to him. In Isengard when him and Saruman are walking outside - he looks like a whipped puppy following his master around looking for approval and forgiveness.

I think Elijah Wood did a good job as Frodo and Sean Astin did a a pretty good job as Sam. But did Jackson really have to throw that - "end of the world" bit in? The script had a lot to be desired.

[Liviaine]

Gimli seemed very different. I don't know how to describe it.

[Mithrandir]

I think that the actor to play Elrond was the worst. He's suppose to be the Fairest of all Elves, King of Rivendale.

Also Sam I had problems with. His physical feature was good, but it was his face when he looked annoyed that bothered me. Sam in the book would look either worried or scared, never annoyed about being with Frodo on an Adventure.

There was a scene in the Movie when Gandalf leaves Frodo and Sam, and then it shows Sam look at Frodo with this face like "well...what now". Sam would never act like that to his master Frodo.

[HOBBIT]

Bill the pony

[FrodoFriend]

Yes, he certainly didn't get the screen time he deserved. What a fantastic actor, and he didn't even get one line. Really, what is the world coming to?

[Agburanar]

Anyone else think that Dumbledore (shiver!) from the Harry Potter film was a more convincing Gandalf than Ian Mckellen?

[afro-elf]

I'd say HELL YES.

If his beard was longer I'd say that Merlin from the John Boorman Excalibur was the perfect Gandalf.

[Agburanar]

Too right. All these pointy hatted wizards are offtakes of Gandalf in some way. Were there pointy hatted wizards before him?

[afro-elf]

Actually the pointy hatted wizards are quite an ancient tradition.

I think it goes back to the ancient priest of the old religions.

[Entlover]

A lot of negative stuff here considering it's the best movie I at least have ever seen . . . or at least the most long-awaited.
Speaking of Gandalf, in the book he's not all knowing, full of power and dignity : he had to go check out the ring's history which is how Saruman snared him. And to the hobbits he was always just a weird travelling magician, who did tricks and fireworks for the kids; no way an Istari lord.
The elves are more lighthearted in the book, playing tricks, childish, laughing and singing.
My feeling has always been: I could never have made a movie this good, and I appreciate that P.J. at least made the effort - so his casting's not perfect, he didn't have access to inhabitants from Middle Earth, but had to make do with mere men to play all the hobbits, elves, etc. He did a great job considering that.

[KGamgee]

I think that the actor to play Elrond was the worst. He's suppose to be the Fairest of all Elves, King of Rivendale.

Also Sam I had problems with. His physical feature was good, but it was his face when he looked annoyed that bothered me. Sam in the book would look either worried or scared, never annoyed about being with Frodo on an Adventure.

There was a scene in the Movie when Gandalf leaves Frodo and Sam, and then it shows Sam look at Frodo with this face like "well...what now". Sam would never act like that to his master Frodo.


I have to disagree. Look at the text when they are leaving Rivendell and the first line in Book 4. Sam does get ticked off about the adventure.

[FrodoFriend]

What if the Ridley or Tony Scott had done this movie?

I love PJ for making this movie, but I gotta agree that if it had been Ridley Scott I woulda loved it more. He is one heck of a good director.

They did have to kind of dumb down the script. :( Not just for teeny-boppers, but also just because lots of people have poor vocabulary. So in a movie you often have to use small words and back them up with dramatic music and/or special effects or funky lighting or something to get the point across.

[Starr Polish]

To all those who think it was Galadriel, I think it was actually a pretty accurate portrayal, because she was 'terrible and beautiful' to Frodo until after the temptation of the ring, if my memory serves me.

I'd have to say Arwen or Elrond (he just didn't look 'not young or old')...I didn't mind Arwen's change THAT much, but I wish they had let Frodo say his line at the Ford :(

[afro-elf]

Speaking of Gandalf, in the book he's not all knowing, full of power and dignity : he had to go check out the ring's history which is how Saruman snared him. And to the hobbits he was always just a weird travelling magician, who did tricks and fireworks for the kids; no way an Istari lord.

First of all Gandalf IS an Istari.

Secondly, Hobbits are generally an ignorant folk. ( ignorant in the TRUE sense of the word. Not the vulgar sense)

Third, WHERE did anyone say that his was ALL KNOWING. Even the Valar are not all knowing.

Read the encounter of gandalf the GREY when he was captured by Saruman. Its in the Council of Elrond chapter and compare it to that feeble dimwit in the movie.

They are not even close.

[Agburanar]

But not the Galadriel/Sauron bit surely? You must have thought that was bad!

I do think a lot of the problem lay in the script and directing, as I've said a million times before it was Indiana Jones with furry feet!

John Howe is an amazing illustrator, certainly one of the best LotR illustrators ever, and the scenery (except Moria) was stunning. The fault would have lain in the casting and scripting.

[coolismo]

Gimli was way off. I thought he was going to cack his chainmail pants in Moria. It was way off. He played dwarf all the way from grumpy to happy via dopey. I expected a big hi-ho before he whacked an orc. Pathetic.
Elrond wasn't great either 'Yeww shall be known as the phhhwelloship ofthering.'
Standing there the fellowship didn't look like they could pack socks in Gap let alone get throught the Gap.

[luinilwen]

I agree with the first part of Boromir being arrogant. But he seemed to be a muscle bound jock to me. In the movie his concern for his people was more pronounced.

He was the ONLY character that I liked in the movie better than the book.
i think the movie pandered more to boromir's weaknesses, and it purports that boromir was always weak. it doesn't explain that boromir was a strong character until the yielded to the temptation of the ring. his weakness lies in his race and not in his character, IMHO.

"...by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him; as it does in his other son, Faramir, and yet it did not in Boromir whom he loved best." - Gandalf
I think that the actor to play Elrond was the worst. He's suppose to be the Fairest of all Elves, King of Rivendale.
i agree with that - hugo weaving is way too ugly to be an elf. in addition, he looks too old. the fellow that plays celeborn looks much more elvish!

and also, after watching FOTR again last night, i've decided that i think the scene of galadriel's temptation would have been much more powerful without all the effects. the wind blowing was all right but i think it would have been better with her natural voice sounding loud and tyrranous and her natural visage without all that crazy colouring on her face. the way PJ did that scene doesn't seem to convey any contextual meaning about her temptation, just utilising the special effects 'cuz he can. maybe. *shrug*

[Agburanar]

That's actually the impression I got of most of the movie. Examples:

Galadriel's power thing,
The dragon firework (I know there's one in the book but it couold have been done better)
Twilight Ringwraiths with sewn together eyes???
The collapsing staircase in Moria
Too much stone troll

Although for the Balrog, Gwaihir, Barad dur and the eye it was neccesary to have such huge effects these became less impressive because the effects were relied used too heavily and regularly.

[samwise of the shire]

i think the movie marred the characters of merry and pippin too. it seemed like they were only there for occassional moments of comic relief - hopefully this will only be used to contrast with their knighthood in ROTK.
You said occasinal moments of comic relief. This little bit is from the BOOK NOT the movie:
"What are you going to do then?"asked Pippin undaunted by the wizards bristling brows. "Knock on the doors with you're head Peregrin Took"Said Gandalf. "And if that does not shatter them I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions. I will seek for the opening words".
That sounds like comic releif to me. And what about in Isengard?Merry and Pippin IGNORE thier companions and get into a funny argument with Gimli. And what about when Sam and Gollum argue about the Rabbits and whether Sam should cook it or not and when they start that little argument about whether or not Gollum was sneaking about or not. And the Scouring of the Shire is PEPPERED with funny qoutes such as"Pippin broke rule number four by putting most of the nexts days allowence of wood on the fire". He's a knight in that little bit and still manages to add Comic Relief. They were'nt marred at all. It's the way they ARE in the book.

As for characters that were marred.....Galadriel was too creepy for my liking. Too ominious and CREEPY. In fact Lothlorien was marred too. At first when I saw Merry I thought he was gonna be marred but I think Dom inc Monaghan is a REALLY good Merry. Aragorn was too uncaring. He doesn't even let the Hobbits rest after they fled Moria. Sean Bean should have been Aragorn.
I think that Haldir sounded like he was ready to kidnap Gimli or someone from the Felowship for his OWN. Either he sounded Gay OR he was evil. The way he talked was WEIRD. And he did have a big nose huh?
Oh and as for Farmer Maggot. If Frodo the serious-about-his-mission ringbearer stole mushrooms and was beaten for it(and remeber he was raised as a Brandybuck) then you must consider that Farmer Maggot was dead serious about his vegetables and that Frodos younger happy-go-lucky-let's-go-light-off-a-firework cousins would certainly steal more then mushrooms, so I dont think they were too far out of proportion. And Maggot was a side track like Bombadil. He doesn't even show up again. Neither does Glorfindel. At least they had a character who would show up again in future books and not JUST save Frodo.
And then there's Lurtz the big orc guy. We dont know who shot Boromir and it may be possible that Boromir killed his murderer before he died. SO what the heck?
If you think about it Gandalf in the BOOK was kind of on edge too. And once again remeber he is HUMAN and DID make mistakes such as trusting Saruman. SO I think he could be forgiven those funny faces and bumbing his head on the beam in Bagend.
Oh wait I was forgetting one other person out of Wack. I am SERIOUS about this and am NOT being sarcastic.
The Hobbit that the Ringwraith asks about "Baggins". He didn't use and English English accent. He used AMERICAN English. He was supposed to be a countryfied BRITISH!!!Not AMERICAN. Augh the nerve.
No that was not sarcasm I was dead serious about it.
Sam the very serious about her last sentence

[LuthienTinuviel]

i didn't like the love scene...

"do you remeber when we first met?"

ack! gag me with a spoon!
oh well..
i like most of the movie, although Haldir DID have a huge, crooked nose, and spoke like a drag qweeen.. ya know that daunting nah nah na boo boo voice..

[jerseydevil]

I'm sorry - Gandalf came off as a bumbling idiot during half the movie and beneath Elrond in Rivendell.

Merry and Pippin both acted like imbeciles. I hated Pippin and Merry in the movie.

Also the quote you had from the Scouring of the Shire wasn't comic relief. That was Pippin showing defiance to the "rules" that Saruman and his cronies had set up. There is a big difference.

"In the rooms were little rows of hard beds, and on every wall there was a notice and a list of rules. Pippin tore them down.....Pippin broke Rule 4 by putting most of next day's allowance of wood on the fire."

[Legolas_BowKing]

Was anyone actually happy with anyone in the movie!?

[jerseydevil]

The only ones I was satisfied with were Frodo, Sam, Legolas, Boromir and Gimli. Although Gimli was dumbed down and I don't think enough of the Gimli/Legolas conflict was shown.

Legolas was probably most like his character in the book.

[afro-elf]

samwise of the shire


If you think about it Gandalf in the BOOK was kind of on edge too. And once again remeber he is HUMAN



Gandalf IS NOT human.




Sorry kid he is a Maia.

. Aragorn was too uncaring. He doesn't even let the Hobbits rest after they fled Moria.

And they would have been slaughtered by Orcs. He made the right choice.

[luinilwen]

Merry and Pippin both acted like imbeciles. I hated Pippin and Merry in the movie.
sorry, but i'm going to have to agree with jersey devil and not samwise of the shire. :(

samwise, i know in the book they are light hearted and bit foolish in the hobbit's blissfully ignorant sort of manner, although in the movie they were just plain idiots and ignorant in the bad sense of the word.

and what of their virtues? loyalty and genuine concern for frodo with the conspiray and their determination to go with him to Mordor. merry and pippin were both fully aware (or at least as aware as frodo and sam) of the perils that they faced. :)

[samwise of the shire]

Forgot about the Gandalf Maia aspect, but you do gotta admit that he DID make A mistake in trusting Saruman. That's where My reasoning came from. The fact that if he made so grave a mistake why couldn't he make smaller ones?
As for Merry and Pippin being idiots. I wouldn't call dropping a pebble down the well in Moria high intelligence. And there is comic releif all through out the book and most if it is given to the reader by Pippin. "One thing you have not found in your hunting and that's brighter wits. Here you find us sitting on the field of victory amid the plunder of armies and you wonder how we came by a few well earned comforts". If that isn't comic relief then I'm a cow.(Not really)
And Jersey I said the Scouring was PEPPERED with funny qoutes not just that quote(which I find funny) like"Calling your cheif names,wishing to punch his pimply face and thinking you Shiriffs are a lot of Tom fools". Ok Pippin didn't say that but some one more serious then Pippin DID.
Ummmm in the book Aragorn let the fellowship WEEP. He wasn't all"Humph stop those tears. Of we go again" He wasn't like that. He was too uncaring in the movie. On Weathertop when Frodo is screaming in pain it's like"Oh Hi Ill be with you in a minute"and after that he didn't let him ride Bill and take some baggage. He slung the poor hobbit over his shoulder like a tater bag.
Sam

[luinilwen]

arg i wasn't disagreeing that they weren't used for a laff in the books, just that that's ALL they were used for in the film! at least that's my perspective and my opinion. so you're not a cow :)

it's my opinion that in the movie a lot of the characters only seemed to have one or two aspects of their characters portrayed. of course it's bound to happen. as many people have said, the script and plot were sort of "dumbed down" for a broader audience, and so the characters weren't as "complicated" as tolkien had originally crafted them to be.

heh i hope some of that makes sense. :D

[samwise of the shire]

Well that's the way it is in the book. That's what happens to Strider and Sam at least. Strider isn't much in the first book. I mean you have a feeling he's important and all that but as the plot progresses his personality deepens as you read on in the books. From ranger,to lord, to KING.
Sam is at first the cute servant country bumpkin to Frodo BUT as the book goes on he becomes loyal, curageous,honest,frank,kind loving. You dont see all of that in FOTR but as you read on you think"I will never again call Sam cute country Bumpkin again". So I think that the characters will deepen in the next movie from idiotic hilariously funny idiots to more serious kinder braver and yet still kind of funny, and then in the thirs they will be kind of funny but REALLY serious and brave. I wouldn't worry
Sam

[Comic Book Guy]

Gandalf did suspect Saruman very much (read UT), but he could not prove it.

Ummmm in the book Aragorn let the fellowship WEEP. He wasn't all"Humph stop those tears. Of we go again" He wasn't like that. He was too uncaring in the movie.

In the Movie, Aragorn only told them to flee from Moria because he wanted to increase the distance from them and the orcs. "By Nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs".

On Weathertop when Frodo is screaming in pain it's like"Oh Hi Ill be with you in a minute"and after that he didn't let him ride Bill and take some baggage. He slung the poor hobbit over his shoulder like a tater bag.

Those statements by you, Samwise, are complete fantasy. When Frodo gets stabbed by the Morgul Blade Aragorn returns from his scouting and drives the Nazgul away, Frodo can now see and hear Aragorn in the wraith-world, then when he removes the ring, he starts screaming and Samwise comes to his aid. After the Weathertop scenes, it cuts to the stone trolls sequence leaving out any instance of Frodo being relieved of walking and carrieing baggage.

[luinilwen]

ack need i quote myself?

Originally posted by luinilwen
i think the movie marred the characters of merry and pippin too. it seemed like they were only there for occassional moments of comic relief - hopefully this will only be used to contrast with their knighthood in ROTK.
hope that satisfies both our arguments, samwise :p

[Sirithdal]

I thought Elrond's character was great. The actor casted for the part was perfect. I was most impressed with his interpretation.

Arwen. Perfect.
Galadriel. Perfect.
Legolas. Great.
Gimli. Perfect.
Aragorn. So-so. The actor seems too pretty and too young.
Hobbits. Okay. The feet I think were a little overdone.
Balrog. Fabulous.
Gandalf. Perfect.
Saruman. Perfect.
Elves in general: a little too large and a little too blonde, but pretty good otherwise.

So there! (nyaa nyaa)

[FrodoFriend]

Okay, just saw it for the 5th time.

Haldir is a SNOB. He looked scary too.

Celeborn seems to have some speech problems. (Nine set out from Rivendeellllllllllll . . . I greatly desire to speeeeeeeak with hiiiiim . . .)

Who are the other people at the council? The ones just sitting around staring into space?

The rest of them were mostly good except that there just wasn't enough of them. Especially Merry. Poor Merry! Gimli got made fun of a little too much.

Elrond gets better and better every time I see the movie! I know he's not supposed to be funny, but I laugh at practically every thing he does. Weird.

[Sakata]

I think the worst was Bombadil considering he was non-exsistant, you cant get a worse representation than that, Wait, I take that back you can get worse -Liv Tyler proved that :rolleyes:

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

My thoughts on Elrond:
I think Hugo Weaving did a fine job, he just reminded me way too much of Agent Smith, and he did look a bit sinister. And I, too, laugh when I see him. But that's because I keep expecting him to start being even more sinister and saying some sort of Matrix-y thing. Oh well.
And about Liv Tyler...I thought she was okay, but did not look at all like my mental image of Arwen. And that one line at the ford...Oh, why did they not let Frodo say his piece there! It would have been quite a bit better. I like what he says in the book, and having him passed out with Arwen defiantly crying, "IF you want him, come and claim him!" just didn't fit.

[afro-elf]

but you do gotta admit that he DID make A mistake in trusting Saruman. That's where My reasoning came from. The fact that if he made so grave a mistake why couldn't he make smaller ones?


My post had nothing to do about him being infalliable. You can have power and wisdom and still err.

[Wayfarer]

Err...

Case in point. ]: )

[afro-elf]

I take in a deep breath of air, pondering should I air my err, ere I take an heir.

[Laurelyn]

Originally posted by afro-elf
I take in a deep breath of air, pondering should I air my err, ere I take an heir.
Say WHAT?????!!!!!
I think the character they screwed up the most was Galadriel. Cate Blanchette(sp?) did a good job, but they messed her up with the whole special-effects thing.
Arwen was also messed around with. "If you want him, come and claim him!" Ugh, I hate that line. I liked Frodo's line at the Ford so much better.
I hated the romance scene between Aragorn and Arwen. That was pure Hollywood, unnessecary, and pathetic.

[Agburanar]

Love scenes in elvish with translations!????
If it had been any other film I'd have been laughing hysterically. Doing that to Tolkien was just unforgiveable.

[afro-elf]

Say WHAT?????!!!!!

That was for Wayfarer. But it was simply homophone flatulence.

[Comic Book Guy]

Not a lot of people know Elvish Agburnar, hence the Subtitles.

[KGamgee]

I loved Ganalf in the movie.
I didn't like Aragorn....he sort of seemed like a jerk.
I loved the hobbits
I liked Gimli and Legolas
I liked Frodo better in the movie in the book.......so far.
~KGamgee~

[Starr Polish]

I also like Frodo better in the movie than in the book..so far. We'll see.

For some reason, Frodo seems kind of lazy in the first book...but, I'm not done with the trilogy yet.

[Wayfarer]

maybe that's because frodo WAS lazy in the first book. ;)

He was fat, and flabby, and he got winded more easily than any of the other hobbits (well... save sam, with his overstuffed pack)

But then again, by the end of the third book he didn't have much more meat on his bones than gollum did... and we can't expect them to put a 'hottie' like eliojah through that, can we?

[Starr Polish]

I hope I like Frodo better by the time I'm done with all three books...darn library only has the hobbit, someone else has the other LOTR books. I could have gotten TTT at the Half Price Book Store, but I want a set that matches :D

So far, Sam is my favorite character.

[FrodoFriend]

I don't think Frodo was that lazy . . . not more than any other Hobbit, at least. He was a bit wimpy (even more so in the movie than the book), and more mischievous, and even a little rude at times. But the point is, of course, his transformation throughout the book. And ultimately, he's just cute! :D

[Agburanar]

But not as 'cutey' as Elijah Wood, that was wrong, and Sam was wrong, there's no way he was ever a gardener, and Merry and Pippin were wrong (what were those accents?). The only hobbit I really liked was Bilbo (Ian Hope), and he had grey hair...

[Laurelyn]

Originally posted by Agburanar
Love scenes in elvish with translations!????
If it had been any other film I'd have been laughing hysterically. Doing that to Tolkien was just unforgiveable.
Well put.

Frodo wasn't lazy! I have no idea where you got that impresion, he was not lazy!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Legolas_BowKing]

Does any one think that the real Frodo would look anything like Elijah. I would expect hobbits to be a little bit more ugly.

[Agburanar]

Thanks. Frodo was 'out of condition', but the pure fact that he decided to walk to Buckland when he could have gone by cart shows he was not lazy.

[Comic Book Guy]

and Sam was wrong, there's no way he was ever a gardener

Would you please describe to me what a gardener should look like? Also, Agburanar and Laurylen, could you please explain your dislike of the Elven-speaking scenes?

[FrodoFriend]

Yeah, no kidding! Sam was perfect!

Does any one think that the real Frodo would look anything like Elijah. I would expect hobbits to be a little bit more ugly.

Excuse me?! Ugly?! Why would they be ugly? I'm sure some of them are, but some humans are ugly, and some aren't. Seems to me it would be the same with Hobbits.

And yes, I do think the real Frodo would look a lot like Elijah. I was stunned when I first saw the picture of him because it was so close to what I had imagined.

[Sirithdal]

I'm with you, Comic person. Sam (in the movie) has that obsequious, peasant thing going, so it's not hard for me to imagine that he's a gardener in the employ of the wealthy Bagginses.

I loved the elvish-speak scenes. The music playing, the softening filters, Tyler's beautiful face. I mean, how doesn't this work?

[Agburanar]

The elvish was waaaay too corny, when they couldn't find a phrase in Sindarin or Quenyan they used English!!!!

I just didn't like Sam, he looked too thick:confused:

[FrodoFriend]

I liked the Elvish. It's not like I care about Liv Tyler either way, but the language sounded beautiful when she spoke it. And the languages were the heart of Tolkien's work, and its beginning, so I'm glad they put some of it in.

[Araethirion]

Originally posted by Wayfarer
I would have to say that the most changed character was... elves.

Elves were completely different in the movie.

Arwen... was completely wrong in more than half her scenes. The 'love scene' was ok... but the dialogue felt wrong.

Elrond... sucked.

Galadriel... had way too much of a sinister feel.

aside from that... gimli was ok for the most part, gruff but still reliable. And elves did make fun of dwarves beards... The lothlorien scene was dumb though.

Gandalf... was somewhat bad. He wasn't as great and powerful as he should have been... but not as bad as he could have been.


Agreed

[Sirithdal]

Couldn't possibly disagree with you (Wayfarer and Araethirion) more:


Elrond... sucked. ....
For me he was one of the best in the movie; a great Elven lord is portrayed. The battle scene reveals a tremendous actor, which he all but steals.



Galadriel... had way too much of a sinister feel. ....

Galadriel has much to be suspicious about at the time. She is an elfish queen: very powerful, very ancient.



aside from that... gimli was ok for the most part, gruff but still reliable. And elves did make fun of dwarves beards... The lothlorien scene was dumb though. ....

I really really liked all that they did with Lothlorien; I only wish they could have done more.



Gandalf... was somewhat bad. He wasn't as great and powerful as he should have been... but not as bad as he could have been. ....

Gandalf's greatness is in his humanity. He doesn't need to be cold and commanding and all-knowing like some god. Fact is he isn't but a wizard who is overmatched by his enemies.

[luinilwen]

lol i hate it when people copy or quote an entire message and write "agreed" or "me too" or "i disagree"

Araethirion and Sirithdal, it will probably be more interesting to other mooters and to the guests who view these boards if you state WHY you agree or disagree!

:) :) :)

[Agburanar]

I agree that the language and words are important, but that didn't come across in the film. They were just ther, for no reason.

[GreySeason]

i personally felt the love seen with english subtitles was great. the elven sounded beautiful. i thought Liv Tyler was a great choice for Arwen. i think they changed the story too much with her. but she made a gorgeous elf. i think they screwed Elrond over the most in the book. he wasnt as nobel or wise as i thougth he would be. even though i like the actor that played him immensley. Frodo wasn't lazy, he just had more of a burden to bear. if you looked at the difference in pack sizes when Gandalf 1st sent them off you would have nticed that too. Gandalf knew Frodo would have to bear the burden of the Ring, so he sends Samwise along to help. makes perfect sense.

[Comic Book Guy]

Seeing as Elvish is practically Aragorns (he was raised by Elves) and Arwens mothertongues, it would make sense to speak it.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

I was just happy listening to them speak elvish! But I didn't like that they would occasionally start speaking english, because it didn't seem right.
I thought Liv Tyler was good as Arwen, although she did not look at all like I imagained Arwen. Am I repeating myself? I might have said that before....but I'm too lazy to check.

[Agburanar]

Let's make this clear.

If they hadn't thrown in the odd english phrase and had made the actual dialogue seem more elvish (instead of "do you remember when we first met?") I wouldn't have been bothered by it.

[jerseydevil]

I felt the need to put my two cents in on the "was Frodo lazy" debate.

First I don't feel Frodo was lazy - in the book or the movie. He did come from a privileged lifestyle. He lived with an uncle that had more money than the whole shire combined, not to mention they had a gardner - so they didn't have to do physical labor.

Merry and Pippin were younger and still played around - so they were in shape, Sam worked and was a laborer - so he was in shape. The most exercise Frodo got was walking with Bilbo through Hobbiton. It doesn't mean he was lazy - he just didn't get the exercise everyont else got.

It's also never mentioned that Sam was a gardner in the movie let alone that he worked for Frodo. He may have been trimming the shrubs outside Frodo's window - but there is no indication that that was his job. Everyone I talked to that had not read the books - thought they were just friends.

[Asilynn]

I agree about Galadriel seeming too sinister....I really liked the movie, except where the creators departed into some kind of total 'fantasy cliche' like the photogenic effect on Galadriel, and also the part where Gandalf and Saruman are flipping each about the room with their "magic" staffs. Very bad taste.

I was least satisfied with the whole part about Lothlorien...I had always seen it as brighter, more glittery in a less creepy sort of way....oh well, can't please everyone.

I thought the best done characters were Bilbo (I was soo pscyched when he did that Gollum thing...brr), and ARAGORN! Wow, Viggo Mortensen totally nailed that one....exactly as I'd imagined him to be...and more. Wow.

I was generally satisfied with most of the other characters, though I really didn't like Sam until towards the end. He's my favorite hobbit in the book, so I hope he comes off well in the other too movies

Pippin was different (came off as a total klutz, but still funny).

Asilynn of Lindon

[Evenstar]

I actually thought that Merry was a little different in the movie than he was in the book!! I can't exactly remember why!!! I agree that Galadriel was sinister...in the book she was portrayed as a beautiful graceful queen of elves...but in the movie she litterally scared the beepers outta me!!!

I TOTALLY DISAGREE with anyone who says that Frodo was lazy and Sam was stupid!!! I loved Sam...as I have said in many other threads...and I loved the friendship that Sam and Frodo have...the dedication and loyalty!!! :)

[Asilynn]

I actually thought Elijah Wood wasn't the best choice for Frodo...I'd always seen him as older.

Asilynn of Lindon

[Evenstar]

Originally posted by Asilynn
I actually thought Elijah Wood wasn't the best choice for Frodo...I'd always seen him as older.

Asilynn of Lindon

Yeah...the age thing was a little strange!!! Seeing as though Frodo was like 50 in the book, I got a little confused!! But that happens often so...:D

[Asilynn]

I think it was simply because with the film, they didn't really account for the passage of time between the Farewell Party, and Frodo's flight.

Asilynn of Lindon

[Asilynn]

I personally think any flaws in the portrayal of Aragorn's character were flaws in the script, not flaws in the acting.....just thought I would mention that.

Asilynn of Lindon

[markedel]

I'd say that anything to do with the Council of Elrond was flawed

Aragorn's character was badly written-he's not the King we know and love (and no he doesn't change into one, it's just concealed)

The hobbit were a little thin-but we don't see them much until later

Gandalf is being treated harshly, I think its an interpertation of Gandalf's character (i.e in Shire he acts harmless, its part of his greatness, not his weakness, he doesn't want people to know he's Manwe's emissary to Middle Earth)

Arwen wasn't bad, just pointless (but I'm waiting for the jello wrestling- 3-1 odds for Eowyn I place 20 silver pennies!)

Gimli and Legolas were underutilized, but hey they took out all the poetry which sucked and I'm not complaining!

I'm am after all saving my hope for the crucial conclusion

:D

[Bregalad]

To me, the character least like the book was Boromir. I hate Boromir in the book, he just comes off as an arrogant, self-serving, pedestrian, ass! I hate him in the book!
But in the movie they made him so human! The scene where he is teaching the Hobbits to fight, he looks like a man playing with children. He's just so dang cute! I hated that they made me like him because it made me cry when he died, and when he dies in the book I feel like "hooray, he's dead!"
(yes, i cried when he died, i'm a big weenie!)
Arwen was way different from the book because, well, let's face it, she's barely IN the book! But I love that they made her part bigger, and I think Liv Tyler is fabulous!
Frodo is different because of the age thing. He's much older in the book, but I understand that the movie had to cut things for time allowances, so that difference didn't really bother me. And the actor playing frodo is cute as a bug! I never thought I'd have a crush on a Hobbit!
:D
I found Legolas most dissapointing looks-wise. I just never imagined Legolas looking like a 12 year old boy! Since when does Elvish mean you can't look manly? I liked the look of Elrond better, despite his very bad wig!

[Entlover]

I must agree with Frodofriend, that Sam and Frodo are perfect. Elijah is great for Frodo, who is a young adult . . . 50 is not in human years, remember. Frodo had his "coming of age" party at 33, which would be equivalent to our 18 I presume. So he's in his mid 20s in human years when he starts the quest.
We can all argue forever about whether the movie agrees with the characters we imagined when we read the books, but it only goes to show why books are superior to movies, you get to create your own world in your mind. It would be sad if we all agreed, that would mean our imaginations were all alike.
Too much negative stuff in this thread: if I may quote my favorite critic, MaryAnn Johanson the Flick Filosopher, who says it better than I can:"this movie is utterly right. There's never a moment in all the three short hours of this film that rings false. . .This is a film to sear its way into your imagination."
If LOTR doesn't win best picture, I'm going to write off the Oscars for the rest of my life. (not that I ever paid much attention to them in the first place.)
Frodo lives!

[FrodoFriend]

The Frodo age thing: First of all, Entlover's right, 50 for hobbits is late twenties or so for humans. Second of all, Frodo had the Ring, so didn't age even in the book ("he continued to keep the appearance of a robust hobbit just out of his tweens" - pp). Third of all, in the movie he left almost right after his coming of age. He was the human equivalent of 18 . . . Elijah Wood was 18 when the filming started . . . voila!

Few of the characters were exactly like they are in the books (obviously), but they were still good. But Merry really needed more lines!!

[Aragorns Dimple]

Certainly Arwen's character was the one given the most "artistic licence" in the film, as really we knew not a lot about her from just a short Appendix attached to the book.

However, I am really upset at the treatment they gave to Merry and Pippin, relegating them to the status of "comic relief sidekicks" for the Fellowship, oh please! These two had SO much more character depth even before AND after the War of the Ring, so if Jackson's plan is to suddenly metamorphosise them into heroes by the third film it will be a lame ploy that is wasted on those who have read the book and feel much more respect for these two from the very beginning.

He turned Merry & Pip into "Dumb and Dumber"...SHAME!

[Bregalad]

I agree with you, Aragorn's Dimple. They really did turn Merry and Pippin into clownish buffoons. (i just love that word buffoon!)
Merry and Pippin were jolly and a bit carefree, but even at the beginning of the journey they had more gumption than the movie gave them credit for. I'm just hoping we do see some development through the next two movies and they aren't regulated to idiotic comic relief throughout.

[IronParrot]

I think all of the major characters were portrayed more closely to their characterizations in the novel than most people give the film credit for.

At a stretch I'd say Merry was off a bit. Pippin was always a buffoon, but Merry... after so many readings of LOTR, I've never really gotten a distinct impression of Merry's "specialty" as a character - in fact, he's the most moderate (and I daresay "normal") of the four hobbits, in terms of characterization. At first, anyhow.

If anything, Merry and Pippin being as comical as they are right now are no different than Narsil not being reforged yet. The development's coming. Wait until the end of the story before you whine.

Besides, they are already developing, maturing as characters in the film.

They aren't comical when they see that Frodo is leaving, and divert the orcs.

They certainly aren't comical when Boromir is shot, and they are carried away by the orcs.

I actually found Galadriel to be really close to the novel - wise, but faced with a sorrowful choice; and much like Gandalf, someone who is wise but dangerous. The only issue was, there wasn't enough of her. But the Director's Cut is changing that.

Saruman isn't that different from the novel, either. Some complain that he appears too subservient to Sauron in the film - but they ignore the fact that in the novel too, he was working under Sauron, but hoping to retrieve the Ring and take all the power himself. As Gandalf says in the film: "There is only one Lord of the Ring, and he does not share power." This clearly indicates that he realizes Saruman's intention to work with Sauron before finding the Ring first, and overthrowing the Dark Lord, setting himself up as Middle-Earth's dominator.

Elrond... well, the fact that he's reminiscent of Agent Smith is not a problem with LOTR, just a matter of how popular The Matrix has become. That's like saying Jack Ryan was far too reminiscent of Indiana Jones. Which was true, but not a problem with Patriot Games.

So who was the most different? Well, Merry was somewhat different. Arwen was different, but in the respect that by actually doing something and helping Aragorn instead of being a "passive" motivation for him, she was more like Luthien Tinuviel in character, and not just looks.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Thank you thank you thank you, IronParrot! I totally agree, Merry and Pippin were NOT just comic relief, and I have faith that they will mature more in the next movies, and have already begun by the end of the FotR. Oh, and good point about Elrond...besides, I've gotten used to Hugo Weaving as Elrond now. So, now I'm just rambling uselessly to increase my number of posts and stay up as late as possible...I will away

[Arathorn]

I liked how pippin turned out after seeing the film many times and having read the book again after 9 yrs.
Although he an Merry had a hint of personality in the books, the actors were able to give them voices and looks which I find realistic. At least I get to erase the beatles look the Bakshi film left in my mind.
Anyway, this is still just the first part of three and the toned down characters in FOTR will hopefully make their mark.
I mean, come on, they had to give Sean Bean a great exit. ;)

just ramblin'
Arathorn

[Entlover]

Arathorn,
Minor point: I can't read the words you have in yellow, down below; it's frustrating.
I agree, I like Pippin too. He reminds me of one of my kids, the irresponsible, wild and crazy one. Maybe he's a youngest son too. Always doing the reckless, dangerous thing and getting everybody in trouble, looking into orbs, knocking things down wells, getting suspended from school . . . but he does mature in the end and become a creative, courageous and responsible young man . . .er, hobbit.
I get to see it again on Monday, I can hardly wait. I will turn off my beeper and hide from the world in Middle Earth.

[Arathorn]

oops... sorry Entlover, here goes...

[Kallasilya]

Originally posted by Legolas_BowKing
Does any one think that the real Frodo would look anything like Elijah. I would expect hobbits to be a little bit more ugly.
I always imagined them to be more ugly as well, but I'm soooooo glad they didn't turn out the way I imagined them... they always seemed really OLD in the books...:eek:

[Lizra]

I really enjoyed reading all this (though my butt went numb). Many hairs were split! I agreed with Bregalad, but it's too much typing to say why. I just agree. I loved the movie and look forward to more character development to come. The things that were weird at first, (Legolas looking like a woman) I got used to quickly and then enjoyed. the Boromir stuff was a treat as I hardly gave him a second thought the times I read the books, but was almost in tears at the death scene. I loved Aragorn in that scene too. I actually dislike movies and rarely see then as they seem to waste my time , but I love this movie and am happy to see at over and over and over !

[Faramir]

I thought everyone was just like their book character. Except that Arwen had to much screen-time. But Arwen was good, anyhow.

[Menelvagor]

Sheesh, that was a long read! The thing about movies is that it's had to have more than one or two plot-lines or major character developments at the same time. Generally movies have maybe 4 main characters, but LotR has 9. PJ had to focus on the 'most important' characters, there just isn't time for perfect characterization of the rest. I think they really did a good job with Frodo, who is obviously the main character of the movie, more so than his is of the books. The others I think were focused on were Sam, Gandalf, and Aragorn. Sam I think was great, and Aragorn was good except for that stupid thing with him being afraid of his inheritance (added angst content, I guess :rolleyes: ). Gandalf though.... I agree with everything AE and jerseydevil have said. Ugh.

[IronParrot]

I'd say that Gandalf, while wise, was certainly dissheveled while he was still in the form of Gandalf the Grey. This only serves to highlight the purifying change that occurs when he becomes Gandalf the White and takes Saruman's place in that manner, in a sense. The film's treatment of this is already visible in Fellowship and from the TTT trailer.

Gandalf was probably the character who was closest to how I envisioned him, I might add.

[Lizra]

Gandalf and Bilbo were closest to my mental image. In fact, Bilbo was perfect! Though I see the argument of Gandalf not being perfect or powerful enough, It is a nit I don't feel compelled to pick. I loved him, his laugh was wonderful. Did you notice him dancing without his hat on (doing the "safety dance?") at Bilbo's b-day party! I want to dance with Gandalf! Yes, we have to wait, we have to wait. I don't think I can wait till Christmas to see TT! But I don't want it spoiled by any more leaks!

[Gorhiriel]

Personally, I think Boromir came across as more... human than anyone else, but I agree Elrond wasn't quite right.

[Rei]

I was kinda mad at how foolish they made Merry and Pippin. Granted they were funny characters, but they weren't downright stupid, like how PJ portrayed them.

Arwen was very different but I LOVE the way they had her.

And the relationship between Bilbo and Gandalf seemed different. I can't explain it, it just felt off to me.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Am I the only one that didn't think Merry and Pip weren't that bad? Okay, granted, they were a little stupid and like most of the movie, could have been better, but. . .

[Rei]

I liked Merry and Pippin, in fact of all the characters in the movie Pippin is one of my favorites (he is just to cute for words) but I do think that they were down-played a lot. Movie Merry and Pippin were a lot more foolish and naive whereas book Merry and Pippin were still brash but not completely there for comic relief.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

They were downplayed. But I'm confident that they'll grow up in the next two movies. Hopefully, I am not dissapointed :D

[Entlover]

Do you think they'll let Aragorn comb his hair before the end?:)

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

He probably will in RotK, after the war and the destruction of the Ring. For his wedding. He did comb his hair in Rivendell :)

[Rei]

Not sure if they'll let Aragorn brush his hair, although I must admit that the whole rugged mountain man thing really workd for him!

[elendili]

I agree but it would have been better if they'd let him actually wash his hair:D

[cassiopeia]

I think (at least hope) that Merry and Pippin were portrayed as immature to emphasise how much they grow up in the next two movies.

Aragorn is too busy to wash his hair! Perhaps he was trying to impress Elrond in Rivendell?

[viggosbeard]

Barliman butterbur - everyone else was straight from my head.

[Valacirca]

I thought that Boromir was the most different - in the movie he was more human, so to say, he expressed some feelings which you really couldn´t find in the book, at least not in many occasions. In FOTR you really couldn´t tell much anything about Boromir´s character. At least I couldn´t - he was just very brave and a bit proud and arrogant, but what about how he felt...?

[Faramir]

You all gripe too much. You just don't think the characters are exactly the way they are in your imagination. I'd like to see you you guys trying to do the casting. Uh...Britney Spears for Arwen, and hmm...Brad (arm)Pitt for Legolas? All the characters were just like their character from the book ifyou ask me. AndGandalf was THE BEST!!! All you evil Gandalf dissers, I'll get you!

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Originally posted by Faramir
AndGandalf was THE BEST!!! All you evil Gandalf dissers, I'll get you!

Gandalf was great! I definitely agree...he was the BEST! :D


And as for the Gandalf dissers...can I help you get them? *evil grin*

[Stalker in the Starlight]

Mmmhmm...well, for obvious reasons, it was Arwen. All the others were more-or-less tweaked on their already-existing stereotypes, just making the features that Tolkien had previously provided a little more evident. For Arwen, they gave her a whole new, previosuly non-existant personality. I hated that.
But, since I can see we're trying to be all deep and subliminal-like, I'll also have to agree with Elrond. While he did come across as powerful, he seemed a wee bit too stern. I can just imagine what he was thinking during the Council of Elrond:
"Man, these pointy ears are a pain in the neck...no! Must look stern, must be regal, I am a millenia-old Elf lord and all respect and revear me...ow, these hair extensions HURT!"
Bwahahahaaaaa...though I still love the idea of 'Agent Elrond'...
I'd also have to say one of the shown Istari-either one. Saruman seemed very rash, especially showing Gandalf the Palantir, and WHAT was with him and that snowstorm (and, while we're on the topic of Caradhras, where did the Wargs go? But I digress...)? I think they enhanced his already rebelliant personality to justify the weird 'Breakdancing Gandalf' action sequence.
Of course, I could go on, but I'd MUCH rather diss Gandalf. Seemed to me he was rather panicky, and they took away some of his more subliminal sequences (such as him figuring out the riddle at Moria) that gave tiny boosts to his character. They also made him seem like a hippie at some points, a little *too* relaxed and laid-back. But, hopefully, as was said, this is just preperation for his transformation to Gandalf the White...uh oh *sees Faramir and Eruviel Greenleaf coming at her with murder in their eyes* YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!! *throws a tiny vial of something blue onto the floor; smoke fills the room, and when it clears up and everyone can see again, SitS is gone*

[BeardofPants]

Originally posted by Faramir
All you evil Gandalf dissers, I'll get you!

Good gravy! We agree on something! :eek: ;)

[Sanna]

This is probably going to sound strange to some, but I think it was Galadriel. Somehow, the beauty of the actress can not compare with the beauty I have for her in my mind. Her voice was well spoken though.

Also, even if he wasn't really an "actor," the balrog never felt exactly right to me.

Sanna

[Eowyn Fan]

I think Arwen, but Elrond and Galadriel weren't that good either. Even if they had to substitute Arwen for Glorfindel they could have given her the right lines. ex. She shouldn't have to say any thing at the ford of Bruinen.

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Could we get over Arwen already? :rolleyes:

[BeardofPants]

Tell me about it. It's not Liv Tylers fault that her script and part were fiddled with. Geez. :rolleyes:

If you're gonna nitpick, then the balrog deserves to be addressed. It doesn't look particularly man-like to me. It looks like a blasted minotaur.

[cassiopeia]

I didn't mind the Balrog, but did it have wings? I can't really tell, but it looked like it had shadow wings (which it what they are).;) :D

[entss89]

I..........................................

BELIEVE....................................

IT.........................................

WAS.............................................

EVIL.............................................. .

ARWEN............................................. ....:mad:

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

*sigh* :rolleyes:

BoP, now that you mention it, the balrog did look like a minotaur!

[BeardofPants]

Let's cover this one more time:

Liv Tyler was NOT responsible for the script.

Liv Tyler was NOT responsible for the expansion of her role.

PJ expanded it a little bit, so that the love story made more sense.

Now, let's all get over it, and move on. :rolleyes:

[Eruviel Greenleaf]

Thank you, BoP! Thank you!

Legolas was rather different, too. But perhaps a lot of that is because they cut the Gimli-Legolas stuff...

[Willow Oran]

Most of the characters were pretty good but there are a few things that bug me.

Arwen: They could easily have expanded her character without having her replace Glorfindel. All they would have to do is include the feast scene which is where tolkien introduces her and keep the whole love scene in. She would have had the same amount of screne time without erasing Glorfindel.

Celeborn & Galadriel: In the book Tolkien makes it very obvious that they are co rulers. The amount of lines they have are almost equal. In the movie Galadriel dominated the entire Lothlorien scene and Celeborn had one line, which if you look in the book was originally Galadriel's line. Besides that Galadriel is not radioactive.

Elrond: The Elrond in the movie is bearable but he seems a little too bitter about men, which is odd considering that he is a half elf. Besides that his facial expression gives me a headache.

Legolas: They took a really cool character and turned him into a walking alarm bell with a blonde wig.

The Lorien Elves: It's the attack of the clones!!!! My sister couldn't even tell if they were male or female.

Borimir: His overall character was good but they shouldn't have had Aragorn come and "rescue" him. In the book he kept fighting until he was literally pincushioned with arrows.

Everyone else was good, or good enough. No one was perfect but it's a movie and movies based off of books are never perfect.

[cassiopeia]

Elrond: The Elrond in the movie is bearable but he seems a little too bitter about men, which is odd considering that he is a half elf. Besides that his facial expression gives me a headache.

Oh so true!:eek:

The Lorien Elves: It's the attack of the clones!!!! My sister couldn't even tell if they were male or female.


I thought they were female, which surprised me the first time I saw the movie. It didn't feel right.

Borimir: His overall character was good but they shouldn't have had Aragorn come and "rescue" him. In the book he kept fighting until he was literally pincushioned with arrows.

He was still fighting when he had about 3 or 4 arrows in his chest, wasn't he? Thats pretty good in my book.

[Xeta]

Well, i thought Elrond was the worst.

I was expecting him to say something like "Welcome to Rivendell Mr. Anderson"

[Shadowfax]

Originally posted by Willow Oran
his [Elrond's] facial expression gives me a headache.
Yep! This is what he looked like throughout the entire council/everytime he was on screen--------->:mad: !

[Daddy Two Foot]

Well, to go against the will of many, that is my choice, and i choose to say....Boromir was class, I thought Bean pulled him off perfectly. Yet for me the most glaring disapointment, (character wise), has to be Barliman Butterbur, he did'nt even know who Gandalf was in the film! Refering to him as 'that old fella' in a pointy hat', not even the loveable yet admitidly forgetful Butterbur of the books could actually forget who Gandalf was! A letter is one thing, but c'mon!

[samwiselvr2008]

For me it was Galadriel, even though I saw the moovie first, you wouldn't believe how shocked I was to find out that Galadriel really was good, and not evil! PJ did a wonderfull job though, THANKYOU! I can not complain about his first movie, because without it, I would probally have never read The Lord of the Rings, so all thanks to Jackson, even if I do disagree in some places!

[bropous]

Good question, Bowking.

I would have to agree with the proximate poster who said Galadriel. I thought that the dour, overly severe Galadriel played by Blanchett just did not mate up well with the mental image I had of Galadriel, and you can bet your pointy-toed fairy boots that the Celeborn of the film, who asked of Gandalf in a voice which seemed laced with a gallon of cheap narcotic cough syrup washing down three handfuls of heavy painkillers, did not match my mental image of that Elven Lord.

Of course, one could argue the most egregious changes to a character in the book had to be Glorfindel and Bombadil, who were changed so fundamentally that they were omitted completely.

[Agburanar]

Did anyone notice if Celecorn had gold hair in the film? I saw a model of the film character with golden hair and it's supposed to silver.

[katya]

ok i have only read the first 5 pages...of this thread. but anyway here is what i think:

-the fellowship-

frodo-elijah i thought was great, but i think that frodo's character in the movie was a sissy. i mean think about it. flight to the ford, we have "cough weeze hack weeze other random strange noise" as opposed to in the book. even with the xena-arwen he could've at least said his line. it's win/win. arwen appears and frodo gets his line, and we don't have to suffer through "if you want him..."

sam-not too bad. some things i didn't like too much but not bad overall.

merry/pippin-ok let me say that they did have a lot of comic relief in the book. but in a totally different way. in the movie, they were stupid. period. they reminded me of juvenile delinquents. and they were too old. in the movie they were funny becasue they were stupid. it was better in the book. i liked in the book how pippin commented on the sniffing of the black riders, and how frodo was weird for wanting to think at breakfast.

aragorn-not bad, though i did not like the part where he is all weak and "the same blood runs through my veins! oh dear! arwen come comfort me!!!"

gandalf-not at all. not like the book in anyway. (ok maybe in some ways. hey he was named "gandalf") he was this little bumbling wizard freak. and stupid-ish. he talked all like "gruff bruff ruff gruff"

boromir-not too bad i guess. i'll think about that.

gimli-too "dwarvish" it was a bit overboard.

legolas-too pretty!!!! (no, i don't think he is hot myself, just...sickeningly pretty)

-other characters-

arwen-need i mention arwen? ugh. if she does something xena in ttt i will:
scream
yell
cry
sulk
(not really. i dont take the movies that seriously)

elrond-i wondered who that guy was because i never wouldve even though he was elrond until someone mentioned his name.

bilbo i thought was great. i loved him in the movie (and the book and and the hoobit too). that one part was a bit scary, but still i liked him.

haldir-he sounded sooo funny. i pictured him so completely different....

sauron in the beginning-looked like something off of the power rangers

galadriel-couldve been much worse. but not that great either.

[Snowdog]

Hmm....... ok, in rough order:

Arwen... No brainer... She is the least like her character in the book, not because of Liv really, though I know of a half-dozen actresses who would have fit the role better in my mind, but because of the expanded storyline for the movie.

Frodo... well, I didn't think Elijah looked like Frodo in my mind, and I never pictured Frodo landing on his butt so much.

Galadriel... dont get me started. Cate is a good actress and she gave it a good run, but way too bitchy in my opinion.

Elrond... for some reason, I kept seeing Agent Smith!

Samwise, Merry, and Pippen... did well with the latter two being tweaked for the comic relief aspect for the movie.

Legolas... the 'young girl' draw. Not at all how I pictured the book character. Orlando acted the part ok though. Was hoping to see more of his acting in Blackhawk Down, but he fell out of the helocopter.

Aragorn... was close, but could have been a bit different. My initial thought after seeing the movie the first time was he wasn't like Aragorn at all.. but then, he was Strider.. and so he had a rough and irritating edge. The jury is still out for Viggo as Aragorn son of Arathorn, and later as King Elessar, but I think he will gradually become more 'kingly' as he goes.

Gimli... I think was the most like the book character. No more, no less.

Boromir... here in my opinion is the one character who enhanced his part with superb acting. Sean Bean was maybe just a little over the top in his dying scene with Aragorn, but it worked well. He took what Borom,ir was in the book and filled in the parts not mentioned in such a way that it gave me more appreciation for the Boromir character when I read the book again. No other movie character changed what I had seen with my mind's eye except Boromir.

[durin's bane]

OK...my thoughts in what could've been better...

Gimli: so totally different. he was just a big "go dwarves! uh huh! woo hoo!" kind of guy. he wasn't all like the gruff, but strong and yet sorta kinda sensitive dwarf i pictured him as

legolas: i like him...in botgh movie and book...but he was kinda more...silent and fierce and i couldn't picture him being merry or picture him crying out in elvish or anything

boromir: i like him in the book, but he was just totally oppostie in the movie. he was blnde (i'm picky, just to let you know) and he had a evilish aura and was too...um...proud. sean bean was good...but the role was just...

arwen: sorry, there's just no room for a xena impersonator

other than that i had no problem, though i'd like to see the hobbits talk more. all the "gandalf, aragorn, gandalf, frodo, aragorn, aragorn, aragorn..." frodo had his share, but i felt that didn't get to say much after rivendell. and sam, merry and pippin... *sniffle* there shoulda been more gollum and bilbo, too

[Cirdan]

I think the casting was as good as any film I've seen (thousands). The weaknesses lay in the screenplay. In many places dialog was replaced by one liners.

Arwen:rolleyes:

Pippin - The second worst corruption of character is Pippin's transformation from co-conspirator watching over Frodo to bumbling, drunken thief blithering along without the sense to know where he is.

Elrond - Left me flat there's no magic in that Elf.

Gandalf - As a disguise, so to move easly in the cultures of the various races. He was never a panicky, sweaty, and dishevelled old man. Was he diceived by Saruman? Yes, but he had every reason to trust him. Hadn't Saruman been instrumental in removing the Necromancer from Dol Guldur? H was the head of the council and the discovery of the corruptive effect of the palantir came too late. Too important a character to tamper with.

Edit:was I sleeping when I wrote this?:rolleyes:

[tharkun27]

I think alot of the characters are portrayed in way which will set up their development in the next 2 movies. I think they are trying to set up certain contrasts that will help non-readers understand the character transformations- make it more dramatic. Like Merry and Pippin from comic relief, to soldiers and saviors of the Shire. Gandalf the grey-portrayed a little to human I thought, like a pothead, to Gandalf the White. Strider to Ellessar. Only guesses, because obviously I haven't seen the next 2 movies. I think the important thing is they tried to stay true to the story and communicate as much as they could in 2.5 hours.
But I really thought Sauron came across as over acted-what a ham. And I always pictured him with a human eye, not reptillian.

[Cirdan]

Gandalf as a pothead. hehe I think your right about the character development being made heavy-handed so the audience can get it. The are too many small increments and subtles in the book that would not fit on the little big screen. Galdalf the white seems very puirposeful in the trailer#2. I clipped my avatar from it. What is that white stuff on the bottom?

[Agburanar]

I HATE SEAN BEAN....

At least get the right colour hair, it's supposed to be dark...

[Snowdog]

I overlooked the hair color of Sean Bean, for to me, having blonde elves was a worse transgression... not at all how I see elves.

Christopher Lee made a great Sarumann, and I look forward to Two Towers !

[northsuperior]

first off i have read the LOTR hmmm maybe once a year since 1980 i have drawn the characters on paper in my mind over and over and i owned every book published by JRRT before this movie that is. so while i am not an expert by no mena i am pretty keen but we all have ideas here my take:
many of the characters were portrayed waaaay diffrent to inhance certain themes within the movie
arwen having any role at all was the intro of the luthien/beren theme.
Important to JRRT and thus to PJ, did you know on JRRT's tombstone he has beren under his name and luthien under his wives???
interesting.......... a very important theme indeed.
OK

as to arwen = whatever wayyyy out of line from the book but it couldnt be anyworse or better depending on your view.

Aragorn = i liked except for this voice too tinny.

Boromir = i dunno ok, i guess, he was weak but strong, boromir in the book was waaay overconfident in comparison and very sure of himself and his desire for the ring and what HE wanted sean was whishy washy looking for the salvation of his people and desparate,.book Boromir was not desparate he was very very very confident, Mind you If potrayed that way in the movie he wouldhave been a shallow read. In the book, as i saw it dark black hair and very broad shouldered sean beans staure was too skinny.

Legolas = very good

Gimli = very good

Bilbo =very very good professional acting i would think this would be a hard casting decision , PJ right on the head there boy-yo

frodo = tooooooo wimpy blue eyed innocence, thats getting skewered scene was baaaaad , book frodo was innocent but wise at the same time.

Pippin= too goofy waaaay over the top.

Merry= good

Sam = very goood frodos strongman

gandalf I was pretty dissappionted here, good yet bad.
very unsure of himself then at times very strong. in the book he knew so much and knew what had to be done in the movie he was burdened down by his knowledge and seemed to be a doddering fool at times.
wierd portrayal
but i KNEW they were doing this to have contrast with the new Gandalf in TTT

saruman = unbelievably good the voice the mannerisms. C lee your the bomb!! 10/10

Galadriel = what can one expect!!?? another difficult casting decision.
she is NOT human and immortal that would make her wierd by anyones standard , some said she acted like she was on drugs well i think she definatley wouldnt act like some prep school girl!!!

elrond = i saw the matrix but not 20 times and i dont own the DVD he was good id say he was down on men when in fact everyman had everyright to be down on him and his race they were THE FOOLS THAT CREATED THE RINGS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
Now wheil elronfd had no direct hand he cant blame men for not destroying the one, while Celebrimbor one of his kind made them . and they didnt destroy them either they could not "find the strength" hah......... HAH i say!!
No not the one but they had a biiiiig hand. the one had little power without the rest, and vice versa.
the rings rings were basically the elves fault . mind you this is more of a book view not the movie but still.

[cassiopeia]

I think that they made Elrond and Galadriel too mysterious and mean. Many people who havn't read the book at first thought that Galadriel was bad. Elrond barely has a good thing to say, except when he is talking about Sam joining a secret meeting. All Elrond seems to say is 'blah blah weak Men blah weak Men" :rolleyes:

[Agburanar]

Without question Bilbo was the best. Judging by his excellent performance in the BBC radio play of LoTR as well he is the incarnation of hobbit-kind on earth.

[theworkhorse]

Just a quick run down

Arwen: 'nuff said

Elrond: His relationship with Galdalf was all wrong. As that is the largest part of his character in Movie 1, it dominates the rest. From the sneak peak stuff I have seen of TTT, I think we will see a different side.

Gandalf: I was not upset with his character portrayal, except in one relationship: the afore mentioned Elrond role. He seems weak and incompetent around Elrond. It bothered me so much, that I read over their interactions several times. I still do not see where Pete could have come up with it.

Frodo: Absolutely, without a doubt, the best casting job of the movie, and the best character portrayal of the movie.

Aragorn: I was a little unsure of this one at first, but upon review, find Master Chief Viggo to be a good interpretation.

Boromir: Also unsure of him. I imagined a more....Viking, nordic man. I found this Boromir to be a little less regal than in the books. But the Boromir of the movie, from Lothlorien on, was absolutely perfect.

Legolas: Good job. I liked the way they portrayed him in fight scenes. For some reason, I never pictured him as great of a fighter as the movie portrayed him, (I mean the quick, Jackie Chan style moves). Upon reviewing the books, that was just a flaw in my own readings.

Merry and Pippin: I think they were good. I have notice a lot of people do not like their interpretation, but I think the next movie will be far more revealing. I liked the way they played off each other in the movie.

Samwise: The most lacking in character throughout the movie. He is a non-entity and his purpose in never adequately revealed.
I will be very disappointed if they continue on this path.

Gimli: I agree with most peoples assessments of his failings.

Sorry this is so long. It has been so long since I could talk about this movie, so every idea and opinion I have had is rushing out at full tilt.

theworkhorse

[theworkhorse]

One more!

I have to disagree with many of the other posts on her. I think Cate was absolutely wrong for the role. It sounds cruel, but I do not think she was beautiful enough for the role. Galadriel is arguably the most beautiful woman in the world, (compared to Luthien and Arwen). Cate, while pretty, is certainly not that. They make her sinister and witch-like...more alike to Gimli's original impressions than the way he sees her later. I did not like the side glances she always gives Frodo. The whole Banchi thing was over the top. I loved her part at the beginning as the voice over, but as Galadriel, she fell short.

Also, Pete fails to continue the story of the Elven rings. He does not show the part Nenya plays or why Lothlorien and Rivendell must fade. Not a major loss, but one easily avoided.

[durin's bane]

well...i thought elrond was cool. i've never seen the matrix (well, only a few minutes of the beginning) so i can't really tell. don't hurt me.

[northsuperior]

the problem is how do you cast a human being to look like the third most beautifll Elf in Middle Earth???
and as to beauty , some like them slimmer ,some voluptuous, some like voices high, other deep and sultry .....what is right....
i dont think anyone could cast the elves properly, their is always going to be debate on that one unless they are a totally CGI.

[durin's bane]

i thought galadriel was pretty beautiful... she almost made me cry. ;)

[Lollypopgurl]

hmmmm....

Probably Elrond....

I've watched the Matrx too much...

:D

[Fred Baggins]

Definatly Elrond Most DEfinatly Elrond. Definatly Definatly Elrond.

[Linarryl]

I don't think Sean Bean played Boromir so well.

[Gerbil]

Some visual depictions of elves were OK.
I liked Legolas (despite colour of hair issues). Galadrial also had the regal feel she needed, despite a slight tendency to confuse 'wise' with 'scary eye-shots'.

Worst depiction has got to be Aragorn though. He's so far removed from in the books the only connection they share is the name.

Having said that, Viggo did a great job with the limited characterisation that PJ handed him.

Elrond has got to be THE ugliest elf ever though. Poor Aragorn - let's not forget he's descended from this guy's father!

[Lollypopgurl]

OMG!

I totally forgot to mention Boromir. He was like the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!! Sean Bean could not have possibly done any better with Boromir. I'm gonna miss him in the second film. :(

[crickhollow]

I have mixed feelings about Boromir. I love the sceen when he's teaching Merry and Pippin how to fight. I thought he came off well in the council (tho' I was dissappointed in the lack of explanation as to why he was there--even a mention of Faramir's dream would have been nice, and it sure wouldn't have taken long to quote the poem in its entirety), and his death scene was magnificent. Truly noble. However, I was disappointed in his wimpering about the voices in his head. That was stupid. I just wanted to shake him, and say, "For heaven's sake, man, stand up! Be bold!"

[Bard]

I must agree with Gerbil and the others, Hugo Weaving made quite an ugly inpression of an Elf to me! I mean, if he could play an Elf, everyone could, although I found the battle of Dagorlad scene of him as well as the Orodruin part very impressive. Yet there were some Elves that were even uglier than him. To mention: Celeborn, Haldir and Figwit. These characters are supposed to be the most beautiful people walking around on Middle-Earth but they didn`t look very handsome to me. Arwen sounded a bit like she was having an org*sm to me :o Probably the best Elf on screan was Legolas, and secondly Galadriel, though Cirdan was quite oke to!
Other rase, Men; I didn`t like the appearence of Aragorn in the beginning, he should have looked far more wored out. His best appearences were however in battle, like in Moria and at the Amon-Hen. Especially the moment when Gandalf fell and when Boromir died, most impressive. The only thing that was wrong about him was his speak, he should have spoken like more Oxfordian English because he was of high birth and an excellent grown-up history (how you call that in proper English?).
Boromir was the best so as every hobbit and Dwarf.

[Faramir Took]

I believe it would have to be Merry and Pippin. They were idiots in the movie, however very bright, although unsure of the world outside the shire, in the books.

[Goldberry1]

I absolutley agree with Merry and Pippin. There really were a lot smater than they seem in the movies, or at least had more common sense. And in FOTR, the book that is, either Merry or Pippin spends time looking at maps and things in Rivendell. They could have been portrayed a lot better than they were.

[olsonm]

I have to disagree about Merry. He wasn't portrayed as an idiot in the movie. He was quite insightful. And Pippin never looked at maps in Rivendell in the book.

[Eowyn of Rohan]

I would have to saaaayyy ::thinking::....

Okay... let's say it all together: "ARWEN" (now that THAT is out of the way)

Frodo: I pictured someone who looked like Astin's Sam as Frodo. ((If Elijah tripped and fell over ONE more time!!!))

Elrond / Galadriel / Arwen / Elves: Okay... let me just say this: Why, whenever an elf talked (except for Legolas - I didn't think his speaking was much altered), did it sound like they were purposefully lowering their voices a few steps and talking very slow and drugged out??
"Brriiinng fooorrthh thhhe rrrrrriingggg"
"Ttthhe mirrrrrooor shoooows mannnnny thinnnnngs"
"Wwhhyyyyyy doo yoouu feeeeeeeeaarr thhhhe paasssstt?"
This annoyed the hell out of me.
Yeah, okay,... you are glowing,... you're "etherial",... I get it.
But I'M NOT DEAF NOR AM I DUMB!! :D :D Let's move it along people! No wonder the movie was over 2 1/2 hours long. :D

ummmm.... what else?
I like pretty much everything else....

I like Viggo alot, but I pictured Aragorn a little more like Sean Bean's Boromir in appearance,...
a little more "Kingly" perhaps?? - his presence making an impact in the room. A charisma that seemed "missing"?? not yet delved into, perhaps?

Also, I'd like to see the jovial side of more of the characters than the Hobbits. I'd like to see the development of the growingly close friendship of Legolas and Gimli more exposed.

[barrelrider110]

Originally posted by FrodoFriend
Yeah, were does the pedophile thing come in? I thought Gandalf was good, except the "Is it secret? Is it safe?" scene, which was a little too . . . disturbed(?) seeming.

Arwen was the most different, but I liked her.

I think Gimli and Merry were the ones who got screwed over. Gimli came across as kind of stupid and incompetent, not at all sturdy and steadfast like he's supposed to be - randomly yelling at Legolas? Being pulled up by his beard? Getting caught off guard by Haldir? Not cool. And Merry just didn't get much to say, which upset me because he's one of my favorite characters. :(

Yup. I agree totally. The "is it secret, is it safe?" scene is definitely not Gandalf, who was never one to lose his cool even in a tight pinch. Merry was a fun-loving but studious sort. In the movie he came off as a sort of a bozo. Ditto with Gimli, and it's a shame, because he is LoTR's only example of the race of Dwarves

Hopefully the characters will develop more in the later movies.

[TolkienGurl]

Well, in the book Gandalf did say something like "Keep it secret. Keep it safe." He never panicked like he did in the movie though. I agree that that was kind of wierd.

I really don't like Arwen's big role in the movies. They are making he out to be a "warrior." She was a LADY in the books!

Merry and Pippin seemed very stupid. As if they didn't know right from left. They were not stupid in the books; just carefree little Hobbits (like me!).

Celeborn's voice was too girly. And Legolas looked too girly. (no offence to all the Legolas fans!) I kind of imagined him to look more mature.

Viggo was a good choice for Aragorn, and Gandalf was good, except when he his head on the doorframe. That was dumb.

Boromir and Gimli: very good portrayal. Just like I imagined them (except Gimli was a little silly at times).

[Linarryl]

Legolas was already lookin' mature! Celeborn didn't have a girly voice he sounded normal!

[Linarryl]

Legolas was already lookin' mature! Celeborn didn't have a girly voice he sounded normal!
(I'm a supporter of elves)

[Eowyn of Rohan]

Celeborn with a normal voice?? Let's view the evidence:

"Niiine theeere wwweere seet oofff frrooom Rivendeeell..."

It's cheesy! :(

[Lizra]

Celeborn would be my pick. He sounded like a drag queen to me. I have to supress laughter everytime I see his scene in FoTR. I guess we'll see more of him in TTT, hopefully he will not sound so affected!

[Agburanar]

I just saw the actress who plays Eowyn. She's nowhere near beautiful enough. PJs messed up the casting again!

[barrelrider110]

Originally posted by Agburanar
I just saw the actress who plays Eowyn. She's nowhere near beautiful enough. PJs messed up the casting again!

Let us not be hasty, Agburanar. I thought so too at first, but we havn't seen her portray her character yet. Our perception of beauty has more to it than just first appearances. I think she's attractive enough, and compared to Tyler and Blanchett, she looks human to their elvish. I'm willing to wait on this one.

[Sirithdal]

I have no problem with anyoe really, but if I had pick one that didn't fit the books' character, I'd say Strider's actor, who I thought was too young and not formidble enough. But the guy Jackson used was a lot better than Martin Short would have been. I'm going to wrack my brain to come up with someone who fits my image of the Ranger.:cool:

[Sirithdal]

Originally posted by athelas
Definitely Arwen with her Xena elf thing. But we would have to watch the next 2 movies to find out if she really differs that much.;)

Elrond had that "Agent Smith" feel. I dunno why, but I just couldn't shake it off while watching him.


What in the world do you mean "Arwen's Xena thing"? Can you be more specific or explain this? She has such a perfect elf face and she's a world-class actress, too! I thought she was fabulous as Arwen.

Elrond really worked for me, too.

Wassupitat?:confused:

[Celebréiel]

I acctually liked Merry and Pip and Boromir's casting. I think they were all pretty good. I agree that there should have been more explanation as to why Boromir was there tho.
I think the elves got the worst casting, not being that bad, but the worst compared to the others.
Galadriel - I really really really didnt like the way they did her speech, that part and Gandalf's fall off the bridge in Moria were I think the worst parts of the whole movie.
Arwen- ugh, no no no...*shakes* Liv Tyler is good tho, You have to admit she is flawless pretty (damn her) but..it was mainly the part
Legolas - Dont get me wrong Orlando Bloom was great, :D but something about the character seemed different in the movie, I think it was more the lines(or lack there of) for him. He had soooo much more personality in the book.
Elrond - Im sure Hugo Weaving would have been well ...a little okay, if it wasnt for the whole Matrix thing, agent elrond...>.<
Its only so annoying b/c in such a fantastic movie the little parts that werent so good stand out so much more.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Hmm, now, let's see....

Arwen and Galadriel just weren't beautiful even (particularly something about Arwen's eyes). Arwen was not a sword-swinging ford-calling warrior-mage in the book. Galadriel, I don't think ever transformed like she did in the movie.

Aragorn was definitely the most screwed up that we've seen so far, though. But from what I read, Faramir is gonna be even worse. :(

[Erawyn]

I don't understand what everyone things was wrong with Aragorn, i thought Viggo Mortensen did a pretty good job!
I thought Boromir was amazing and actually most of the time everyone in the Fellowship was ok, except Frodo was kind of, um well Elijah wood looks insane, but i'll wait for TTT to really decide.
I definitely agree all the background elves were definitely NOT pretty enough, and yes Celeborn was totally scary, but I thought Galadriel Legolas and Haldir were ok. Liv Tyler cannot be Arwen, aside from the whole Xena thing, she really bothers me, and is so NOT an elf...and Hugo Weaving is quite frightening...

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I don't mean Viggo's acting, I mean the Peter Jackson interpretation of Aragorn. It was awful. So unlike the true Aragorn, who deserves our respect, and is not ashamed of his bloodline.