[Diamond18]

I agree about them being much too heavy on the Ring shots. Especially just before Frodo gets into the boat. I mean, Merry and Pippin have just practically sacrificed their lives for him (for all he knows) and he's just standing there...staring...with the Ring out there for anyone to come grab. That's just a tiny peeve on my part though.<P>I agree with Kalimac about the whole Aragorn thing. It was a justifiable change, and we know that Aragorn was not always the paragon of confidence in the book. At Amon Hen he was all wishy-washy, and even said at one point, "Alas! An ill fate is on me this day, and all that I do goes amiss." At that part in the movie, instead of missing out on all the action, he's shown fighting off Orcs in kickbutt fashion. So it was give and take: at one point he was less confident, at another he was more confident.<P>I'm surprised that I seem to be the only person who actually liked the 'drowning' scene. I thought it was very touching, but all the time I hear, "The drowning scene was too much, they could have cut that." I recall it being rather comic in the book, like Sam the bumbling idiot who forgot he couldn't swim, but in the movie you see that Sam knows he can't swim but doesn't care...he's not letting Frodo go. I dunno, I just liked that whole scene (after Frodo finally got in the boat, that is!).<P>RG, the first time I saw the movie I thought Frodo meeting up with Aragorn was pretty darn wierd. I was kind of thinking, "What? That never happened! Aragorn wouldn't have let him go!" I also thought that it was terribly foolish of Frodo to let Aragorn hover his hand over the Ring and everything.<P>While I still think it was too foolish of Frodo, after seeing that scene a bunch more times, I think it was a decent way for them to show Aragorn being tempted by the Ring and resisting the temptation. The subsiquent quote by Boromir sums up the whole reason for that scene: "Then you did what I could not."<P>And then with Merry and Pippin, I think Kalimac touched on this in a different thread (so I'm stealing your idea, Kalimac ). It gave them a chance to do something worthwhile for Frodo. Throughout the movie they bumbled around and caused trouble, but by doing something so brave as to divert the Orcs (again, at the risk of their lives) gives them a purpose and heralds the character changes that will come in the next two movies.<P>BTW, where did you get that nickname?