[Lord of Angmar]

I myself had little negative to say about the alterations to the general structure of interaction between Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, although I do agree that it made Frodo seem less wise, Elvish and "distant." If it were suggested that Sam were the servant of Frodo and that, as he was in the book, he was bound by Gandalf to go on the mission with Frodo, it might detract from their friendship, since, as you said, Child of the 7th Age, the movie would have had much less time to work with in developing the esquire-to-best friend relationship. I cannot see any major inadequacies with the movie's portrayal, as it left Sam with all of the same excellent virtues - loyalty, bravery, self-sacrafice, simplicity and resolve - while removing any servant-virtues that may have seemed on the politically incorrect end of the spectrum to modern moviegoers.<P>The setup of Sam and Frodo's friendship at the beginning of <I>The Fellowship of the Ring</I> movie did not particularly hurt anything either, as it made Gandalf's choosing Frodo's good friend Sam to accompany Mr. Frodo more believable than Gandalf simply choosing Frodo's gardener, who had prior to that scene been barely (if at all, I cannot remember and I do not have the books with me) introduced in the books. The flip side of this is that Merry and Pippin were not introduced in the movies as particularly close friends of Frodo (whereas they are in the books), which, combined with their abrupt entrance into the movie's plot, made their particular roles in the Quest seem a bit less understandable.<p>[ 2:41 PM January 02, 2004: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]