I'm rather surprised one well-done scene hasn't been mentioned (I think),
the setting and action around the Doors of Moria, including an acceptable Watcher. Of course, they had the book illustration to go by.
And I was disappointed at the small size of Edoras. On the other hand,
the muster of Rohan was conveyed well (and briefly) by the scene from the
mountain looking down on the muster.
Poor scene: PJ getting wrong Theoden's charge at Helm's Deep. There were
many more then the three or four horsemen shown (and if you watch, you can
see some orcs just jumping off the causeway- not attacked or pushed).
From:
The Atlas of Middle-earth , p. 148:
Quote:
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Instead of Orcs pouring into the Hornburg, however, Theoden led forth his Riders, perhaps nine hundred or so if about half the surviving defenders had escaped to the caves. So powerful and sudden was their onset that Saruman's forces (though far greater in number despite casualties) were driven in rout back to Helm's Deep.
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Sorry, but this error irritates me, especially since Bakshi made the same mistake
in his animated version. The point is, even without the ents, the surviving defenders, plus Gandalf and Erkenbrand's boys, were not a totally spent force.
Estimates are about, by the time of the charge, about 3,800 Rohirrim (and
Gandalf!) vs. c. 7-9,000 bad guys (depending on their casualties. In other
words, some 1,500-2,000 of them with Theoden as contrasted to the 5 or 6 people the movie seems to suggest!
But there were worthy scenes in TTT movie, especially the opening chase scenes
with the Three Hunters (ignoring the comic relief use of Gimli
).