I think Lurtz was impressing.And scary.I remember the small children screaming in the theater when they saw him,and their mothers fussing when Aragorn cut his hand. Az if Tolkien wrote the book and PJ made the movies for children!
Remember that scene in the movie when the camera first showed Lurtz`s face,than that of Legolas,and then again that of Lurtz?
It was very good,like a parallel between good and evil,or the two sides of the medal. Like showing us what would Legolas have been like if he had been an orc, and what Lurtz would have been like if he had been an elf.