[Sarumian]

I think I can understand now what exactly irritates me in this scene. It is very much about the integrity of the whole story, but it is not even about measuring powers. That would be a 'sauronish' take on the events.

In the book this scene is (in my opinion) about conviction. At that moment Minas Tirith is de-facto lost, the stronghold is broken, its defenders ran away. Whether Gandalf is more powerful than the Witch King or not, he has no hope to keep Sauron's army out for long, it's too huge. And yet he is going to hold his ground. Why?

Because he believes that it makes sense against the odds. He believes, Eru had not sent him back in vain. He believes, Eru shall not allow his dignity to be crushed in the dust as it is now Eru's dignity as well. Gandalf is there because, having already died and resurrected, he knows why one needs to keep hope when there is no hope. And why power is not everything.

The movie, on the other hand, tells the story of how old power is going, and new power is coming. Lord Aragorn is here to replace the Dark Lord Sauron. Age of men begins and all other powers, dwarves, elves and even Ainur should fade and be gone from the shores of Middle Earth. That is very much how Sauron saw his own errand - with the amendment that it is not him but men of the West will rule from now on. Aragorn is shown as if he obtained and mastered the Ring and Gandalf is around just for his former services to the new King.

This is, actually, why Jackson completely misunderstood Gandalf's other best disciple, Faramir. Thanks to Gandalf's training, he is able to understand WHAT the Ring is, and this is why he's able to reject it very much like Galadriel.

And thus Gandalf-the-Seepish in the shadow of the old or the new King is not only a far cry from Gandalf-the-White with his vigorous Maia spirit, with his elven Ring that helps to keep spirit strong and with his special bound with Eru. The whole story becomes different: Tolkien tries to convince us that there is something more than power over other beings in the world, and that is the real Power; Peter Jackson tells us a tale about game of thrones and change of powers...