[Essex]

Originally Posted by alatar

Merry and Pippin toss rocks into the pool until their foolishness is cut short by Aragorn. With Fellowship members like these...

I get bugged by things like this. Small changes like this make me blood boil! It was the petulant and childish Boromir who throws the stone in the water! Don't blame the hobbits. (This change really DOES bug me.....)

Frodo, our leader or at least the one with "the luck," steps up and solves the riddle. PJ states that he wanted Frodo to do this instead of Merry to keep Frodo in the story. I'm okay with that change.

It seems a lot of people have this misconception that Book Merry solved the riddle. He didn't - he just asked the question of what the words meant and Gandalf finally picked up on this - Another change I didn't like. (I really don't know why these small changes annoy me more than the large ones - it could be that I can give a 'movie' reason for some of the larger ones, but no reason for these small changes)

Suddenly Frodo goes floorward and is dragged to the pool. Sam's quick intervention beats off the tentacle. Or not. Whiny Frodo now goes skyward. Sure, if I were hanging by my leg over a dirty pool of water (assuming that this isn't Fear Factor and money isn't involved), and some creature head is going to eat me, I would whine too. But it just adds to the perceived weakness of the Frodo movie character that I just didn't get from the books. It might be me, or others also see Frodo so weakened and unheroic.

No, you answered youre query yourself. He's been picked up by a monster - wouldn't you cry out as Book Frodo does at this point? Also, I would have loved to have just seen Sam save Frodo at this point, but I can understand this small change movie wise to give us more of a spectacle of a fight scene with the major characters.

We get more words right from the pages of FotR. Gollum has a bit to play, but to what end? Then Frodo asks, "why me?" I just love this part, and though not shooting/car chase-crash exciting, it's really profound and an enjoyable moment in an otherwise action flick. Think that this moment was captured in poster form, and was pushed after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. People had the same questions as did Frodo, and that made this moment all the more poignant.

I didn't (and never have) thought of this AT ALL. My mind is always fully in Middle-earth in these films (except for when I see jackson or his kids) - and nothing drags me back to the real world - so no thoughts of allegory at all for me here.

The fact that Frodo was 'meant' to bear the Ring doesn't encourage me. Is everything predetermined?

I don't mind these scenes taking place in Moria instead of Bag End - I think it really works here - Gandalf giving his last piece of Knowledge and wisdom to Frodo before he Falls.

Sam's exclamation, though a quote from the book, is just so misplaced here. Wow! Big stone pillars. I'd prefer that the comment be used when Gandalf really shows some of real powers, but...oh well.

It's a pity we didn't have the Wolf attack scene where book Sam says this line regarding Gandalf's powers. Instead we get a silly Warg attack in TT that was one of my least favourite parts of the films!

I thought that the whole stairs scene unnecessary.

Absolutely. Ok, so we have a part of the books where the fellowship have to jump over a chasm - but this is taking it too far.

Well, that’s the end of that. Or not. Gandalf turns to go and is snagged by the balrog’s whip. Don’t think that the balrog or the whip hung on, but the fact that Gandalf is drained (and also may have some other idea in mind) makes him fall, cling to the bridge for a moment, then let go.

On another tolkien forum I used when the first two films were coming out there was a ridculous thread on the physics of how Gandalf catches up with his sword and the Balrog! It went on for MONTHS - people exlplaining they had physics degrees and could explain how he caught up, terminal velocity etc - it was hilarious!

And just how do those orcs get out of Moria now that the bridge is down?

the same way they do in the books........

We next see the Eight (One less!) walking past what I believe to be the Kheled-zâram

one of my favourite passages in the book, Gimli and Sam going down to the water's edge with Sam in tow - but seing as they've just said that the orcs will be around soon, I suppose we can't show this in the movie.

and Aragorn is way out in front now.

because he knows he's going to Lorien, his favourite place in Middle-earth