Agree with Eldomeldo on this. I admit to seeing the movie before reading the book and the book presents Boromir as a much more compelling character. He goes on the quest under the "You are going the same direction we are so why not come along?" words of the others. There is none of that "Gondor will see it done" BS.
He's been nearer Mordor than any other and clearly knows the dangers. Dangers which no one else seems to regard as important. But then again, this might cast him in an unfavorable light in Tolkien's world in some respects. Boromir is as close to an Objectivist as Middle Earth seems to have and we all know that Ayn Rand, the mother of Objectivism, liked industry and progress.
The others are still caught in the world of magic and legend. Boromir is the only realist in the bunch, I believe. He has also seen the despair of the people of Gondor and Minas Tirith first hand. He knows the hell that Gondor has become and it appears that there are none sympathetic to it. Perhaps any help, aside from Rohan, decided not to help until the target of their desire was soft and ripe enough for easy plucking.
Conspiracy Theorist believes that getting Boromir out in the wilds was the final step in "softening the target". Minas Tirith and Gondor were desparing and would grab onto any hope for salvation. Boromir could have been allowed to live but that would have led to split loyalties in the White City. And that would not have made for pretty history. [img]smilies/evil.gif[/img]
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