Rate the Cast's performance.

[AbercrombieOfRohan]

The only actor I really want to comment on is:

ORLANDO BLOOM: 8/10 He's a Hollywood case, really beautiful but can't really deliver a strong performance. Kinda like Ben Affleck. Ned Kelly really helped to redeem him in my book (if you dislike Bloom I would suggest that you see this movie because he does a really fantastic job.) Perhaps the elves were supposed to be in their own little world, but he was a little bit too... feminine. That might be no fault of his though.

[Nukapei]

I agree with dancing spawn of ungoliant's assessment of Liv. She had the whole "aloof Elf princess" thing down perfectly, and she can't help having crummy lines. And, yeah, her voice is a bit monotonous, but that goes with the whole elf thing. I also agree with his assessment of Orlando Bloom of 9/10. I think he delivered some of the best acting, and I'm not just saying that because he's nice to look at. The way he could have such vivid facial expressions, without actually changing his expression very much. And he, too, has the whole Elvish feel down pat.

I actually think that one of the worse acting in the entire movie trilogy came from Hugo Weaving as Elrond. Yes, the guy can act; and, yes, he's convincing. But he's just so serious. I know the whole fate of the world thing is serious, but he just came across as too stiff and formal, almost depressed. Fate-of-the-world or not, Elves are a lot more cheerful than that! I don't know, I just wasn't impressed by the way he did Elrond.

[Linnahiril Tinnufinwen]

I would have to say that my favorite actors were John Rhys-davies and Sean Astin. It is amazing to me what Rhys-davies was able to accomplish, despite the fact that often times he was standing by himself in front of a blue screen. Since he was six feet tall, his scale double would be on set with the other actors, and then they would film Rhys-davies in front of a screen and then put him in later. They even made a comment in on of the "making of" programs that the audience's understanding of the Dwarven culture (for those that have not read the books) comes entriely from Rhys-davies' portrayal of Gimli. There are no other Dwarves in the LOTRs Trilogy, yet one feels as if they know the entire culture because of this actor's performance. At least, that is what I think. 10/10 for John Rhys-davies.

As for Sean Astin, his portrayal of Sam is very touching. Both in look and in manner, he embodied almost everything I ever pictured Sam to be. Astin portrayed Sam's loyalty, determination, and pure heart without being overly "gushy." He was brave at the proper times, and would cry at the proper times. Everything he did made sense to me, and I really believed he was Samwise Gamgee. My one and only little complaint, and it is a rather petty one, is that Astin's accent would occassionally slip, and he would speak in his normal American accent. For this, I take off only .01. Therefore: 9.99/10 for Sean Astin.

Call me crazy, but my least favorite actors were Liv Tyler and Viggo Mortensen. Liv Tyler is a beautiful young woman, and very Elf like in appearance, but for some reason she simply did not seem like Arwen to me. Perhaps it is her voice, which at times can be a little weak and breathy. I really cannot pinpoint exactly what bothered me about her performance. It just did. Still, I think she did the best she could do. 5.5/10 for Liv Tyler.

Viggo Mortensen, although his portrayal of Aragron is "servicable", simply did not have the power and kingly-ness that I thought the true King of Gondor ought to have. His voice lacked command and often times sounded frog-like. His "British" accent would go in and out, and sometimes he didn't even pronounce words very well. Now, perhaps this is the result of poor writing, I'm not sure. Characters such as Theoden, Eomer, and Sauruman had much more command and presence than did Mortensen's character. Again, however, I think Mortensen did the best he could. 6.3/10 for Viggo Mortensen.

[Dragon Reborn]

Before I start I would just like to say that no matter what actors were playing what characters, the whole audience can never be satisfied all the time, and well done to PJ for an excellent job. Much of the time acting is in the eye of the beholder. Also, when you look at actors with smaller roles, this is tricky because they may not have had enough imput to be able to make an impression on us in the first place.

To Linnahiril's comments on Aragorn- I thought he had great power and kingly-ness, especially the part when he actually put on the crown. I thought he was perfect for the role, and I ask ye peoples, who would we have Aragorn be if not Viggo? 10/10, I didn't think his voice ever sounded "frog-like". I particularly admire his sword-fighting skills! I find myself really in the moment when he is in fighting scenes.

Sean Bean, as others have agreed, was a magnificent actor. He played much better acting than Elijah Wood, who despite what I have heard from others, did not I believe play his part to its full requirements. Sam was kind and determinedly loyal. I thought he was great at showing the audience of the true nature of a determined hobbit. 10/10

Andy Serkis also did an excellent performance, and earns a 10/10. What can I say? Smeagol's unique voice he gave was perfect, the graphics were brilliant, and he put a lot of effort into his role.

I had better say someone who I was dissappointed in now, hadn't I?

Well, I think I would give Legolas a 6/10. I do believe his acting is somewhat disguised and overrated because of his looks. To be that attractive is clearly one of the reasons why Orlando has such a big approval, and good for him! Elves are meant to be beautiful. But I will rather lamely add the reason for his low rating is because his acting was missing something. I'm not sure what, and I am having troubles trying to figure out what this is, so if you think you know what it is please help me out!

[Avie]

10/10 to Ian McKellen..a superb Gandalf that I cannot now imagine anyone else being able to play, he pitched it perfectly.
Other 10's go to Ian Holm as Bilbo, Sean Astin (yes I know he's a terrible luvvie in real life) Andy Serkis and Bernard Hill.
9/10's go to Miranda Otto, a good performance but just not pretty enough to be Eowyn, Elijah Wood (if in doubt roll those eyes some!), Karl Urban, a touch overstated and Christopher Lee...mostly the fault of the script.
To skip to the low points John Noble 1/10 for really horrible cod-shakespearean overacting. Orlando Bloom...Oh dear me. Need I say more? and of course, whoever it was that played Celeborn. He'd clearly been smoking SOMETHING

[Evisse the Blue]

Originally Posted by Avie

To skip to the low points John Noble 1/10 for really horrible cod-shakespearean overacting.

Erm, I liked that 'shakespearean overacting', as you put it...

Anyways, IMO the cast was one of the chief reasons why this movie rocked so everyone gets 10/10 (with a special mention to Sean Bean -- and I see that nobody so far is contradicting me on this so o-kay! He actually made Boromir a very likeable character, I like him way more than the book-Boromir! ). There are of course a few exceptions and I'll list them here:

Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) - 7/10 I don't know what's wrong with her here. I am a big fan of Cate Blanchett's and I saw most movies with her and enjoyed her performances a lot. In LOTR however, she didn't quite rise to the challenge: she was harsh when she should have been stern and determined, and awkward when she should have been simple and sweet. Also (this is the fault of the make-up artists, though) she's less beautiful as Galadriel than she is in real life (in my opinion).

Liv Tyler (Arwen) - 2/10 - I don't think she's right for the part. Still, she might have been able to pull off a decent Arwen if she would have just stood there and looked pretty in one of those charming dresses. But her expanded part made everything wrong. Her acting was whiny, superficial and her beauty was not at all elvish. There was no chemistry between her and Viggo Mortensen.

Hugo Weaving (Elrond) - 8/10 At times he looked more like an alien and less like an elf, especially when he arched those eyebrows in his original manner. There were also a few moments when he exagerated the emotion in his lines, like when he says to Aragorn in ROTK: 'The man who can wield this sword can summon a power greater than any that walks this earth...' You can almost see him shaking there.

Elijah Wood (Frodo) -9/10 Throughout TTT and ROTK his facial expressions were roughly the same from one scene to another...Of course, the monotony of the dialogue was partly to blame. But he had moments when he was really fantastic and made it all right, and all in all he pulled off satisfactorily what was undoubtedly a very difficult and demanding part.

Martin Czoskas (Celeborn) - 5/10 - insert Boromir's comment of his performance here.

That's all I think. The rest of the cast gets a 10 out of 10 and much worship from me.

Originally Posted by Nukapei

I actually think that one of the worse acting in the entire movie trilogy came from Hugo Weaving as Elrond. Yes, the guy can act; and, yes, he's convincing. But he's just so serious. I know the whole fate of the world thing is serious, but he just came across as too stiff and formal, almost depressed. Fate-of-the-world or not, Elves are a lot more cheerful than that! I don't know, I just wasn't impressed by the way he did Elrond.

Long-time lurker pops out of the Lounge to say..yes! It's unfortunate, because Weaving is a talented actor and has a wonderful vocal range. They just didn't use him to best advantage. He came off as a caricature, pompous, stiff, and silly, which is not how I have ever envisioned Elrond. Too bad, because Elrond is a fascinating character. Weaving could have done better and I was surprised that his performance left me so cold.