Stupid Elf Tricks...

[mormegil]

Originally Posted by Gurthang

Take that into contrast with a Legolas who can't even fight his way through a crowd to save Aragorn in RotK and you've got a pretty up-and-down character.

I would posit the difference there is not an inconsistency but merely the fighting style of Legolas. Simply put Legolas is an open-aired fighter, meaning he is best in open spaces with lots of room to maneuver so a close compact battle is not ideal. That is what happened when he tried to "save" Aragorn. Contrast this with Gimli's fighting style. He would rather be up close and just enough room to swing his axe.