Worst portrayal? Best?

[Burzdol]

What character had the worst portrayal? Or what place, thing, etc. I want to know other people's opinion.<P>I thought not mentioning the stone trolls when they met Arwen was horrible. It would have tied in perfectly. But they didn't. Most people believe and/or get Bilbo's story, [at least in the theatre I was at] so that would have helped a lot.<P>******************************************* **<P>I also want other opinions about the best thing.<P>I thought Helm's Deep was phenomenal. I mean perfect. When I first saw it I was in awe. Everything about it was perfect, just perfect.<P>The best character was Gollem He was cool. I loved how he fought with himself. It was hilarious!<P>What do you think?<P>~Burzdol~

[MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie]

It's hard to diecide which is the best. That would take a lot of time and effort to figure out, and even then it is questionable. So with that said, I'll tell you who I think was portrayed the worst: Faramir. I've go to go now, so I can't explain. If anyone wants me to, I will later. But does this really need an explanation at all?

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

I don't have a moment of time, and I should be doing homework right now, so I'll think over it and post later, but I'd just like to say: I thought Faramir was really off of how he was in the book, but I thought his acting was totally incredible, so that compensates for it. For him and Frodo and Gollum you could basically tell what their characters were thinking on their faces. I don't know (yet) who I'll put as best and worst, but for facial expressions, those three definitely win. Just my opinion though.<p>[ March 09, 2003: Message edited by: GaladrieloftheOlden ]

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>So with that said, I'll tell you who I think was portrayed the worst: Faramir.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I thought David Wenham's acting was superb, but the way he was written was horrid. So I'm not sure I can safely say Faramir was the worst portrayal without my conscience acting up on me.<P>I find all the acting equally good and bad and I don't think I could possibly choose a worst and best portrayal.<P>About the stone troll thing: it is added back in during the extended version.

[Luinalatawen]

Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen made an excellent Gandalf and Aragorn. David Wenham did a great job of playing the part that was written for Faramir, but I agree with Rynoah that it was not accurate to Tolkien. Faramir seemed to be someone to fear in the movie and his personality did not come through.

[Dunlondion]

I think Gandalf was the best. I am quite horrified I cannot find a comment about him in this discussion. I think sir Ian was wonderful as him. I also liked Saruman

[Sleeping Beauty]

All the acting in the movie so far has been superb. I do agree though that Faramir was not done justly. For about a month after seeing the movie, I was perturbed by him and wondered why he come off so wrong. The actor did a great job with what he had, which smoothed things over somewhat. But the one that really really suprised me was Sean Bean as Boromir. Boromir suffice to say is not larger than life in the Fellowship. But Sean put life into that character and made him seem real. I enjoyed watching him saying his parts in the movie. Every pause made it look like Boromir struggled with himself, especially in Lorien.<P>Huh....Here's a thought. Faramir it seems to me comes off the best in the books, but so far Boromir takes the cake as far as the movies. Interesting.

[Arwen_Evenstar]

CHARACTERS:<BR>BEST: Gandalf!!! Sir Ian McKellen did such a great job!<BR>WORST: Faramir!!!! they totally screwed him up!!!!<BR>PLACES:<BR>BEST: Um...tie between Bree and Hobbiton...<BR>WORST: Uh...dunno really...i may think of one later!

[Lalaith]

Best acting: Ian McKellen, without a doubt.<BR>And Gollum. <BR>Worst: this is going to get me flamed, no doubt. but I think Elijah Wood's acting is more than a little hammy. <BR>Worst bit of acting: when Sam and Frodo are discussing, lightheartedly, their exploits being turned to song. Frodo says "What about Sam, dad, Frodo would never have made it without him" and Sam says "oh come on Mr Frodo I was being serious." But as Elijah says the line not in the jokey mode he was meant to, but in his usual Earnest and Meaningful way, Sam's line is superfluous, we are never in doubt that Frodo was serious. <BR>Hugo Weaving's Elrond is also a bit hammy with all his Arrrrrrrrrwens. And while Orlando Bloom's acting is usually very good, some of his lines are delivered rather in the mode of the End of Term Play at Eton. Eg: "The Uruks turn Northeast. They are taking the hobbits to Isengard."

[vanwalossien]

Lalaith: The "they are taking the hobbits to Isengard" line sounds all freaky, I agree. Oh, and Elijah's a good actor and all that, but his performance as Frodo isn't too impressive.<P>Best acting: both sir Ians, Andy Serkis and Sean B<BR>Best place: Bree, Rivendell and Osgiliath (I <I>know</I> they shouldn't have been there, the city looks real anyway).<P>I've calmed down a bit about Faramir, thinking that the most important thing is that he managed to send the Ring away, even if it took too long...

[Inderjit Sanghera]

Worst= Natarully, Faramir and Gimli.<P>Best= Gandalf, Aragorn and Gollum.

[Finnguala]

BEST: ARAGORN!! Viggo was soooooo good! And Ian McKellen also did very well.<BR>WORST: I have to agree with the most of you: Faramir. I really have no idea why... I just didn't like him. He was a bit... umm... I don't know...<BR>The best places are Hobbiton and Rivendell. I'd love to live there the rest of my life They are SO beautiful. <BR>I don't think there are any worse places...

[Lalaith]

Are we talking about acting or character depiction? In my mind, they are two different things. One is the fault of the actor, the other the fault of the script writer and director. <P>I intensely dislike the way Gimli has been portrayed as a character, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the acting. I don't like the way Theoden was portrayed either, but again, the acting was fine.

[Meela]

Ive asked this time and time again, and i'll continue asking until i get a decent answer.<P>what is wrong with Faramir?<P>i have read the books. i do know that his character is different from the book, but i thought that the different way of portraying him was actually very good.<P>can someone please explain why his portrayal was off?

[Meela]

oh, and for me, the best was helms deep, eomer, theoden, wormtongue, aragorn, faramir, boromir, the one ring (round of applause), isildur, elrond, osgiliath, minas tirith (round of applause for cameo appearance in fotr), and denethor (super round of applause in advance cos hes the best of em all)

[Meela]

and celeborn and haldir

[Burzdol]

YEah, would someone tell me why you "hated" Faramir. I have read all the books over and over, and I know that that wasn't the best they could have done.<P>Still, considering all this, I thought his was okay. Not great, but not horrible at the same time.<P>~Burzdol Laioreon~

[Peri]

Worst char: FARAMIR!! (agrees with Rynoah)<BR>Best char: Aragorn. He's just like I imagined him.<P>Worst place: Bree. Just didn't like the way it looked. Not the way I pictured it at all.<BR>Best place: Rivendell. They did a beautiful job and it's pretty much just what I thought it would look like.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>But the one that really really suprised me was Sean Bean as Boromir. Boromir suffice to say is not larger than life in the Fellowship. But Sean put life into that character and made him seem real. I enjoyed watching him saying his parts in the movie. Every pause made it look like Boromir struggled with himself, especially in Lorien.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Bravo! Well-said! <P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>... what is wrong with Faramir?<BR>...<BR>can someone please explain why his portrayal was off?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>It's hard to explain. Here we have Denethor, who went insane and Boromir fell to the Ring. You begin to think that this entire family is a bunch of bad apples and you begin to dislike the entire lot. And then, you find Faramir, who does not want the Ring (to get his father's approval or any other reason!) and who allows it to slip from his grasp. He is the one who proves that this family was, and still is, noble and he builds up your faith again. He didn't do that in the movie, he only made me despise this family of Stewards. People who don't read the books will see him as nothing more than his older brother in a smaller, younger package and they will hate Denethor and his sons; and that is a gross injustice.<P>Another thing I liked about the book Faramir that I found lacking in the movie character, is that he attributed to the wariness I felt towards Denethor once he was first introduced in the books. Usually, you can tell what a parent is like by looking at their children. After looking at Boromir, one thinks how awful his father would be, and you then look at Faramir and you can't decide whether or not Denethor will be good or bad until you meet him. It's a good tactic to keep readers curious.<P>I hope this made sense; I'm afraid I'm not very good with words at the moment due to sleep deprivation. This is, of course, my own opinion. I cannot speak for everyone else on this messageboard.<p>[ March 10, 2003: Message edited by: Rynoah, the Overly-Happy ]

[Beruthiel]

The best portrayed characters were Boromir, Gandalf and (in my opinion) Eowyn.<BR>Boromir because Sean Bean's acting was great.<BR>Gandalf because he was exactly the way I imagined him, he was perfect.<BR>Eowyn because she's one of my favourite characters and I'm happy because they didn't turn that whole Eowyn-Aragorn-Arwen thing into a stupid hollywood love triangle which would have ruined the movie. <P>The worst was Faramir, just read Ryonah's post to see why.

[Burzdol]

I guess so........<P>I have to say the worst character was Wormtounge. I couldn't stand him!<P>~Burzdol~

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I have to say the worst character was Wormtounge. I couldn't stand him!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Me either...<P>... wasn't it awesome?!

[Cibbwin]

Favorites<P>Eowyn (I love the character, and Miranda Otto is beautiful)<P>Gimli (I liked how he was scripted personally, brought out a kind heart under the gruff exterior)<P>Eomer (Again, I love the character)<P>Anyone from Edoras, Edoras itself, and Rivendell. I liked Lothlorien alot, despite the change, mainly because, well, in all honesty I hate sunlight, and the book Lorien didn't sound too appealing.<P>Worst<P>How short of a role Eomer recieved<P>How the hobbits met no other hobbits in Bree<P>Other than that, it was truly beautiful. Even Faramir was good, mainly due to his acting. VERY superb acting.

[Luinalatawen]

Oh yes... Eowyn. Her character was just about perfect. But Gandalf was the best. Definitely. Sir Ian really paid attention to every detail, and it sure did pay off.

[Iarephelion]

Apologies in advance, but I just couldn't stand Liv Tyler as Arwen. Partly because the love story bit was overplayed (in my opinion), but also I could not reconcile her appearance with an Elf. I know this is completely immature but I think her face is too big (and no, not just the mouth). If daddy Steve had played Elrond I might have found her a little easier to bear, but it might have done untold damage to the film.<p>[ March 14, 2003: Message edited by: Iarephelion ]

[Pukel-Man]

Best. Gandalf-perfect casting<P>Worst. Frodo-Wood is way too weak,he looks like he's going to start crying in damn near every scene.

[Frodo Baggins]

Sadly, all Meela said I have to agree with, but Rynoah's right about Faramir too.<P>Pukel-man. You know now that you said it, Frodo does look almost always like he's about to burst into tears. I mean c'mon! What happened to "By Elbereth and Luthien the Fair you shall have neither me nor the Ring."? And the ringwraith that was stabbed by Frodo. Our dear little movie hobbit just throws down his sword and runs. (Like running from a a Ringwraith's going to help) Ah well.<P> BTW I think Meela and Denethor are getting pretty thick. (just kidding Meela, look at the PM I sent you)

[Manardariel]

Best:<BR>Aragorn, Aragorn, Aragorn, Aragorn!!! Not only a briliant actor, but also a HOT one! Geez, I sound like a rabid fangirl, which I´m not... not really, anyway.<BR>And, of course, the fab 3: Merry, Pippin and Sam.HOBBITS RULE! Oh, and I also liked Galadriel. A LOT. And Arwen. And Gimli. And Saruman.<P>Worst:<BR>*Elrond (hmmm, I don´t even know why), Eowyn (two words: stare. giggle. Oh puleeze), Theoden (especially that redicoulus crying scene), Legolas (Born to nance?!)... yeah, that´s about it

[Ringethiriel]

Best<BR>Character:<BR>Aragorn, no contest!<BR>Place:<BR>Helm's Deep and Rivendell<P>Worst<BR>Character:<BR>Faramir, because of the script written for him (the acting was great)<BR>Place:<BR>i'll get back to you with that because i can't think of any at the moment.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

Hmm... it seems in my rabid attempts to defend Faramir from the evils of movie scripting, I forgot to add my favorite portrayal of a place! Helm's Deep will always be a favorite, but what I've seen of Minas Tirith also has me in awe. The Shire was beautifully done (my mother says it's exactly as she imagined it) as well. So, yes, so far Helm's Deep and the Shire have my utmost admiration, but we've yet to see much more of the White Tower.

[Aerandir Carnesir]

Best Character(s): Aragorn, Gollum/Smeagol, Gandalf, and Treebeard. I liked everybody in Rohan too. Everyone else was so,so.<BR>Best Places:I thought every place was done excellently. I liked Bree the least though.<P>Worst Character(s): Arwen and Elrond. I can't picture Agent Smith from the Matrix as an Elf Lord. Frodo is really cool, but he's a little gay in some of the scenes.<BR>Worst Place:Out of all the other places, Bree, but it was pretty good for the most part.

[Daisy Brambleburr]

What was great? The Black Riders were great, really spooky! Also, I loved Viggo as Aragorn. He was perfect! Sean Bean also did a great job. Rivendell was wonderful too.<P>What stank? Faramirs portrayal stank. I absolutely hated it, and it really annoyed me. The actor=good, script= bad! Also, is it just me or do Faramir and Boromir look really alike, as if they actually could have been related, even though the actors weren't? The flying Nazgul also stank in TTT, worms with spikes would be a better term than dragons.<BR>Also, what was with Entmoot? The version in the books made much more sense than the movie version. Why would Treebeard have called Entmoot if he had not known about all the trees in Isengard?<BR>I think I've said quite enough!<BR>Love Daisy

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Also, is it just me or do Faramir and Boromir look really alike, as if they actually could have been related, even though the actors weren't? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I also found the resemblance between David Wenham and Sean Bean quite similar (it was one of the things about the movie Faramir that I liked. Tolkien said that Faramir and Boromir bore a strong resemblance to each other). Glad someone agrees with me.

[Silmarien]

I thought all the actors did well. Characters; enough has been said about Faramir (but I guess I agree that David Wehnams acting goes a long way to making me reconciled). <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Eowyn (two words: stare. giggle. Oh puleeze), Theoden (especially that redicoulus crying scene), <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Manardariel, I don't think I saw Éowyn giggle in the whole thing and if you mean her staring at Aragorn well wouldn't you if he turned up and looked like an escape from Wormtongue. *shudder* And Theoden isn't he allowed to mourn the death of his only son.<P>BTW did you know that Brad Dourif(Grima) had his eyebrows shaved off for the movie.

[Arathiriel]

Best Acting in FOTR: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Sean Bean (<I>whose portrayal of Boromir incidentially make me like the character</I>)<P>Worst Acting in FOTR: Well not so much as bad acting as poorly written lines: The entire Saruman/Gandalf confrontation at Isengard (<I>I mean WHO doesn't cringe while watching them have it it?!!</I>) - Saruman's line: <I>"So you have chosen death..."</I> -Elrond's line: <I>"You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring..."</I> I <B>sooooooooo</B> cringe each and everytime I watch that scene!<P>***<BR>Best Acting in TTT: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin (oh I just <B>loved</B> him in this one, Andy Serkis (<I>gosh but he stole the show as Gollum</I>), Ian McKellen (<I>did anyone else get a chill down there spine when Gandalf first appears? - I did and I had tears in my eyes too!</I>), Viggo Mortensen, Miranda Otto (<I>I loved her as Eowyn</I>), Brad Dourif (<I>oh my Elbereth but he was the PERFECT choice for Grima Wormtongue!!!</I>)<P>I also loved the scenes with Shadowfax and I absolutely had goosebumps when we first saw him - and you may cringe but I loved the Aragorn/Arwen scenes as well as the angst-o-rama scenes of Elrond talking to Arwen about what her future will be if she stays in M.E. instead of departing for Vailnor...<P>The only thing in TTT that might have been over the top was the exorcism scene for King Theoden...

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>The only thing in TTT that might have been over the top was the exorcism scene for King Theoden...<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I hope I'm not the only one who thought this was rather good.

[Arathiriel]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>I hope I'm not the only one who thought this was rather good. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Hey if nothing else I thought the movie was really, really, really <B>great</B>!!!<P>I think the two times I watched this scene, I inwardly cringed at it as I cringed when I watched Gandalf/Saruman go at each other in FOTR or when I hear that cringeworthy line of Elrond's from the Council scene...<P>Don't get me wrong, I <B>LOVE</B> both movies very very very very much!!!

[Cibbwin]

I loved the "exorcism" scene alot! It was well done!

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Wow, nice thread. I think I'll just comment on every character I can remember *ignores groans from every direction* Ok...<BR>Frodo- I actually thought he was amazing...or very good, at leadt. He<B>does</B> looki like he''s gonna start crying any moment, but I think that that was deliberate. I thought that it was just meant to symbolize the weight of the Ring on him. It's not like he <B>couldn't</B> be all merry and happy, you saw in the first movie, at the party, and in the extended version in the pub. It was just that if he had been like that in the other parts, we would all be making fun of him for that. Also, I thought that he was one of the three actors for whom you could just tell what their character was thinking by the look on their face.<BR>Sam- The first time I saw TTT, I thought he was real corny, but as I saw it more and more times it semed like he got better. He was pretty much the way I imagined him, except that he would have been less- well, i don't know. I thought he was not bad though, and he looked very earnest. The "they'll put us into stories?" thing at the end was kind of strange, but still good.<BR>Merry- I liked him more in TTT. It's Pip's role to do comic relief- Mery was basically good, just a little more shallow than some of the others.<BR>Pip- Pretty much same, except he's funny.<BR>Gimli- Hmm...not too great. Leave the humor to the hobbits, you'll be better off. Not too bad, and he's not a bad actor, as we'll see with Treebeard, just...I dunno.<BR>I gotta go, school tomoroorw, not done with homework, but I'll type out the rest later.

My least favorite portrayal was Hugo Weaving as Elrond. Not only can I not forget Matrix, but who can forget him as Mitzi Del Bra in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Plus he just looked weird--not elvish--those braids have to go. My disappointment about Faramir was the writing -- the writers made him less noble than the character actually was. This was a poor choice since it is Faramir's inborn nobility (and strained relation with Denethor) that sets up so much of the excitement and tension of TTT and ROTK. We feel his pain over his father's dismissal of him, his bravery at the gates, and his falling in love with Eowyn is a sweet reward for him. But none of that makes sense or has the same dramatic effect if Faramir isn't seen as being fundamentally different from Boromir. Perhaps the writers will emphasize their differences in ROTK (although obviously they lost their best chance.)