[greyhavener]

"Never has a character been more unworthy of an action figure." This was my son's assessment of Faramir in the movie.<P>I agree with Child of the Seventh age who wanted to see "Never would I take it, even if I found it on the road." <P>I also wanted to hear him say of Boromir "I am not like him." <P>And to hear Sam say to Faramir. "You have an air about you that reminds me of Gandalf, of wizards." I actually saw a bit of that air in David Wenham had he been given dialogue to match it.<P>I think Peter Jackson has failed to believe in his audience. He has substituted conflict and action for mutually respectful dialogue to move the story along. <P>Along with Faramir, Treebeard and Theoden were weakened in how they were convinced to go to war. The integrity each of these characters display in conversations with members of the Fellowship in the book is diminished by the changes in the movie. Unlike Faramir, Treebeard and Theoden were not utterly changed in their personalities.<P>Jackson did a good job in "Fellowship" using words to move along the action, reveal character and impart information. He somewhat abandoned words for action in "Two Towers." That said, I still enjoyed the movie and could accept the changes except for Faramir.