[Orual]

One word, Maril: Yes. Definitely more Merry and Pippin, less Gimli the Comedian, less Faramir the Would-Be Ringbearer. For sure, the Merry/Pippin/Treebeard scenes wouldn't be the focus of the film, but I think that it was severely underplayed. (The more of Billy Boyd's accent, the better.)<P>Additional changes:<P><UL TYPE=SQUARE><LI>More of Frodo making decisions, fewer close-ups of his tormented face. Frodo takes charge of the Quest in TT; make it show.<BR><LI>Don't have Frodo attack Sam, though doing away with Osgiliath may remedy that anyway. If there must be a physical attack, Sam must make some move to take the Ring. (I.e., "Can I help you bear it--just for a little while?" Then Frodo goes psycho.)<BR><LI>Take away those angle-switching Gollum/Smeagol scenes. Everybody in the theatre was laughing; NOT the reaction I believe was intended.<BR><LI>Cut the near-death drama with Aragorn. It's too contrived. Many of the viewers have read the books, and there is no suspense, as we know that the third book is named after him. He can't die, so we don't feel anything when it looks like he does.<BR><LI>Definitely cut the Elves. This is the beginning of the age of Men; show it.<BR><LI>Bring back the real Faramir. He portrayed the goodness of Men, and acted as a contrast to Boromir.</UL><P>That's basically all that I can think of now, but if I think of more, I'll be back!<P>~*~Orual~*~<P><I>But all in all, despite my gripes, I really did love the Two Towers. It rocked.</I>