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When I first saw the snippet of Denethor in TTT EE, and then RoTK, I was quite vexed; it was not what I was expecting at all. After a few more viewings however, I quite enjoy Jackson’s version of the great man of Gondor. Naturally, he is helped by getting some of the best lines from the books, but it is something about how he shoots his cuffs when he sits down, or his patronising smile when receiving Pippen’s pledge, that make him a pleasure to watch, provided of course you don’t confuse him with your own Denethor. (Now my Denethor is quite different: more wizardly than Gandalf, more command in his voice than Saruman, and more nobility sitting on the privvy than Aragorn on his throne.)
With regards to the lack of palantir and his madness, I concur with Kronos: Jackson provided enough reasons for him to go mad without involving the flaming bowling ball. He could see the doom of Gondor well enough from the embrasure. And besides, it brought about one of my favourite lines in the film, one that I will shamelessly steal during the next office fire drill, “Abandon your posts! Flee for your lives!” Hilarious.
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