[Boromir88]

Boromir, who again I like more than you-know-who, consoles Frodo over Gandalf’s death. His betrayal later is even darker as here the two sit in the trees of Lothlorien and he seeks to help his brother Frodo. You just have to like this character, as played by Sean Bean, and PJ has made me appreciate Boromir more than I did when reading the books. Sure, he’s a warrior and not in the class of his brother or Aragorn, but he’s a common man who understands simple common things. There’s no air about him – ya, he may boast and brag – but he’s one of us, not some king on a throne or some distant elf-dating one-note.

I hope I don't go too far off as I talk about Sean Bean, not just as his performance in LOTR, but as an actor. This is the exact role that Sean Bean is known for. Though he's done other roles, and has done them well, like the Romantic type in his upcoming movie Silent Hill, or your simple good guy, when I think of Sean Bean I think of his as the typical human. He plays the typical human in a lot of his roles, even when he is the "villain" of the movie. Which makes him perfect as Boromir and as to why I think he makes such a great and convincing Boromir.

I'm just going to go off into some of his former movies where Sean Bean plays the villain.

The Island (Merrick): Bean plays the man who created this alternative world, and who is the scientist behind the cloning. But as this movie sets it up, Merrick isn't some evil-mad scientist, but a scientist that thinks what he's doing is benefitting society, and is benefitting life. What he's doing is making the world better, but in all reality he's blinded by his own research.

Patriot Games (Sean Miller): Bean is of course the terrorist after Harrison Ford in the movie. But again, he's not that typical villain, because as we find out Ford had killed Bean's brother. So, Bean just takes his anger down that wrong path of revenge.

Golden Eye (Travelyn): The nemesis of James Bond in this movie. Again, we can sympathise with Travelyn as in his mind Bond left him for dead and betrayed him.

National Treasure (Ian Howe): Here is the clear-cut villain, however his motives are "humanized." First being the friend and helper of Nicolas Cage, but then gets caught up with Greed and the desire for wealth.

Sorry if that's off track, but just showing that Sean Bean is known for these "humanized roles" and why I think we as people can connect with him and makes him especially good for Boromir. He's not necessary this evil-villain, but even in the movies where he does play the villain, his motives are human and understandable. As humans we give into things like Greed, revenge, hate...etc and Bean excels at these roles.

One of the most beautiful lines I think are said in thise part, the exchange between Boromir and Aragorn in Lothlorien. First, the pain that Boromir is suffering as Gondor is failing and he's struggling to find hope for it. But some of the most splendid lines are said:

Have you ever seen it Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver. It's banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clearing of the silver trumpets?

Though in the books no one says these lines, this is basically word for word of the description we get when Gandalf and Pippin see the Tower of Ecthelion:

Then Pippin cried aloud, for the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals; and white banners broke out and fluttered from the battlements in the morning breeze, and high and far he heard a clear ringing as of silver trumpets.~Minas Tirith

Wonderful insight done by Jackson and putting the description of the Tower we get from the books into the movies.

I do agree with the statement that as the movies progress Gimli's character goes down hill. However, I will say in FOTR I was quite pleased with Gimli's character. There are some instances (here in Lothlorien) and later where he is used for comic relief, but I don't find it bad. I actually find it funny and ment for exactly what it's for, to be funny. His comic relief in FOTR didn't take away from what a dwarf is, or who the dwarves are. But in TTT, we start venturing into undwarvish like characteristics and further downhill in ROTK where the comic relief just isn't funny and is rather annoying hearing Gimli crack a joke or others laugh at him everytime we see him.

As far as Galadriel's gifts are concerned:

Just to point out quickly, we DO see this in the standard version - yes, it's been ages since I watched the original, but I remember this from it - it's the only part of the scene giving we see in the thatrical release.

Just to back up Essex, yes Frodo receiving the Phial is in the regular version, it's the other gifts that are in the extended. Something I've always found funny though, and a question that occasionally pops up is why didn't Boromir get a gift? Is this a slip-up by Jackson or didn't he just really care? Perhaps we're meant to think Boromir ends up taking the Ring because Galadriel didn't give him a gift and he feels left out? I just don't understand why there's not a scene where Boromir receives a gold belt. If you're going to add the scenes where the Fellowship all get gifts, why leave out one of them?