Was it out of character?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

Next onto the "rules of war." I love this term, it's sort of an oxymoron, rules...in war? what?

I would agree that there generally are rules in war, but it being war, they are frequently broken, whether by use of cruelty or development of new weaponry or military tactics. We currently have the Geneva Convention but we only have to watch the news to see it being broken by forces of all nations to varying degrees. And the development of rocketry during WWII led to some devastating new tactics.

I liked (if liked is the correct word?) the bit in the Siege of Gondor where the heads are catapulted over the wall, as it did add to the sense of horror and showed what the Orcs might be capable of. I know someone who does historical re-enactment and I've heard some great tales of tactics used in siege warfare, including the catapulting of enemies' heads over walls. Arrows would also be dipped in rotting corpses, in the hopes of spreading disease, and sewage would also be used as a projectile. I think it's in The Life of Brian where a dead cow is used as a projectile, and in actual fact, this is not far from the truth. Which is what makes it all the funnier!

Reading what you've said about Aragorn's character in the film, then his beheading of the Mouth of Sauron is not entirely out of character; he does display anger and what might instead be properly called frustration during the course of the films. This is quite different from his book portrayal, but not uncomfortably so for a film audience. After all there are those who think him pompous in the book, aren't there?