Gandalf Vs. The Witch King

Originally Posted by Essex

I would have filmed it exactly as it was in the book. But I'm unsure of the dramatic tension it would have on screen as apposed to the tension it does have in the book. I think this might be one of the reasons why Jackson & co made their Sacrilegeous Change. - it's not possible sometimes to copy line for line and action for action from book to film. See my earlier post on how weak movie Harry Potter &TPS was compared to the written word.

I agree, but if PJ wanted to add more tension then how about the WK just hurling a bolt of fire at Gandalf, who with all his power just manages to block it (rather like when he staved off the huge fire sword of the Balrog)?

Rather than getting into a debate again over who was mightier than who, it wasn't even realistic that Gandalf could be finished off within 10 seconds of combat unless the Witch King was much, much more mightier. I doubt even whether Sauron could manage it so clinically - but according to PJ's logic the Dark Lord would be able to finish off Gandalf in 1 second!

Even people who watched all the movies but without indepth knowledge of book were probably left wondering why Gandalf was so easily overmatched by the WK when he overcame what appears a greater foe in the form of the Balrog.

In short, PJ should have stuck with the hierachy of power as with the Book; in some cases, knobody knows for sure who is more powerful than who, so the audience should be left with the same feeling rather than being given the answer in this false manner so simply. The same also applies for the scene where Aragorn beheads the Mouth of Sauron - in the book he is more or less the equal of the Witch King so why was he so easily defeated in the movie??? Where is the logic????