I just don't understand.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Imladris

Oh come now -- this one is a little harsh. Surely you have said the obvious to someone who is not doing the obvious.

Leggy-Bopper.

[Folwren]

The lines that the script writer gave to Legolas has nothing to do with how he walks and acts and looks. It is not his fault that he had so little to say. The few lines he got he did well.

Besides, it's almost anyone's reaction to put a definision to a new game or thing that someone is telling you about. If someone were to say, "Hey, I know an interesting game where we both run and try to reach that tree over there and the first one wins!" I would probably reply, not stupidly, but observantly, and probably with the thought 'Why didn't you say this?' " A race!"

Really. . .these are all very lame excuses thus far.

-- Folwren

[Mithalwen]

well I suppose in the film he is Prince Legolas the Perpetually Surprised - by things that aren't particularly surprising..especially for one who could (presumably) measure his time in Arda by centuries if not millenia. In FOTR he seemed startled by evidence of Orcs in Moria, crows ... just flying in the sky as birds do..not tap dancing or talking or anything wierd ...half expected him to arrive in Lorien and exclaim "Trees" ..and in TTT he was the worlds worst look out despite elvish senses.

To be fair it is quite hard to find ways to make a human playing an elf have that special quality, the otherness, that all the book characters recognize even if they have not had contact with them - and yet remain close enough to humans to make intermarriage not seem wierd. With Legolas, it is hardest because he is one of the company .. can't put him in an aura of light in the same way as say Galadriel (and if you haven't seen the exhibition her dress was so beautifully made that it did seem to radiate light) - he ended up being a bit fey and an disconcerting shade of blonde (shades of Village of the Damned)....

[Lalwendë]

Poor Orlando with his clipped. Drama. School. Acting.



It was the dreadful stunts that got to me, swinging off of elephant trunks like Tarzan in green opaque tights and making out like he was the Tony Hawks of Helm's Deep.

But really, it wasn't Orlando's fault he got awful lines and they turned him into a Himbo. As if to add insult to injury in his next big role he had to attempt to act in the face of Johnny Depp's magnificent scene stealing Jack Sparrow.

[Hookbill the Goomba]

For me, it was the fact that he didn't live up to the mental image I had built up about Legolas and what he should look like. Most of the other characters I could live with being as they were, not too different from my book image.
Legolas was the only one who was too far withdrawn from my original idea of what he should look like.

I, of course (and I assume everyone else) thought he looked like this. Didn't you?

On a serious note, I think that, as with most running gags, it stemmed from lost roots and is now a well established joke and will go on until everyone is tyred of it.

[mormegil]

I think there is two problems that make it a larger problem overall.

First and the most obvious is the obnoxious fan-girls who were so wooed over Legolas. It was the 'Oh he's so hot' remarks that annoyed me. It seems that they only were interested in LotRs because of his relative hotness.

Secondly, the over did the Legolas character. He's a good warrior with great bowmanship and swordsmanship but he's not a super hero or super surfer. The shield surfing was obnoxious but most obnoxious to me was the oliphant riding.

They made Legolas be the heart throb, so to speak, and it disgusted me as a fan.

Also Fordim had some good points too.

Edit: Cross posted with everything after Fordim's "leggy-booper" post. I was really busy at work.

[Folwren]

Ah. I see. I understand the annoyingness of the Legolas Fan-Girls. What rumors I heard of them amused me to pieces, but I understand how too much of it could be bothersome. Not enough to turn me away from Legolas.

However, his stunts - leaping onto horseback by swinging himself up with his hand on the collar thing of his horse, climbing up the Oliphaunt and the shield thing in Helm's Deep - were a bit much. However, I think that he looked like an elf, and when he wasn't doing anything that an elf couldn't and wouldn't realisticially do, I thought he did alright. His lines in the FotR make me laugh (have you ever quoted them by themslves all the way through? It takes about .... 30 seconds), but from what I remember, his lines in the other movies are alright.

I especially liked the fact that he walked on top of the snow.

That's all I've time for for now. They're calling me in to fold laundry. *sigh* More opinions would be nice.

-- Folwren

[MatthewM]

Originally Posted by Folwren

I especially liked the fact that he walked on top of the snow.

Me too. I've always defended Legolas, movie and book alike. I think some people (us males especially) tend to be jealous of the guy the girls go crazy over. I'm not jealous over him though, it's not Legolas' fault! But seriously, people who say he is "girly" obviously never read the books, because Elves in general are...well...more...graceful. People just twist things around that they don't understand. I too think Bloom did an amazing job at Legolas.

As for his lines...fine, one or two were a bit corny. But in the books, the characters are ALWAYS stating the obvious. It just doesn't sound bad because it isn't on a huge movie screen in a live version. That's just the way it is.

I agree with the overdone scenes though. The oliphant take over...way too much. I could deal with the slide down Helm's Deep, but the oliphant was ridiculous. Fun to watch though.

Anyway, there's my two cents.

[Imladris]

Fordim, I'm glad to say I have outgrown my Leggy bopper days! >.> <.<

As for the so-called "girlyness" of elves, I will be an egoist and point those who are interested in rabbit trails to this: Lament for the Elves

But, also, I think the main hatred of Legolas goes to problem of the compatableness of LotR to film. Let's face it, Legolas is a cardboard character -- it really shouldn't come as a surprise that he's a flimsy film character, slightly crumpled on film.

[Macalaure]

I've always defended Legolas, movie and book alike.

You bring up a good point. What extremely bothers me is that people not only make fun of movie-Legolas, but also of book-Legolas. The two don't really have that much in common - since the writers cut out almost every intelligent sentence Tolkien lets Legolas say in the book. I don't think of book-Legolas as a cardboard character.
If people want to make fun about movie-Legolas, I'm fine. When they make fun of the character in general, I'm a little, well, not upset, but I don't like it - I guess mainly because they do it far too much.

[Lhunardawen]

We have to admit that PJ has financial motive - not too ulterior, as a matter of fact. Someone has to rake in all the girls, and ruggedly handsome Aragorn is too noble for the job. Yeah, like morm said. Heartthrob.

He's too perfect. No one in a film can be that perfect.

PJ & Co. has to make modern-day people who would rather sit in the dark watching a film munching popcorn than read a book understand that the book says that an Elf is so-and-so. There can't be a narrator saying "an Elf is so-and-so" verbatim from the book, so PJ & Co. has to translate it to a language that the modern-day people can understand. If the book says that an Elf is tireless and graceful and all that stuff about being a warrior, they have to show it. Turn him into a skaterboi and the stuntman of your dreams.

I wonder how you will react if I tell you that it all boils down to Bloom's fault that I'm even posting this, here, right now.