Book vs. Movie characters - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Lord of Angmar · 06-28-2003, 07:48 PM

I have to say that the part I least enjoyed in the movies was that of Faramir. The fact that he was so similar in mood to his brother in the movie seemed to conflict with Tolkien's own view of the young Captain of Gondor. I think by far the best presences in the movie are Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Sean Bean as Boromir, Christopher Lee as Saruman, and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn.

The characters I think were the furthest from Tolkien's original intention were Legolas and Gimli. Legolas seems to be too two-dimensional and Gimli was obviously the comic relief throughout the entire second movie.

All in all, I have to say that I enjoyed the characters in the books much better. They seemed more well-rounded (except for Boromir) and I think that the greatest fault in the movie was the fact that Faramir was exactly the same as his brother, whereas in the book he was wiser, kinder, and had more of an Elvish quality.

As a side note (although this should be included in the movies section), I think that the scene in which Frodo offers the One Ring to the Winged Nazgul in the movie was highly implausible and would cause serious problems for Frodo and Sam. And why would Faramir have a change of heart (which he did in the movie) after he had just seen Frodo offer the Ring to the enemies?

~Lord of Angmar

06-28-2003, 07:48 PM	#11
Lord of Angmar Tyrannus Incorporalis Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: the North Posts: 833	I have to say that the part I least enjoyed in the movies was that of Faramir. The fact that he was so similar in mood to his brother in the movie seemed to conflict with Tolkien's own view of the young Captain of Gondor. I think by far the best presences in the movie are Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Sean Bean as Boromir, Christopher Lee as Saruman, and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. The characters I think were the furthest from Tolkien's original intention were Legolas and Gimli. Legolas seems to be too two-dimensional and Gimli was obviously the comic relief throughout the entire second movie. All in all, I have to say that I enjoyed the characters in the books much better. They seemed more well-rounded (except for Boromir) and I think that the greatest fault in the movie was the fact that Faramir was exactly the same as his brother, whereas in the book he was wiser, kinder, and had more of an Elvish quality. As a side note (although this should be included in the movies section), I think that the scene in which Frodo offers the One Ring to the Winged Nazgul in the movie was highly implausible and would cause serious problems for Frodo and Sam. And why would Faramir have a change of heart (which he did in the movie) after he had just seen Frodo offer the Ring to the enemies? ~Lord of Angmar __________________ ...where the instrument of intelligence is added to brute power and evil will, mankind is powerless in its own defence.