*TTT - Gandalf the White (Ian McKellan)*

[Rimbaud]

...and that's the funny thing about these films, it seems to me. Unlike many other adaptations, I do not have too many problems with <I>casting</I> per se, but now a multitude about <I>directing</I>. All the actors, especially the old school - McKellen, Blanchett, Holm, Lee - do superbly. Yet they ofetn feel misdirected, underplayed, undervalued. <P>Perhaps it is the fact that juxtaposed with their character observations are the showy bangs and crashes of special effects that producers demand audiences to want.<P>Take Elijah Wood, who is not inherently a poor actor. However, Frodo's part is horridly written for the screen, and his ineffectuality is not testament to the actor's skill, nor the original depth of the literary character. This leaves only the script-writers and director to blame for the myriad errors that other minds have discerned.<P>It seems despite the actors' and author's best efforts, certain elements of the production team are determined to remove any trace of the crucial elements of LOTR - character development and interaction, leading to exposition and growth.