So, Best and Worst Characters?

[Lalwendë]

However, to my mind it is as bizarre as everyone speaking RP to have not got him to clean up the accent when his Australian "father and Brother" spoke accentless English.

Would you say his accent came through so strongly though that it was intrusive? I always thought I only noticed it simply because I'm so used to the accent, and I noticed the long vowels and that kind of thing. By contrast, I'm not used to West Country accents and despite what so many have said, I still can't see much wrong with Sean Astin's accent!

I didn't mind Pip haveing a different accent since he came from a different part of the shire (tho really Merrry should have had the Celtic tones !) .

I agree with you there that Merry ought to have been the one with such a distinctively different accent, although of course both actors were suited to their roles and it wouldn't have 'done' to swap them about.

And by ROTK I had stopped Bernard Hill to say "go on gissa job" and accepted him as Theoden.

That image of Yosser Hughes just does not die though. I've seen Bernard Hill in so many roles but immediately think of him in Boys From the Blackstuff as soon as he comes on screen and it does take a while for that picture to be replaced by whatever role he is now playing!

[Boromir88]

but when Denethor is seen eating in such a manner I found it underlined his character as portrayed in the films (not his book character), as we see him gorging while his son is sent out to battle needlessly.

Lal, if Denethor was the only case of eating slobbishly, I would agree with you. But, as pointed out in one of my previous posts Jackson has a tendancy to do this in each of the movies, making it look like he just put it in there for the heck of it, and nothing to do with showing Denethor's character.

[Finwe-89]

Well, if I need to pick a worst character, then it will be ( of the films ) Denethor, I just hate him! He only showed love to Boromir, but deep in that rocky heart of him, he loved Faramir too

[Boromir88]

Boromir didn't have it quite so easily either. Yes, Denethor did favor him over Faramir, and probably treated him like a loving father should. However, Denethor put a lot of pressure on Boromir to be victorious. Denethor saw Boromir as Gondor's last hope in winning, and put a lot of pressure on Boromir to be a leader of men, and to bring back this "great gift," as Denethor hints at in Minas Tirith. He tells Gandalf "Boromir would have brought it (the ring) back to me." (yes I paraphrased). That's why when Boromir dies, Denethor slips drastically down hill believing all is lost.

[Lalwendë]

Lal, if Denethor was the only case of eating slobbishly, I would agree with you. But, as pointed out in one of my previous posts Jackson has a tendancy to do this in each of the movies, making it look like he just put it in there for the heck of it, and nothing to do with showing Denethor's character.

I'll give you that one then - taken in context with the rest of such instances in the films, I can see that Denethor's eating habits might look undignified! It's interesting though, how these touches of crude humour made it into the films - after all, PJ did make zombie films; I suppose we ought to be grateful none of the Orcs were seen wielding Flymos.

[SamwiseGamgee]

Favourite character is a toughie. There are quite a few who would make it onto my shortlist. I think overall though, I'd have to go for Theoden. I was so terrified that they were going to leave the Ride of the Rohirrim out of the film and when they came to it and then Bernard Hill delivered it as beautifully as he did it was one of the highlights of the trilogy. I also felt that Hill really captured that recovery from his ensnarement by Saruman well- in particular the scene where he says: 'It is a cruel fate that any parent should live to see their child's funeral.' (para.). I also felt that he encapsulated that sense of satisfied achievement in his death speech to Eowyn particularly well, as though he felt he had finally righted the wrongs and died for a noble cause.
Now, my worst character. I'm afraid this is a not-too-shortlist. I'm going to have to just come out and say that it's Elrond, though. There are just too many things which I feel aren't right about him. Firstly, and I'm going to get this out of the way and not mention it any further, I don't think he's beautiful enough to be an elf. Secondly, there's the way he plays the father. Sure, there are the times when he looks after Arwen in TTT and the look as he nods for her to approach Aragorn in Minas Tirith in ROTK, but overall I just found him a sly, manipulative, low-down double-crossin' varmit! Ahem. No, but seriously, I found him to be very manipulative. And then finally there was the snobbishness that I just didn't get a sense of in the books. In the films he seems dismissive of Frodo's chances as well as those of man, and overconfident in his own gift of foresight. I really thought that missed the mark for Elrond, and it didn't impress me at all.
Ok then, there you are... now let me have it!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

...the best character is Theoden.

...the worst characters are Legolas and Denethor.


If you haven't voted, please do. Let's try and make this more representative of the Downers.