LotR movies - The worst/best scene and the worst/best character

I know, I know - I make too many threads.

Anyway, about the Jackson trilogy - what scene/sequence was handled best according to your tastes, and which was handled the worst. The same question for the portrayal of a character.

Best sequence:

Hobbit introduction in FotR. I think the way hobbits were presented was just perfect, and a pretty close match to the one in the book.

Worst sequence:

Shelob. He did exactly the wrong thing with this sequence.

Best character:

Gollum. You know why.

Worst character:

Faramir. I really liked the actor, but they completely missed the point of this character - which is my favorite from the books.

Was there really anything good about those movies?

I won't bother naming "best" things, although I think both of your examples are good.

The worst scene for me was "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields". It was my favorite part of the books, and imo one of the most epic fantasy-fiction battles ever described in words, and Jackson completely fucked it up.

The worst character was Saruman. He was portrayed very differently from the character in the books, and was a huge disappointment for me.

I'd say the worst character was Gimli - Not that he was bad, just that the way they adapted him didn't do justice to the character in the book. He also butchered Aragorn's character in that he goes from someone that is perfectly willing to take his throne to the reluctant ruler.

Best scene - I love the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog.

Over all though, I loved the movies. While not entirely true to the books, in and of themselves they are fantastically done.

I agree with blatantninja.. i didnt like Gimili either, especially how he can't even make expressions with his face because of the makeup-stuff.

Best scene, hmm that's very difficult.. i loved the dead marshes in the books, and it came out great in the movie too i think.

Worst scene. Not sure. What i didn't like in the third movie was the lightning, so extremely artificial at times, looked really off to me.

Overall I really loved the movies. Can't wait to see Bilbo.

Originally Posted by vurt
Overall I really loved the movies. Can't wait to see Bilbo.

Despite not having a high opinion of the LotR trilogy, I have to admit I'm looking forward to The Hobbit. I think it's a story that's more easily adaptable to film. I just hope Jackson doesn't add too much of his own "flair" to it.

Worst scene: that atrocious moment when Legolas surfs down a flight of stairs on a shield while shooting Uruk-Hais. That had me cringing in my seat.

Best scene: I agree with Dartagnan here.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Was there really anything good about those movies?

Art Direction, Music and special effects (Oh and Cristopher Lee and Ian McKellen )

Originally Posted by JDR13
The worst character was Saruman. He was portrayed very differently from the character in the books, and was a huge disappointment for me.

Um, they did not leave a single character untouched iirc . And they screwed the character of the books in many aspects generally speaking.

Worst cases were indeed Faramir, Denethor, Gimli even Theoden. Saruman mainly towards the end (I did not mind the extra Christopher Lee screen time though).

Still, pissed as I was (especially after FOTR) I own the special extended versions and
have seen them many time. Looking at the Original Howe and Lee art come to life, accompanied by a very good soundtrack, is that much fun…

Good scene: Hmm, The whole intro was pretty good and the hobbit sequence too after that I have to agree.

Worst scene: Don't get me started.

I think the first movie was the best one, and that's largely because I'm a big Tolkien fan. It was just about as good as anyone could realistically expect, and matched the book really well - all things considered.

The following two movies had increasing amounts of "Jackson & Co." crap in them, and though I still think they're much better than what I'd hoped for (before FotR was released) - they're not at the same level of quality as the first one. It bothers me, because after FotR - I'd set my sights very high.

So many head-scratching decisions, and I absolutely loathe the slap-stick approach to Gimli, and the over-the-top Legolas antics. They had the best opportunity anyone is ever likely to get to do this right, and so I can't help but ultimately be disappointed.

But, there's no denying that the trilogy is an amazing achievement when you think about Hollywood and how it works. I mean, before LotR - fantasy was a fundamentally broken movie genre.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I think the first movie was the best one, and that's largely because I'm a big Tolkien fan. It was just about as good as anyone could realistically expect, and matched the book really well - all things considered.

The following two movies had increasing amounts of "Jackson & Co." crap in them, and though I still think they're much better than what I'd hoped for (before FotR was released) - they're not at the same level of quality as the first one. It bothers me, because after FotR - I'd set my sights very high.

So many head-scratching decisions, and I absolutely loathe the slap-stick approach to Gimli, and the over-the-top Legolas antics. They had the best opportunity anyone is ever likely to get to do this right, and so I can't help but ultimately be disappointed.

But, there's no denying that the trilogy is an amazing achievement when you think about Hollywood and how it works. I mean, before LotR - fantasy was a fundamentally broken movie genre.

Yep, pretty much agree. The first one had me at least cautiously optimistic (especially after the extended version seemed like a nod to the Fans of the book) as the deviations were not that great and could be justified by the necessities of the translation to the movie format.

Hell I found myself mildly defending the movie to friends that have not indeed read the books as many times as I did during my childhood/puberty years.

After that though… eek…

Originally Posted by Lemonhead
Worst scene: that atrocious moment when Legolas surfs down a flight of stairs on a shield while shooting Uruk-Hais.

Best Scene: Everything Else

I was very surprised in how much I liked them all. I think Jackson did a very good job with them.

Best sequence: One of the most memorable moments has to be Gandalf' stand against the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.

Worst sequence: The ending to RotK just had me groaning in my seat. I can understand Jackson's passion about not letting go so easy. But it was… just… so… drawn… out.

Best character: I don't really think there should be a 'best' character as there is such a huge ensemble cast collaborating together. But if I had to pick one I truly enjoyed watching it would be Eomer of Rohan. If we are talking strictly character portrayal and how it was interpreted by Jackson, I would have to reiterate Gollum - it could have been very easy to mess up one of the core components of the story.

Worst character: Definitely that of Tom Bombadil. Oh wait, he wasn't in it !!!!!!

Originally Posted by JonNik
Art Direction, Music and special effects (Oh and Cristopher Lee and Ian McKellen )

The special effects were hit and miss. They ranged from incredible (Gollum), to embarrassing (Galadriel's transformation when Frodo tempts her with the ring.)

Originally Posted by JonNik
Um, they did not leave a single character untouched iirc . And they screwed the character of the books in many aspects generally speaking.

Oh I agree, but Saruman was a central character in the overall plot, and I simply hated how Jackson reduced him to acting like a simple lackey to Sauron in the films.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
So many head-scratching decisions, and I absolutely loathe the slap-stick approach to Gimli, and the over-the-top Legolas antics.

Yep, and we'll have the privilege of seeing more Legolas antics in The Hobbit, since Jackson has apparently written him into the script.

Originally Posted by JDR13
The special effects were hit and miss. They ranged from incredible (Gollum), to embarrassing (Galadriel's transformation when Frodo tempts her with the ring.)

Heh, that was Jackson's B movie aesthetics breaking through in a couple of places (I thought the underwater ghosts in the Dead Marshes were worst).

But generally speaking, and considering the scope of the books and the enormity of some
of the scenes, Jackson's little company did very well imo.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yep, and we'll have the privilege of seeing more Legolas antics in The Hobbit, since Jackson has apparently written him into the script.

Oh dear God no…

Originally Posted by JDR13
Yep, and we'll have the privilege of seeing more Legolas antics in The Hobbit, since Jackson has apparently written him into the script.

Fantastic. Nothing like an actor who can't act, portraying an action figure instead of a character.

I don't have high hopes for The Hobbit, as I've adjusted for the last two movies.

So, I guess I could be pleasantly surprised - but I expect to be mildly entertained - and that's it.

Having read the books maybe 20 times, it would be very easy for me to criticise the films on all levels - but you know, I think they are just about the best thing that could be made in this (the real) world. You can feel that they treated the matter with respect - the references to the "old history", the visual detail, etc. - that and much more was all lost on the mainstream audience, but they did it anyway, and they have my respect for that. While there are certain points I would have done different, I am quite happy with them overall, especially with the extended editions on DVD.

There is only one moment that I REALLY hated - that is Galadriels "transformation" as she was tempted with the ring - here relying on acting (and Cate Blanchet did a good job otherwise) instead of a special effects would have done wonders.

My favorite scenes: Hmm, I thought Moria in general was well done, and the bridge scene with the Balrog was awesome. I liked the buildup to Helms Deep, really gets this feeling of approaching doom across quite well. Unlike JDR, I am quite fond of the Pelenor fields Battle too - with one exception: If I could replace the green on the dead army with pale grey, it would have been almost perfect - that made me cringe a bit.

Characters:
Good: Gandalf and Aragorn were both great, probably my favorites. Samwise, Merry And Pippin. And I have a crush on Eowyn . Eomer and Theoden were also good. And Gollum - brilliant!

Frodo was a bit too teary-eyed for my taste. I liked Gimli, but unfortunately the script made him too one-dimensionally "fun". Faramir was well acted, but the script for the Faramir-Frodo encounter unfortunately made him loose much of the character he was in the books (altough in itself, it was also an interesting character). I really disliked Celeborn, far too puffed up and the dragging speach didn't work.

My "most missed" scene: The old forest. That was always one of my favorite parts in the movies, although i understand why they didn't do it - no way Tom Bombadil would have worked on the screen.

I simply don't see where Jackson will be getting content from ,with The Hobbit being split into two movies. The likeliest scenario is just him throwing a substantial amount of characters and references from LotR… which screws it all up from the get-go as what I remember well about the story was how it was just a fun little tale about one hobbit's journey and growth. It didn't need the insertion of anything dark or foreboding as it stood fine as a lighthearted story on its own.

I can easily see two movies with nothing but The Hobbit content. But I'm also a big fan of slower scenes with buildup - and I think the world of Tolkien's writing in general.

But I expect Jackson to focus too much on the spectacle and the creatures, and most likely insert too much superfluous stuff instead of sticking with the material.

Originally Posted by JonNik
Theoden

Ohh, I forgot about that. Yeah, in the books, IIRC, he's simply misled by Worm-tongue, not magically incapacitated.

Originally Posted by Drithius
[If we are talking strictly character portrayal and how it was interpreted by Jackson, I would have to reiterate Gollum - it could have been very easy to mess up one of the core components of the story.

Ok, I want to change my answer on worst scene. While the slapstick stuff was annoying, what killed me was in ROTK (I think, maybe have been in TTT), Gollum is having the conversation with himself about betraying Frodo. In the book, that is a pretty deep scene and you get a real sense for the inner struggle between his dueling personalities. In the movie, people were laughing left and right through out it. I know it was hard to adapt that, but it seemed like Jackson intentionally made it comedic.

On a side note, I only read the books just before the movies came out despite loving fantasy novels since I was a kid in the 80's. I found them great, but overly detailed, nearly screaming at ROTK to 'JUST GET ON WITH IT'. I understand why they were written that way, but for a modern audience, I think it is overkill. After the movies, I thought I might reread them. I got about two chapters in and had to put them down.

The movies were quite good as far as today's Hollywood movies can be. For me they were better than the LotR books, which I find boring (I like the "Hobbits" book).