So, Best and Worst Characters?

[Linnahiril Tinnufinwen]

My favorite character, both in the books and the movies, has been and always will be Samwise Gamgee. He is such a wonderfully simplistic, honest, devoted Hobbit. Sean Astin did a great job in portraying him, and I think he was one of the better actors in the film.

My least favorite character would have to be Gollum. I understand that most of his evil greed came from the corruption the ring instilled in him, but he still struck me as an ugly, nasty, coniving little thing. Perhaps I'm too little sympathetic, but I can't help it. I truly don't like him, although he might is one of those characters that you are meant not to like.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I understand you wouldn't like to invite Gollum over for dinner, but that's not really the question. Did you think the character was inadequately portrayed in the film?

[Linnahiril Tinnufinwen]

I apologize. I must have misunderstood the question at first. But to answer your question, I think Gollum was excellently portrayed in the movies. Andy Serkis truly brought the character to life in so many more ways than just the voice. He was perfectly cast, in my opinion.

My least favorite character, then, would have to be Aragorn. A lot of people would probably disagree with me, but I didn't think Viggo Mortenson had the kind of power and kingliness that I expected Aragorn to have. Don't get me wrong; I think Mortenson is a decent actor, and that his sword fights were cool, but he didn't have the comand that the King of Gondor and Arnor ought to have had. But then, that is just my opinion.

[Morquen]

My favourite character would definitely have to be Elrond... but only for his eyes. To me hugu only really got elronds character in the council of elrond and he seemed a little too emotional in other parts of the movie.

Orlando, for me, portrayed legolas terribly! He exaggerated his abilities too much and he only said things like " a shadow and a threat has been growing on my mind...", " 44, 45, 46, 47...62, 63, 64... how many gimli?! etc." and re-stating the obvious. He's my choice for worst character... and eowyn, she has funny expressions and is whiney... it's only my opinion...

Karl urban really got eomer's character and give him lots of credit. he was really good at his reactions and made a really convincing rohirrim... he's my pick for best character

[Tuor of Gondolin]

While Linnahiril Tinnufinwen makes a good point about movie Aragorn's lack of
"gravitas", I think that's largely a fault of PJ and friends rewriting the character,
especially trying to make him a sort of Hamletish reluctant actor, as opposed to
book Aragorn. Viggo could probably have adequately portrayed book Aragorn.
But I still hold movie Denethor as worst portrayal, both from changes in the
book and a failure to show subtleties in his character and its deterioration.
Remember, Denethor had substantial reasons for not being a fan of Aragorn,
starting from Denethor's youth and Aragorn's (unwitting) competition for
Denethor's father's affections.

[aelithes]

Favourite Character - I will have to second an earlier motion and go with Gandalf. Despite the fact that he's a bit different to the Gandalf of the book, I simply love Ian McKellen's portrayal of both Gandalf the Grey and the White (I think he created two different versions of the same character brilliantly). His description of what happens after death ('the grey ring curtain rolls back... and all turns to silver glass') to Pippin in Minas Tirith is magnificent. If there was anyone who deserved an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor, he (or Sean Astin) would have been it.

Least Favourite Character - Legolas and Elrond. Orlando Bloom, though I do like him (to look at), ruined the character for me. I liked him fine in FOTR, but my opinion about him sadly only declined continually from there. I did, however, like his physical acting, and he made battle scenes quite entertaining.

Elrond - I know everyone says this, but every single time Hugo Weaving opened his mouth, I half-expected 'Mister Ander' to come out. Furthermore, he seemed to be adamantly and emphatically ****ed off all the time... it was that undiminishing scowl that really annoyed me. Like when Arwen is leaving Rivendell by night, and we see the shot of Elrond watching her go, he's scrunching up his face and looking like he's about ready to throw a conniption fit. Certainly not the mature, commanding presence that I imagined while reading the book.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Bringin' it back. This is because my views have drastically changed in recent times, and I will explain how soon.

But perhaps other, fresher Downers will have their thoughts to add? Go on, you know you want to.

[Macalaure]

You asked for it.

I can't resist to not just tell you my good and bad, but to evaluate all imortant characters.

I found it quite difficult to do that. Sometimes the filmmaker casted a very good and fitting actor, but then screwed up the script and ruined it (Pippin, Gimli). Then they casted a fitting actor who cannot act (Celeborn). Or they casted a good actor who doesn't fit in. And then they screwed up the script, too - out of habit (Frodo, Elrond).

So I gave everybody three categories:
Casting: Does the actor look like he should? Does he coincide with the book description?
Acting: Is he convincing? Does he act good or bad?
Writing: Do the writers keep with the book characters or do they change it? And if they do, does the character benefit or not?


Here we go.


Frodo C-

Casting: He simply isn't Frodo, is he? At least he looks like a halfling, so it could have been worse. D

Acting: Not that convincing, but I can't point out anything particularly bad now. B

Writing: The effect of the Ring is way to big. His attitude towards Sam is poor through TTT and half through RotK. The writers made him too much of a victim. D


Gandalf A-

C: A brilliant Gandalf the Grey but less convincing to me as the White. A-

A: Hey, it's Ian McKellen... A

W: I don't like the Witch-King scene and his role in the Last Debate, but that's about it. B


Bilbo A

C: One of the best choices of the whole film. A

A: Nothing to complain about. A

W: The quick aging bugs a little. A-


Sam A-

C: Nothing to complain about. A

A: I think Astin's acting decreases a bit at the end, but still: B

W: Many changes were done to Frodo, but Sam reacts to them as the real Sam would have. A-


Merry C-

C: They could have picked worse. B-

A: You can see that Monaghan is not that gifted an actor, but still: C-

W: Except for one scene during the Ride of the Rohirrim, he's portayed as a child. It's simply not Merry, but somebody else. D-


Pippin B-

C: He's the oldest of the four hobbit actors, so he actually fits in age. A-

A: Pippin bugs, but it's not Boyd's fault. B

W: Most annoying in the first two (too childish, just for instance), but gathering ground in RotK. D


Aragorn C+

C: A great Strider, but a horrible Elessar. Where's the kingliness? C+

A: The lack of kingliness is not Mortensen's fault. I guess he acted just like he was told to. B

W: He remains the scruffy ranger throughout the movies, he's close to usurping power in Rohan and I still can't believe he cuts the Mouth of Sauron. D


Saruman B-

C: I think it was alatar who pointed that out: Saruman looks dirtier than one expected him to. B+

A: Solid, I would say. B

W: In FotR he's captured well. In TTT we are made believe he's a mere puppet of Sauron. The short appearance in RotK was very uninspired. C


Arwen C

C: I still think she looks beautiful and otherworldly enough. B+

A: I guess it simply takes more than an average actress to play an elf. C-

W: First she's an amazon, then she leaves Aragorn for the Havens on Elrond's word. I understand she had to be given more screen time, but was it impossible to fill that time with something that makes sense? D-


Elrond C

C: Hugo Weaving may be otherworldly enough, but beautiful? He's surely not the way I imagine him. D

A: Again, I can't point out what it is exactly, but he fails to convince me. Yet, being Hugo Weaving, his acting is nothing to complain about. B

W: A true descendant of Thingol, isn't he? Elrond the statesman is captured quite well, but the private person? Not really. D+


Boromir A

C: Though Sean Bean doesn't look like book-Boromir to me, there is something Boromirish about him. B+ (A if he had worn a black wig)

A: No complaints. A

W: Surely you could argue that a sympathetic Boromir just isn't a true Boromir, but without changing the character significantly the writers were able to add a lot of depth to him and made him accessible and identifiable with. A+


Legolas D+

C: Orlando Bloom simply is too smooth a face. C+

A: See Arwen. C-

W: I can live with Legolas being a super-hero. What I cannot live with is his shallowness. Where's his fine humour? They cut every single sentence that made Legolas a two-dimensional character in the book. Now we're down to one. E+


Gimli C+

C: No complaints. A

A: Under all that plastics, acting cannot be easy. Yet he was convincing to me. B

W: Let's just say that it's the scene with Galadriel that prevented an F. E


Galadriel A

C: Since I'm preoccupied with a heavy crush on Cate Blanchett, I cannot give an objective grade. I think she looked awesome. A+

A: If you take a great actress, you get a great elf. A

W: She was slightly darker than in the book, but I liked that. A


Celeborn D+

C: They could have picked worse. C

A:
- Peter Jackson: "Marton, Celeborn means Silver-Tree. So that is what your acting should be like."
- Marton Csokas: "OK."
- Macalaure: "E"

W: There's few you can do wrong with Celeborn. The one would be making him look like being second in power to Galadriel. C-


Haldir D+

C: I think he looked alright. B

A: Good actor: good elf. Average actor: bad elf. Below-average actor: oh, dear. D-

W: The scenes in Lórien were alright. The scenes in Rohan were superfluous. At least they tried to make it realistic. D-


Gollum A-

C: Serkis was great, as were the special effects. A

A: See point one above. A

W: The two sides of Gollum are made very clear, which is both interesting to see, as well as a bit disappointing, since he loses a bit of his scariness. B+


Treebeard C-

C: The effects were good, but not overwhelming (his eyes disappointed me). B-

W: The role was quite dumbed-down, as were all ents. The ent-moot was horrible. D-


Éomer B+

C: No complaints. A

A: Just like Monaghan, Urban is not the most gifted actor. But he acts well enough. It was a role made for him. B-

W: Not having him at Helm's Deep was disappointing as this is where we get to know him in the book. The scenes we see of him before he meets the three hunters were very good on the other hand. B-


Théoden B+

C: Not quite as I imagine him, but definitely not too shabby. B

A: He's good, but not a straight A. A-

W: He almost lets Aragorn usurp his throne. That shouldn't be. And deciding to hide in Helm's Deep was very out-of-character. But the burial of Théodred was great. B-



Éowyn A-

C: She could have been younger to me, but was perfect in all other respects - at least to me. A-

A: See Théoden. A-

W: She treats Merry like a child. But then, of course, Merry behaves like one. Her relationship to Faramir lacked about everything. Her scenes with Gríma were great. B+


Gríma A-

C: He should look like a man of Rohan, but doesn't. B-

A: Dourif makes the best out of the few scenes he has. A

W: His hold over Théoden is far too strong. But the writers very well showed his wits, and I love the tear he cries when he sees the Uruk-hai army. A


Faramir C

C: Sean Bean doesn't look like Boromir and David Wenham doesn't look like Faramir. The problem is, that, to me, Wenham doesn't have much Faramirish in him. I would say he was miscasted. D

A: Yet, he does a solid job in the acting. B

W: I share the opinion that the writers did not change Faramir that much. He only reacted to the changed Frodo like book-Faramir maybe would have. In RotK we get "our" Faramir back. Still he looks more like a victim to his father and his relationship to Éowyn lacked it all. C


Denethor D-

C: He looks older than Denethor should look. In the book he tells us that he can still wield the sword. If he said it in the movie, we wouldn't have believed him. Isn't it ironic, that John Noble looks less noble than he should have? C-

A: The budget of the movies must have run out just when it came to Noble's elvish lessons. Does he get a name right at all? Also, his acting looked very unmotivated to me. D-

W: They could have done it so much better if they only showed Denethor looking into the Palantír. We aren't told about the cause of his madness, which also undergoes less development than in the book since Denethor is already quite mad in the beginning. E


Nazgûl C+

The Ringwraiths were great in FotR, I think. But they were too unscary in RotK. They flew over Minas Tirith with nobody bothering to shoot them. The Witch-King almost defeats Gandalf. Instead of seeing his crown and eyes we get a ridiculous-looking helmet. And we don't get to see one at Cirith Ungol.


Orcs C

Lurtz was a great addition. The roles of Uglúk and Grishnákh were severely cut, much to Grishnákh's detriment. Cannibalistic orcs!? Sad they cut most of the talk between Shagrat and Gorbag. Gothmog and the orc overseer at Isenmouthe were both bad and unnecessary. Below the line, they were as bad and unsympathetic as they should have, but lacked depth. But many things lacked depth.


Imrahil F

C: How could this have happened? They seem to have forgotten to cast an actor for him! There was too much money in this project for such amateur faults. Unexcusable. F

W: Seriously now. Yes, many characters were cut from the book and maybe it's a matter of taste who the worst omission is. To me it's Imrahil, the model Gondorian, since Faramir is out for most of the RotK and Aragorn is (well, should be that is) a bit untouchable.

[ninja91]

The best character in it was Sam. If not for him, Frodo would have surely died from dehydration, tire, and lack of everything needed to survive. He possibly would have been murdered by Gollum before he reached the Cracks of Doom. (which if Sam wasnt there Frodo would not have reached)
The worst was Denethor. They turned him into a loathful, selfish, cowardly steward, but really (in the books) he was lost and could not make all the right decisions. In the books, Denethor was not a bad person, he just didnt have a good attitude and he definitely had lost all hope.
Just while we are on the subject, I really liked how they had the Mouth of Sauron. In my opinion, the scene with him in the books is one of the most important happenings in the story. They made the Mouth of Sauron truly fearsome, and somewhat mysterious. I just didnt like how Aragorn sliced off his head.

[ArathorofBarahir]

I honestly can't pick a worst character, for me some are better than others, but there is no bad character in the Lord of the Rings. I however enjoy and appreciate some characters better than others. Aragorn has to rank up their as my all time favorite. He is everything I wish I could be, selfless, courageous, honrable, noble and knows what must be done to protect Middle Earth. I also enjoy Boromir, proud, noble and a man of his people. Now, some of you are going to hate me for this, but I enjoy Faramir, in the books and in the movies. I think he is selfless, and is a moral and honest man. He is brave, and courageous, but he shows in a more intelligent way than his brother. Gandalf is another favorite, wise, intelligent and very strong, willing to protect Middle Earth with ever fiber of their being. And finally I loved the hobbits. The four main ones. I identify the most with Frodo, in the fact that he selflessly took the up the burden of being a Ring bearer and selflessly did it to save the Shire, but not for himself, but for the generations to come. Samwise Gamgee is probably the first character that comes to mind when I think of or mention hobbits. He's down to earth and very loving. But when what he hold's dear and cares about is threatened he will do just about anything to protect it. Merry and Pippin are great, just because of the way seemed so carefree in the beginning of the movies, and book (sort of) and then went through changes and matured, yet still maintained that hobbit sense (seen in the end of the TTT EE and the beginning of ROTK).

[Rikae]

For the best movie character, I'll second the vote for Gollum - who, incidentally, is a real actor and I'll bite anyone who says otherwise. Everything that's great about him - the way he moves, the way he says his lines, the expressions on his face, it's all Andy Serkis. WETA just did the costume & makeup, as far as I'm concerned. (OK, and the changing pupils, but that's insignificant). My favorite because of the way he is at once threatening, pitiful and humorous. I love the timing in the way Andy says the lines, the voice, everything ... the most memorable character in the movies by far.
My least favorite in the movies is my favorite in the books: Aragorn. Viggo's a decent actor, but he just can't fill Aragorn's shoes. He's too casual, and he lacks the mystery and potential danger implied in first two books and the nobility of Aragorn in the third book. There just isn't enough depth or intensity. Besides, I always pictured Aragorn with stubble, rather than a goatee.

[Elladan and Elrohir]

Just because he's my favorite character from the books, I'll give my vote to a character who, as far as I can see, hasn't yet received a single vote for Favorite: Frodo Baggins.

"How in the world?" you protest. "They picked an eighteen-year-old kid to play him, he does nothing but look scared in FOTR, he leaves Sam behind in ROTK, how do you still like the movie version of Frodo?"
Not quite sure. It's a very different Frodo than the one in the book, but it works -- largely because of Elijah Wood's acting. You can say what you want about the material, but I'm gonna get seriously mad if you dispute the fact that the "kid" can straight-up ACT.

Macalaure, wonderful idea to rate all the characters. Problem for me is that I can't find much to be critical about. I just can't bash these characters very well, for some reason. The acting is the best top-to-bottom that I have ever seen in any movie, anywhere. And I've gotten so used to thinking of the actors as the characters that I don't even question the casting choices.

[Lush]

Best: Gandalf, because Ian McKellen has the right combination of gravitas and compassion. Legolas, because despite the bright blond wig, Orlando Bloom is amazingly charming and, if you can believe it, subtle. I don't just love looking at him, I love watching him in action. Aragorn, for me, is exceptional in the first film. The other two he's great about half the time.

Worst: Frodo, because the role had so much potential, but seemed to steadily deteriorate for me from the beginning of the first film until the the end of the last film. I don't think this is Elijah Wood's fault at all, and consider him a fine actor. I think he did really well with the material he was given. I just think they exaggerated the role up too much - he just stares at the camera with those tragic blue eyes of his for what seems like to be hours. I blame this on poor directing, honestly. They made him do the same thing over and over again, and although he did it well, it didn't work for me in the larger context. I really appreciated it when, at the very end, he's seen back home in the Shire, and his face looks calm. Sad, but calm. It made all the difference.

Also, there is Haldir to consider. What's up with the bad weave? And don't even get me started on the way they had him move and talk...

P.S. Oh, and I love Gollum. Doh.

[CSteefel]

Originally Posted by Captain of Despair

MY least favorite would have to be Denethor. I know it's been mentioned a thousand times, but I cannot get over how they ruined the character. Sure Denethor (in the book) had become somewhat maddened due to everything that had happened (Boromir dying, Faramir becoming ill, terrible visions in the palantir) but over all he was still a good man. In the movies he was portrayed as little more than a raving lunatic. But I digress.

I just re-read this section in the book and I did not find the book version all that flattering as to Denethor's character either, at least at the end. Many of his lines are taken verbatim from the book.

However, I do agree that the scene where he congratulates Boromir on his recapture of Osgiliath portrays Denethor in a bad, even nasty light, and that this is absent in the book.

[Trotter]

I agree with most of you. But, like it has been said, I do not think that any of the actors are to blame, it is PJ and his writing team that ARE. Now, after seeing both LOTR and KONG, I believe that old Pete is not that fine of a director as far as actors go. I do think that he is good at directing movement and action though, but 'action scenes do not a Lord of the Rings make.'

I see that all of you have forgotten about one of the most powerful people in all of Middle-Earth, Tom Bombadil. Now before someone goes off saying who the (insert word here) is Tom Bombadil, I say that you have little knowledge of the series beyond the movies. Tom is one of the most powerful because he is one of the few that has no temptations for the Ring of Power. When he wears the ring, he does NOT turn invisible, and when Frodo puts the ring on Tom can still see him.
I think they made a poor mistake not to put Tom Bombadil into the movie because he is, in my opinion, near the power of Galadrial and Sauron.

My least favorite character would have to be..Sauron himself, In the movies ((Fellowship-King)) You only see him ONCE as his trueself, in which the scene where he dies, they could have made a whole movie out of the things he had done, and while they were all talking about how EVIL Sauron was, they forget about Melkor. Melkor is more powerful then Sauron in every way. When Sauron is a giant floating eye, he just looks around..doing nothing but commanding troops like its a video game!

[Trotter]

had

Originally Posted by Servant of Shadows

I see that all of you have forgotten about one of the most powerful people in all of Middle-Earth, Tom Bombadil. Now before someone goes off saying who the (insert word here) is Tom Bombadil, I say that you have little knowledge of the series beyond the movies. Tom is one of the most powerful because he is one of the few that has no temptations for the Ring of Power. When he wears the ring, he does NOT turn invisible, and when Frodo puts the ring on Tom can still see him.
I think they made a poor mistake not to put Tom Bombadil into the movie because he is, in my opinion, near the power of Galadrial and Sauron.

Yes, but to put Tom in a movie one would have to deviate from the course of the plot quite a bit, which audiences wouldn't go for. In a film one must remain focused upon the main flow of the story. Really, the cutting of Tom is a change that I have no problem with, though he is a likable character, it was just one of those things that had to be done. Sure, if he had been put in, us LOTR diehards would have cheered but not so with most other movie-goers.

[ArathorofBarahir]

Worst Character? I don't think any of the characters in the movies were bad, there were just a few that I didn't like. I didn't like Wormtongue or Gothmog and Gamling just poorly done.

Best Characters? Aragorn! Hands down. He was my favorite character from the books and so he was my favorite character from the movies. I loved the way he fought in the movies, his lines and his appearance.

Next I would have to choose Faramir. I can see why they changed him from the book. It made him a little less noble and little more human. I also liked his lines, especially the "Brave Deeds should no be checked with cold counsel," line from the ROTK EE.

After this I'd pick Eomer, I think he was masterfully portrayed and his costume and lines were great.

The four hobbits, I have a soft spot for hobbits. Because I think that's how I would see myself if I were to be in Middle Earth. I think Sam was amazing, the speech at the end of TTT was great, his carrying Frodo up the slope of Mount Doom was just awesome. Frodo was amazing as well, I liked how his deterioration was portrayed. Merry and Pippin were absolutely awesome, especially in Fangorn and at the Entmoot, not to mention their snippets of comedy.


All the other characters were good too, these ones were my favorites