LotR2-TTT-Seq20

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'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do & die,
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred. - The Charge of the Light Brigade, Alfred, Lord Tennyson


We continue the battle with “Counting Fun with Gimli the Dwarf.” But even the one chopped, one killed dwarven slain are but a few leaves in this virulent forest. A ‘turtle’ approaches the main gate, bringing the rams with which the attackers, hidden beneath their shields, hope to smash in the gate. The Uruks approach, and Aragorn notices. He tells the elves to shoot the invaders of the causeway (were the elves idle, or are they robots?), and you see the Uruks take casualties.

Théoden is feeling a bit more optimistic, and so falls for that PJism of stating something that momentarily will not be true. No, dude, this isn’t it. We see that the Uruks not trying to scale the walls nor playing turtle are not just waving tall sticks in the air. They are moving those bomb things under the wall, in the culvert (iisn’t it a bit dry in there?), and so the ladders and attack on the gate are just a feint – look over here while the blade in my left hand finds your back.

Did you notice the orc waving the torch as the Uruk demolition team adds another bomb to the pile – you have one nutter in every group. Next, an Uruk with a really interesting way of running carries what appears to be a torch of some magical kind. As there are torches right next to the wall, this has to be some special kind of torch that will aid in the coming destruction, or is it that we just have to have some buildup to increase the tension of this moment? That’s the only reason I can figure why we have this marathon-looking event.

Aragorn, again the keenest eye on the wall, as he doesn’t have a bow, spots Smokey the Running Bandit jogging towards the wall and knows that Helm’s Deep is strictly smoke-free, and so this Uruk must be stopped before any second hand smoke reaches the poofy elves. He again calls for elven aid, and this time he goes to the #1 Deadshot of them all – Legolas. Wasn’t our princeling previously infallible? First arrow goes into the right shoulder. Second shot, other shoulder. No chance for a third try, which would have been charmed, to be sure.

BOOM!

It’s hard not to be impressed with the explosion of the wall. Though the defenders take casualties, the Uruks actually fare much worse. Did you see the person flying from the wall all the way into the group of orcs? And does Legolas get credit for killing the torch-orc AND all of the subsequent casualties, or does that only count as one?

You know what Théoden’s thinking. “Next time it’s my turn to speak, I’m going to say, ‘There’s no way any help will arrive now.’” Anyway, we see how the massive explosion affects defenders, attackers and even the defendies. No matter how many times I see the explosion, I always hope that the boulders/rocks take out more orcs than they actually do. Aragorn is down. Is he dead? Someone hurry and get Brego!

Bernard Hill looks disillusioned as if he’s seeing a well-groomed PJ. In long pants.

Well, the explosion must have broken a water main as there’s suddenly water gushing through the culvert. Orcs, like salmon, try to gain ground upstream.

The battering ram has reached the gate. The Helmingas try to defend. Oil, boiling or otherwise, would have been a good idea here. Just how slick would that rail-less ramp have been? And how many orcs would have fallen? Where’s the creative warrior here?

Well, some utility worker must have showed up and turned off that water. Thanks Ulmo. The orcs, now unhindered, gain the area behind the wall. Aragorn lays on the ground, and Uruks approach from behind. Gimli dives into a pile of them, and shortly thereafter needs some rescuing of his own, If only those archer elves sitting pretty atop the hill were a little more proactive. As Gimli fights to stay alive and afloat (there’s that water again), Aragorn sends the Uruks a little of Cupid’s love.

By the by, is there continental shift going on, or does the breach suddenly get bigger? When seen in overview, it appears that the hole is about wide enough for three orcs to swim abreast. When Aragorn and Gimli enter the fray, the gap is suddenly six wide. Does the wall now have parapets? Must be more of Saruman’s illusions.

And I count at least 100 elves back there.

Now, leader Aragorn, you hold the high ground. The enemy is below you and has large pointy sticks. They must climb a hill to attack you, and sometimes this hill is even wet. Or damp. So what would you do?

• (a) Fill the breach in the wall with Uruk dead – make them have to move their own slain under fire to gain access to the place or,

• (b) Draw swords (noticeably shorter than those pointy sticks) and run pell-mell into the group who now need only await you to run into the pointy sticks.

Interestingly, our world has an example where a few bowmen were able to defend against and defeat a numerically superior force. But where’s the tension in that? Didn’t Melkor endeavor to draw someone’s forces off of the high ground? Seems that these elves never sang those songs, and Saruman knows his history. And PJ ignored ours.

Aragorn, next time you lead a charge with elves in tow, make sure that you tell them not to run into the pointy things. If you don’t make every detail clear… Was that another Númenórean head chop? Ugh! Legolas adds to his count as he coolly surfs down the stairs. Would have been nice if you would’ve shown a little more effort and pizzazz before with that running orc.

We leave the scene with the second wave of elves engaging the Uruks, who are now pouring, streaming through the hole in the wall.

Back in the Ent world, not much has happened this Age. The Ents seemingly have elected to sit this one out – again? – and Merry is none too happy. Where is the Ent wrath like when the Hobbits first encountered this stick in the mud? An orc is killed and Mr. Hastypants was ready to squish the hobbits too. Now that Saruman has unleashed Isengard, Treebeard wants to hide from the storm, hoping that it passes him by. One could make the argument that Treebeard may have a point, as Uruks don’t eat cellulose but horse and man flesh, and so “what me worry” and all that. But, as we know, Treebeard’s herd has also been attacked. Some shepherd. Part of his flock is destroyed, he loses his mates (the Entwives) and their last mailing address is the Brownlands. Did these Ents sit that one out too?

Anyway, so PJ has us watch these obviously CG creatures for seemingly hours just so we can learn that they are going to exit the stage. Oops! Wait a moment. There’s that PJism again. Did Fangorn just say that this wasn’t his war?

Merry admonishes them, and, for lack of a better word, the Ents look dorky. Treebeard tells the hobbit to go home. Must have missed this part in the books, but I can just ‘feel’ that tension brewing, and so it’s worth the divergence…Pip adds his two cents, and states that at least they have the Shire, but Merry makes Pip think a bit more about that. This war won’t stay in the South. And aren’t some friends involved anyway, so at least one should go and help them? Oh Pip.

And now back to the slaughter.

The elves are being beaten back to the Keep despite the efforts of our three champions. Théoden suddenly realizes that it’s time to fall back, and calls for Aragorn to retreat. Aragorn subsequently calls to Haldir, and that elf stops and looks as if to say, “Okay, I’m coming…just let me finish one more Uruk.” Legolas and an accomplice drag our stout dwarf from the field, which makes no sense. Haldir watches as his soldiers make for the Keep, and gets wounded. As he staggers, he gets whacked right in the back of the head, and that looks like it hurt. We start slow-mo, and Aragorn comes to Haldir’s rescue…well, aid. Haldir sees the many dead, and maybe he knows that soon he will join their number. Aragorn comforts him in that last long moment, and either salutes him or checks for his wallet. The Uruks, after observing a moment of calm, continue the battle and Aragorn beats a hasty retreat himself, riding a ladder (on the inside of the wall?) down to the ground. The Uruks attacking the gate finally break through, and wreak havoc on those defenders inside. Théoden realizes that he is needed, and so he and his guard draw swords and enter the battle. Both the attackers and defenders fight at close quarters, and both sides have casualties. Théoden is speared, and he returns the favor. At least he is right up front, if only for a moment. He was recently possessed, and is not young anymore, yet does what he can to aid the fight. He asks for Aragorn to hold the gate, and I assume then that he has a plan to seal it back up.

Gimli and Aragorn go through a side passage to flank the causeway. To get to their target the two will have to jump, yet Gimli cannot make it without help. This ‘toss the dwarf’ quip is purportedly to be in reference to the same idea in FotR in Moria. The two, with a little help from those inside, clear the causeway of Uruks for a space. As Théoden guides the repair of the gate, Saruman’s forces have another surprise to unfurl – this attack is planned, not by some orc brigand, but by a cunning old wizard.

An aside: If Éomer were here, less of the glory could go to Aragorn, and maybe that’s why he was sent riding northward. And if Éowyn were fighting, we and she would see that Aragorn had help. And Arwen’s presence would have skewed the whole scene, as our two lovers would have had to make eye contact once in a while, and Aragorn would have tried to tone it down a bit and stay a little cleaner…

New ladders are raised, the size and weight of which, especially as they are encumbered, are immense. Why the Uruks waited so long…anyway, there soon will be trouble atop the Keep wall. Uruks pour into castle proper. Aragorn and Gimli cannot hold back the attack on the gate forever, and even Legolas cannot stop all ladders. Théoden calls for another retreat. By all appearances the Uruks have taken few casualties and are really efficient at clearing their fallen. Though Aragorn and Gimli sent practically hundreds off the side of the causeway, as we look down on the two as they are being pulled to safety, not one dead orc can be seen.

The defenders rush back the citadel with the attackers in close pursuit. Bet that anyone who helped defend and rebuild the gate is happy to see it last about a second to the Uruks’ assault as all of the debris, timbers and other impediments no longer exist. That Saruman must be a wily one, able to make such things disappear.

So we have Uruks in the Keep and many dead elves and Rohirrim men and boys. The Ents will not come, and even an elven army would be no match for these new orcs. The last dawn of men draws nigh.

[Sir Kohran]

We continue the battle with “Counting Fun with Gimli the Dwarf.” But even the one chopped, one killed dwarven slain are but a few leaves in this virulent forest.

I like how we go from a closeup shot of Gimli hacking the Uruk Hai down to a wide shot of the main assault, with Gimli's voice still carrying to us. It makes a good way of connecting the closeups with the CGI.

A ‘turtle’ approaches the main gate, bringing the rams with which the attackers, hidden beneath their shields, hope to smash in the gate. The Uruks approach, and Aragorn notices. He tells the elves to shoot the invaders of the causeway (were the elves idle, or are they robots?), and you see the Uruks take casualties.

The Elves weren't idle - you can see a few dead Uruk Hai fall from the wall as they turn to shoot at the causeway. They were just dealing with the immediate threat coming towards them, before they could afford to face another way to attack.

We see that the Uruks not trying to scale the walls nor playing turtle are not just waving tall sticks in the air. They are moving those bomb things under the wall, in the culvert (iisn’t it a bit dry in there?), and so the ladders and attack on the gate are just a feint – look over here while the blade in my left hand finds your back.

It's refreshing to see that the Uruk Hai are making tactical ploys and screening theirreal plans, instead of just being the usual movie horde of dumb enemies that mindlessly throw themselves onto the good guys until they win.

As there are torches right next to the wall, this has to be some special kind of torch that will aid in the coming destruction, or is it that we just have to have some buildup to increase the tension of this moment? That’s the only reason I can figure why we have this marathon-looking event.

I imagine it was just for safety purposes - if the bombs could be lit by any old torch, then they might have accidentally gone off beforehand, which would have been disastrous for Isengard. This way, if only a select torch can light the bombs, then the bombs will only go off if the Uruk Hai want them to.

Wasn’t our princeling previously infallible? First arrow goes into the right shoulder. Second shot, other shoulder. No chance for a third try, which would have been charmed, to be sure.

It does seem rather odd from a casual pint of view, yes. But remember that this Uruk is a Berserker - the strongest, toughest soldiers in the battle (aside from The Three ), and I can imagine that he'd be able to take two arrows, especially considering that his only reason to live was to reach the bombs, so he'd be completely focused on this goal without thinking of himself. And besides, we don't see Legolas fighting any other Berserkers, so we don't know how effective his arrows would be on them normally anyway.

You've got to love the buildup here. The Uruks chanting, the pounding music, then the Berserker charging through the 'tunnel', then the arrows hitting but not killing him, then the final grunt of the Berserker as he jumps, then the bombs being set off, and then...

BOOM!

It’s hard not to be impressed with the explosion of the wall. Though the defenders take casualties, the Uruks actually fare much worse.

Yes - the music suddenly snaps out, and then the wall is literally torn in half - no flashy fireballs, just a massive avalanche of boulders and debris and soldiers launched into the air, which gradually crash into the surrounding army, crushing more than a few Uruks. I guess the larger Uruk losses are a subtle reminder of the crude nature of evil - it damages all sides eventually.
Interesting how rough the bombs actually are - they end up taking out more Uruks than Elves. The technology's in its early stages; it hasn't been refined yet.

Did you see the person flying from the wall all the way into the group of orcs?

Yep - I saw that when I was watching TTT just yesterday. And what about the rock that goes so far, it even strikes a few of the Uruks on the causeway?
What makesthe CGI in LOTR great is that they add realistic touches - like the person flying into the Uruks, or the individual crashes of the rocks. Or in ROTK, where you see a Mumakil tusk clashing a sword away during the stampede into the Riders.

And does Legolas get credit for killing the torch-orc AND all of the subsequent casualties, or does that only count as one?

...wow!

Oil, boiling or otherwise, would have been a good idea here. Just how slick would that rail-less ramp have been? And how many orcs would have fallen? Where’s the creative warrior here?

All the oil is being used down at the wall for all the water that suddenly appears.

The orcs, now unhindered, gain the area behind the wall. Aragorn lays on the ground, and Uruks approach from behind. Gimli dives into a pile of them,

Nice to see Gimli showing a loyal, brave side, jumping to his friends' aid - no burps here.

and shortly thereafter needs some rescuing of his own, If only those archer elves sitting pretty atop the hill were a little more proactive.

Actually, I can explain the lack of Elvish action - when the wall explodes, you see a quick shot of the Elves behind it getting knocked to the ground by the resulting quake and debris. They take a few mintues to get reorganized, whilst Aragorn and Gimli get caught up with the Uruks. By the time Gimli's being attacked, they are able to send a proper volley into the mob.

By the by, is there continental shift going on, or does the breach suddenly get bigger? When seen in overview, it appears that the hole is about wide enough for three orcs to swim abreast. When Aragorn and Gimli enter the fray, the gap is suddenly six wide. Does the wall now have parapets? Must be more of Saruman’s illusions.

Seeing as all of this action was filmed on a real life set with a real, constructed wall (with a real gap), I think it's just down to alternating camera angles.

Now, leader Aragorn, you hold the high ground. The enemy is below you and has large pointy sticks. They must climb a hill to attack you, and sometimes this hill is even wet. Or damp. So what would you do?
(a) Fill the breach in the wall with Uruk dead – make them have to move their own slain under fire to gain access to the place or,
(b) Draw swords (noticeably shorter than those pointy sticks) and run pell-mell into the group who now need only await you to run into the pointy sticks.

Interestingly, our world has an example where a few bowmen were able to defend against and defeat a numerically superior force. But where’s the tension in that? Didn’t Melkor endeavor to draw someone’s forces off of the high ground? Seems that these elves never sang those songs, and Saruman knows his history. And PJ ignored ours.

Yes - this is just a ridiculous tactical move. Still, I suppose we had to have a good reason for Legoals to do his cheap skater move.

However - it does serve one role, in that it's the last time that the Elves will charge into battle, swords drawn. This the final hour of Elvish pride - a final blaze of glory for these fading people, as they try to recapture their golden age of fighting and heroism, but are merely cut down by the stronger, more modern Uruk Hai instead. It's a good way of depicting the Elves' situation in the Third Age with on-screen action.

We leave the scene with the second wave of elves engaging the Uruks, who are now pouring, streaming through the hole in the wall.

Interesting how the mood changes - when the bomb goes off, desperation sets in. When Aragorn and the Elves charge, the feeling becomes more optimistic. When the retreat is called, the mood becomes depressing.

Back in the Ent world, not much has happened this Age. The Ents seemingly have elected to sit this one out – again? – and Merry is none too happy. Where is the Ent wrath like when the Hobbits first encountered this stick in the mud? An orc is killed and Mr. Hastypants was ready to squish the hobbits too. Now that Saruman has unleashed Isengard, Treebeard wants to hide from the storm, hoping that it passes him by. One could make the argument that Treebeard may have a point, as Uruks don’t eat cellulose but horse and man flesh, and so “what me worry” and all that. But, as we know, Treebeard’s herd has also been attacked. Some shepherd. Part of his flock is destroyed, he loses his mates (the Entwives) and their last mailing address is the Brownlands. Did these Ents sit that one out too?

Anyway, so PJ has us watch these obviously CG creatures for seemingly hours just so we can learn that they are going to exit the stage. Oops! Wait a moment. There’s that PJism again. Did Fangorn just say that this wasn’t his war?

Whilst this is annoying, it does avoid the movie cliche of having 'tension' and then having the predictable ending of the Ents doing the good thing. This way, we are both surprised and disappointed that the Ents aren't doing what we thought they would. So when the Ents do get round to doing the right thing, we are more happy as it's turning out right after all.

Merry admonishes them, and, for lack of a better word, the Ents look dorky. Treebeard tells the hobbit to go home. Must have missed this part in the books, but I can just ‘feel’ that tension brewing, and so it’s worth the divergence…Pip adds his two cents, and states that at least they have the Shire, but Merry makes Pip think a bit more about that. This war won’t stay in the South. And aren’t some friends involved anyway, so at least one should go and help them? Oh Pip.

Very touching moment here - Merry puts down Pippin's vain little hopes with a flat, depressing reminder of how all the world will fall if action isn't taken. Their home will not remain safe for long if they flee. They can stick their heads in the sand, but then be stabbed in the back.

Haldir watches as his soldiers make for the Keep, and gets wounded. As he staggers, he gets whacked right in the back of the head, and that looks like it hurt. We start slow-mo, and Aragorn comes to Haldir’s rescue…well, aid. Haldir sees the many dead, and maybe he knows that soon he will join their number. Aragorn comforts him in that last long moment, and either salutes him or checks for his wallet.

It's a fantastically sombre death scene - Haldir doesn't scream or whimper; he just accepts that his time in Middle-Earth is over.

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Excellent post, Sir Kohran, and not because it's the only one... Made me think there a time or two, and it's always a welcome thing to see some POV one hasn't considered.

Originally Posted by Sir Kohran

The Elves weren't idle - you can see a few dead Uruk Hai fall from the wall as they turn to shoot at the causeway. They were just dealing with the immediate threat coming towards them, before they could afford to face another way to attack.

It just seems that they don't do much until Captain Aragorn orders them. I guess we're just seeing PJ's attempt to show Aragorn as a leader, even though everyone knows 'the job' and pretty much could do without his obvious observations. "You - shoot some arrows at the Uruks; I'll continue shooting my mouth off."

It's refreshing to see that the Uruk Hai are making tactical ploys and screening theirreal plans, instead of just being the usual movie horde of dumb enemies that mindlessly throw themselves onto the good guys until they win.

True. Think that the mindless were on the 'other' side this time .

It does seem rather odd from a casual pint of view, yes. But remember that this Uruk is a Berserker - the strongest, toughest soldiers in the battle (aside from The Three ), and I can imagine that he'd be able to take two arrows, especially considering that his only reason to live was to reach the bombs, so he'd be completely focused on this goal without thinking of himself. And besides, we don't see Legolas fighting any other Berserkers, so we don't know how effective his arrows would be on them normally anyway.

It's not the number of arrows, but the placement. Previously (and in the future) Legolas placed arrows exactly where he wanted them - right between the eyes as it were. Now he shoots twice in nonlethal areas on a unarmored Uruk, berserker or not. How about its head, leg, eye, throat? I realize that we have to blow the wall, but instead of Legolas casually missing (CONSPIRACY!) he could been 'bumped' by an Uruk, or even a dwarf, and that could be the reason for the arrows not being as effective. It at least would be consistent and not shame the pointy-eared one.

I guess the larger Uruk losses are a subtle reminder of the crude nature of evil - it damages all sides eventually.

I see it more that Saruman didn't care about the means, or anything else but himself for that matter. The Uruks were under the wizard's control and did not have minds of their own. They served Saruman, and what he said they did.

Actually, I can explain the lack of Elvish action - when the wall explodes, you see a quick shot of the Elves behind it getting knocked to the ground by the resulting quake and debris. They take a few mintues to get reorganized, whilst Aragorn and Gimli get caught up with the Uruks. By the time Gimli's being attacked, they are able to send a proper volley into the mob.

They still seem to wait for Aragorn to point out the obvious.

However - it does serve one role, in that it's the last time that the Elves will charge into battle, swords drawn. This the final hour of Elvish pride - a final blaze of glory for these fading people, as they try to recapture their golden age of fighting and heroism, but are merely cut down by the stronger, more modern Uruk Hai instead. It's a good way of depicting the Elves' situation in the Third Age with on-screen action.

Interesting insight. The elves are either going to adapt to this new age or die trying.

Whilst this is annoying, it does avoid the movie cliche of having 'tension' and then having the predictable ending of the Ents doing the good thing. This way, we are both surprised and disappointed that the Ents aren't doing what we thought they would. So when the Ents do get round to doing the right thing, we are more happy as it's turning out right after all.

Another 'gotcha' by PJ? We won't be going to war...we're going to war. Just wait to see the next thread, as I'm not really kind with the portrayal of the Ents, and we can discuss that there.

Very touching moment here - Merry puts down Pippin's vain little hopes with a flat, depressing reminder of how all the world will fall if action isn't taken. Their home will not remain safe for long if they flee. They can stick their heads in the sand, but then be stabbed in the back.

It may have worked for those thinking that 'what's the big deal?' Maybe some viewers forgot that Saruman and Sauron aren't just going after Helm's Deep, but Middle Earth and everything in it. And can't help but point out that, if one's head is in the sand that the back isn't the first target that comes to mind.