Whilst the films have a good script, would you say that there are there lines you found to be weak, lazy or plain cringeworthy?
"The horses are restless, and the men are quiet" (weak, just like most of Legolas's lines)
"Leave me alone, snake!" (cringeworthy)
"This forest is old. Very old. Full of memory...and anger"
"That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."
"It's me, it's YOUR Sam. Don't you know your Sam?"
"The ring was entrusted to *me*. It's my task, mine, my own!"
"Share the load...the load..share the load...the load...the load...."
“This day does not belong to one man but to all. Let us together rebuild this world that we may share in the days of peace.”
I don't care for that line at that moment. Writing - D minus, Delivery - F.
I'm sorry, the character we've come all this way is just going to blurt out this pablum at the end? Better to say nothing. (I love the cantorial recitation of the Oath of Elendil, though.)
@ Harold of whoa... Theres nothing wrong with that line, it's simplicity and innocence works well to reflect a new era of peace.
"So much death, what can men do against such reckless hate?" - Most unconvincing line in the trilogy. You can even see Bernard Hill trying not to cringe at how bad it is.
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The Heroes Journey -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_WrYAKBJVI
^Forgot about that one.
In general, these "so much hate" and "so much beauty" lines (when it comes to the world) tend to be rather cringeworthy.
@ Harold of whoa... Theres nothing wrong with that line, it's simplicity and innocence works well to reflect a new era of peace.
"So much death, what can men do against such reckless hate?" - Most unconvincing line in the trilogy. You can even see Bernard Hill trying not to cringe at how bad it is.
Whilst the films have a good script, would you say that there are there lines you found to be weak, lazy or plain cringeworthy?
They run as if the very whips of their masters were behind them!
In the DVD/BD Audio Commentary, even the people who wrote the script make fun of the "very whips of their masters" line (I don't remember if it is Walsh or Boyens, but with PJ seemingly in agreement), but they give Orlando Bloom credit for being a good soldier and spitting it out as instructed.
It's not wildly different from the book form:
'Now do I most grudge a time of rest or any halt in our chase ' said Legolas. 'The Orcs have run before us, as if the very whips of Sauron were behind them. I fear they have already reached the forest and the dark hills, and even now are passing into the shadows of the trees.'
In general, I think the screenwriters and actors did a good job of treading an awkward line. Tolkien's characters speak the language of mythology and legend. As movie dialogue the lines can sound stiff or unnatural but translating them into more modern vernacular loses some of the impact and takes us out of Tolkien's world.
As for "groaners" I have a few, equally divided between book lines and screenwriters' additions but there's always something to carry me past them.
I'm guessing it's his delivery, but Legolas's lines were mediocre:
"He's here"
"I can feel it"
"You look terrible"
"Forgive me, I mistook you for Saruman"
"A diversion"
The soppy exchange between Aragorn and Saruman in TTT:
Aragorn: "I am asleep. This is a dream."
Arwen: "Then it is a good dream. Sleep. Sleep."
Oh and...
Merry: "But your part of this world! Aren't you? You must help. Please. You must do something."
"The age of men is over... the time of the Orc HAS COME!"
This just sounds like something out of a tacky C grade sci-fi/horror movie.
I won't defend the line but I did notice this comparison to a scene from FOTR's prologue.
In the prologue of FOTR, there's a shot of Gil-Galad thrusting downward with his spear, Aiglos.share
In ROTK, there's a shot of that lumpy headed Orc captain, thrusting a spear down into Faramir's captain (Madril, I think).
They struck me as similar. The Orc captain says, "The age of men is over. The time of the Orc has come." I suppose you could make a comparison that the Battle of Dagorlad (from the prologue) was a battle where the Free Peoples achieved supremacy over the forces of the Shadow, and this Orc is predicting that this battle will start the turn of the tide back to supremacy of the Shadow over Men.
Very nice. Hie thee to the "Foreshadowing and Echoing" thread.
Or should it be hie thee to thy "Foreshadowing and Echoing" thread? ;^)
"A diversion!" Which was clearly added for people who couldn't follow the crux of the battle plan. The plan was obvious. Don't dumb it down.
"Let's hunt some orc." I have long disliked this line. It feels cheap and modern. A lot of the other lines which stray close to corny in these films, but I don't mind because they work in the world of Tolkien and they sound mythic. But "Let's hunt some orc," is just too modern sounding. I can't recall the way this line's (very rough) equivalent is worded in the book, but it's much more menacing and fitting.
"The stars are veiled" (ummm there are plenty of visible stars)
"I am no man" (yeah I know that was from the book as well)
"Her fate is now tied to the ring" (uhhh when was that ever a thing?)
"I hold your oaths fulfilled"
"Frodo has passed beyond my sight"
"This day we fight"
"And Rohan will answer"
"How about dying beside a friend" (yeah right no way in hell you're dying) (I know I didn't get that quote right but it still says the same thing)