Smeagol vs. Deagol
The Moment: Andy Serkis finally gets his face on screen, in the surprisingly brutal tussle between Smeagol and Deagol. The ring of power always corrupts, you know…
The Awesome: It’s a shocking start to the third film, and a scene that reminds the viewer just how bound to the ring Gollum has become…
Glimpsing Gollum
The Moment: As the Fellowship journey into the Mines of Moria, Gandalf informs Frodo that they are being followed, a pair of beady eyes glimmering in the darkness…
The Awesome: We love the ensuing exchange between Frodo and Gandalf… “It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill him when he had the chance,” says Frodo, hotly. “Pity?” replies Gandalf. “It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand.”
Funeral pyre
The Moment: The unhinged Denethor prepares a blazing funeral pyre for himself and son Faramir, until Gandalf and Pippin intervene. Nothing will stop the Steward of Gondor taking his own life however, even if his son must be spared…
The Awesome: As exits go, setting yourself on fire and jumping from a great height into a crowded battlefield is a pretty spectacular option!
The Mouth of Sauron
The Moment: The Black Gate opens to reveal the Mouth of Sauron, a hideous emissary who throws Frodo’s Mithril vest at a horrified Gandalf. Aragorn isn’t best pleased, and promptly lops off the ambassador’s head. “I guess that concludes negotiations,” quips Gimli.
The Awesome: Cut from the final film, the Mouth of Sauron is a truly unsettling proposition. Gruesome in the extreme…
Dwarf tossing
The Moment: Gimli entreats Aragorn to toss him into the fray at Helm’s deep, only requesting that Legolas be kept in the dark about it.
The Awesome: Gimli and Aragorn launch themselves into a crowd of orcs about 50-strong. That’s heroism for you!
Words of wisdom
The Moment: Boromir comforts Frodo in the woods of Lothlorien. “Gandalf’s death was not in vain. Nor would he have you give up hope. You carry a heavy burden, Frodo — don’t carry the weight of the dead.”
The Awesome: We see Boromir act less than valiantly around Frodo on a number of occasions, but in this instance, his only thoughts are for the hobbit’s peace of mind. A welcome scene, in its willingness to paint Boromir in a more favourable light.
I am no man
The Moment: Eowyn confronts the fearsome Witch King, beheading his winged steed before seeing to the rider himself. “No man can kill me,” snarls Sauron’s minion. “I am no man,” replies Eowyn.
The Awesome: Eowyn doesn’t muck about, jamming her sword straight into the Witch King’s face. Nice assist from Merry, too.
Saruman vs. Gandalf
The Moment: Saruman reveals that he has allied himself with Sauron, provoking a right royal dust-up with his old friend Gandalf.
The Awesome: Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen throw themselves into this fight scene like a pair of twenty-year-olds! Somehow, their advancing years serve only to make this scene feel more brutal…
The black rider
The Moment: One of the Ringwraiths makes its presence felt, scaring the hobbits half to death as they cower for shelter under a well-placed log.
The Awesome: The Ringwraiths are bloody terrifying, what with their hooded faces and demonic steeds. Its an unbearably tense introduction to the first film’s chief antagonists…
The Council of Elrond
The Moment: Old wounds reopen between the various races present at the Council Of Elrond, with the bickering only subsiding when Frodo steps up to the plate and volunteers to take the ring to Mount Doom.
The Awesome: Gandalf’s reaction to Frodo’s bravery is priceless, the venerable wizard wincing at the huge burden to be placed upon the halfling.
