Enter Gandalf
The Moment: Gandalf the Grey makes his bow, informing Frodo that, “a wizard is never late Frodo Baggins… nor is he early… he arrives precisely when he means to!”
The Awesome: Ian McKellen’s twinkly-eyed brilliance is in full effect from the word go. Note his faux-innocence at the notion he has been branded a “disturber of the peace”…
Come and claim him
The Moment: Arwen heads with Frodo to Rivendell, a posse of Ringwraiths on her tail. As she reaches a river crossing, she sends the black riders flying with a bit of Elvish magic…
The Awesome: Liv Tyler shows she can chuck out a one-liner with the best of them, taunting her pursuers with, “If you want him, come and claim him.”
The legend of the ring
The Moment: The Fellowship Of The Ring starts in spectacular style, telling the story of the ring of power and its passage from Sauron to Isildur to Bilbo.
The Awesome: Now that is how you kick off a fantasy epic. Only a couple of minutes in, and we’ve already been treated to one of the most jaw-dropping battle sequences in celluloid history.
Stupid fat hobbit!
The Moment: Sam cooks up a delicious rabbit stew, much to the chagrin of Gollum. So ensues a culinary debate, in which Gollum turns his nose up at Sam’s longing for fish and chips. “Give it to us raw and wriggling,” he hisses, “you keep nasty chips!”
The Awesome: The dynamic between Sam and Gollum is racked with tension for much of The Two Towers , but it’s also the source of some of the film’s more humorous moments too!
Coronation
The Moment: Aragorn is finally crowned King of Gondor, with Arwen on his arm as Queen. A happy ending at long last.
The Awesome: After three films worth of breathless carnage, the audience has earned this pay-off. Sealed with a kiss!
Honouring the hobbits
The Moment: Following swiftly on from the coronation comes Aragorn’s honouring of his Halfling friends. “My friends,” he says, as the Hobbits kneel before him, “you bow to noone.” And with that, the King of Gondor sinks to his knees in tribute to the four most unlikely heroes ever seen to walk Middle-earth.
The Awesome: Well they deserve it, don’t they? Despite the trouble caused by Pippin along the way...
Troll attack
The Moment: A swarm of orcs force their way into the tomb of Balin, accompanied by a hulking cave troll. One hell of a battle ensues…
The Awesome: Chained and ill-used by its masters, the troll is a surprisingly sympathetic figure, particularly when blundering round in its death throws. It’s testament to the magic of Peter Jackson that audiences feel sorry for the monster that nearly killed off the hero just seconds earlier.
Gollum's demise
The Moment: As Frodo is about to pitch the ring into the fires of Mount Doom, Gollum makes one last grab for his precious. He eventually manages to get hold of it, but not before losing his balance and plunging to a fiery end…
The Awesome: At long last the ring is destroyed, taking poor old Gollum with it. It was meant to be, really…
Give them a moment
The Moment: The trilogy delivers its first emotional hammer-blow, as Gandalf the Grey is claimed by the flailing whip of the fallen Balrog. Cue much heartbreak amid the snow-capped mountain-tops.
The Awesome: Boromir speaks for all of us when he beseeches Aragorn to, “give them a moment, for pity’s sake.” Not a dry eye in the house…
Ent attack
The Moment: The Ents come to get some revenge on Saruman, attacking Isengaard with all their might. Payback’s a bitch.
The Awesome: Finally, the pondourous Ents get in on the action. We particularly like the bit when the one that’s been set ablaze dives into the cooling waters of the burst dam.
