Why LOTR Sucks: What Just Happened?

I am truly at a loss for words. Let’s give somebody credit, because this scene didn’t make it into the theatrical version, but the fact that it was filmed at all speaks volumes.

I have two MAJOR problems with what just happened. First of all, it’s sacrilege to have Gandalf be defeated so easily by anyone. But in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, he’s twice been beaten on screen. To what end?

Even worse, after the black rider break’s Gandalf’s staff, he’s about to kill him. But just as he raises his sword, he hears a horn. This makes him fly away. Really? He’s just defeated the enemy’s greatest chance of stopping Sauron, and this idiot decides he can’t spare the 20 seconds to finish him off for good?

The fact that Peter Jackson even thought to film such a scene says that he never should have been allowed within spitting distance of a Tolkien book. My hopes for the Hobbit working out are seriously diminished.

Minutes Watched: 3.2:32.30

Number of Montages: 17

Number of slow motion close-ups of people crying: 67

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