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The Hobbits: The Battle Of Twe Two Bagginses!


Who's the best Baggins  

25 members have voted

  1. 1. Who's the best Baggins

    • Bilbo (Martin Freeman)
    • Frodo (Elijah Wood)


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Who's the more interesting character in PJ's 6 films?

I would have to say Bilbo without even having anything resembling a second thought. I find Freeman a far more interesting actor then Wood. And his character, even with loadfs of invented subplots has a lot more meat on it's bones.

It's the same way in the books for me, actually.

Bilbo for the win!

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Easily! Freeman is just the superior actor, with far more nuance and depth than Wood brought to his role.

That being said, Wood still made a good Frodo.

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True. But hey, it came together well, I had no complaints (well maybe some...but mainly because of plot), and I wouldn't replace him. :)

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Had Freeman played Frodo, LotR would have an Oscar in the acting category as well.

Well, I still think McKellan is the strongest in his role in all 6 films. If he couldn't win the Oscar for FotR, nobody else could.

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I agree, and a stunning matcch for Ian Holm, without seemingly trying to ever act like him.


Well, I still think McKellan is the strongest in his role in all 6 films. If he couldn't win the Oscar in FotR, nobody else could.

McKellen in FOTR is indeed the strongest actor with the best part.

His very first scene was enough to make him a household name.

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Frodo. I didn't see much of a hobbit in Freeman, to be honest. He doesn't have that warmth about him. Too much of Mr Watson (doesn't help that Cumberbatch is in the film, too!). He's much better in Fargo as well.

Karol

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McKellEn fit my image of Gandalf perfectly. Second to him is Holm.

Freeman's take was different, but very good and valid all the same.

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I also think that Martin Freeman could be even more suited to the role of Frodo than that of Bilbo, and certainly more suited to it than Elijah Wood was. He's a more appropriate age for a start, with a more arrogant and irritable sort of edge than Wood.

McKellen IS Gandalf even when I read the books

That he is.

Indeed.

Not by a long shot!

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I could only vote for one (Elijah Woods' Bagginses), but really I like both.

I'm not susceptible to cinematic imprinting as of late (i.e. baby duck syndrome), but both Bagginses have their appeal.

I like Martin Freeman for his comical performance in HGTTG (music by Joby Talbot) and also in The Hobbit films.

I like Elijah Wood for his everyman personality and determination as portrayed in LOTR.

What can I say? I may vote one way, but I can easily hold both in equal regard.

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Freeman. Not even close.

I was going to mention this in the other current LOTR thread, but this is the better place for it. Overall, the cast for the films was very good. There were only a few parts I felt were truly miscast. Unfortunately . . . one of them was Frodo.

It isn't that he didn't try. I truly respect the effort he put into the performance, and the passion with which he attempted to fill the role. But there's no getting around it: Tolkien intended the story to be part of an inherently British mythology. Casting three American actors in the lead roles was, on a fundamental level, an undermining of that intent (especially since they never could get the hang of the accent). I'm not saying it ruined the experience altogether: it was still very moving to see Rudy Ruettiger carrying Huckleberry Finn up the side of Mount Doom. But it was something of a distraction for me through the whole series, honestly.

With Viggo, it was a little less his accent--which still wasn't really up to par--and more his inability to portray Aragorn's vast age. He just looked like a guy wandering around Middle Earth. Again, no knock on his attitude or passion, which were Olympian in their application. He just couldn't fill the ranger's boots.

To my mind, Ian Holm and Martin Freeman are the only actors with a major role in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit whose portrayals come close to their book counterparts.

Well, not the only ones. I'm with the others: McKellen made a magnificent Gandalf. Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies fulfilled their roles better than I thought any actor would be able to. Another actor I thought was great for his (less-than-major) part was Karl Urban. He really brought a strength and solidness to Eomer that surprised me. He ultimately become one of my favorites in the whole series.

McKellen IS Gandalf even when I read the books

I can see, for people who saw the films first, where he would be the part that translated easiest into the part in the books.

Another Hobbit thread... just what we needed. You know, I used to like Tolkien, but now I'm bored with it, and you should all stop talking about it too.

I knew exactly who you were doing there. A spot-on imitation, at that. . . !

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I have to agree about Frodo. Frodo is 50 years old in the main LOTR story (He turns 33 on the same day Bilbo turns 111, then the rest of the main story takes place 17 years later).

It was weird they cast a 16 year old kid to play Frodo. The role is kind of iconic now, but the more you read the books the more you scratch your head about that casting choice.

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Bear in mind this is the purest of purists talking here. . . .

Bernard did a pretty good job as Theoden. It wasn't really his performance that was the issue: as with Aragorn, it was his age. PJ let Gandalf "overheal" him. Even after being restored mentally, he was still an old man in the books. The strength of his courage and will that overcame his apparent frailty was one of the triumphs of his character.

Sean Bean was also pretty good. My main problem with him was simply that he wasn't arrogant enough. The Boromir of the books was a puffed-up, proud warrior, and that pride suffused everything he said and did. He was more a Robert Westenberg (Cinderella's Prince from the Broadway version of Into the Woods) than a Sean Bean.

While we're on that family, David Wenham's Faramir was closer to the mark than Bean's Boromir, but still a little off. He was a little too soft and quiet for me.

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I agree Uni. Their interpretations and characteristics differ from the book.

But in the film setting, they work brilliantly. And they often get covered by the shadow of the bigger stars. I wouldn't have cast anyone else for these films!

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I don't think Sean Bean gets enough credit for his brief time as Boromir. One of my favourites of the cast.

Agreed. He does not entirely fit my image of the character from the book visually but he really makes the role his own and gives a great memorable portrayal even though he is mostly in the first film.

For me not as quick choice as to some here but in the end I'll go with Martin Freeman, especially after seeing The Battle of the Five Armies.

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There are several characters who are drawn ip very different in the book then in the film. Aragorn for instance. Boromir and Theoden too. The actors chosen for these parts are therefore playing different interpretations of those roles and are well cast in those roles.

I adore Hill's Theoden, but the character he plays is radically different then in the books. More resentfull of Gondor. More doubtful etc.

When reading TTT my image of Theoden started as a Richard Harris type figure. Old and worn, but with a hint of former glory and pride, to a more tall and proud Max von Sydow character. An achient but hale warrior who recaptured the flames of old and it out for one last deed of heroism.

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There are several characters who are drawn ip very different in the book then in the film. Aragorn for instance. Boromir and Theoden too. The actors chosen for these parts are therefore playing different interpretations of those roles and are well cast in those roles.

I adore Hill's Theoden, but the character he plays is radically different then in the books. More resentfull of Gondor. More doubtful etc.

When reading TTT my image of Theoden started as a Richard Harris type figure. Old and worn, but with a hint of former glory and pride, to a more tall and proud Max von Sydow character. An achient but hale warrior who recaptured the flames of old and it out for one last deed of heroism.

Again the age is a very difficult aspect of these characters. Works well in the books but the film makers never trusted the audience to believe these old men could potentially be these big heroes, sadly. Theoden and Thorin are good examples even though making them older would have brought additional elements to their characters, like for Thorin accomplishing the great deed of retaking his kingdom before he was too old to be able to do it.The self-doubt that plagues many characters in the films is a modern invention to add depth to them and present them with obstacles they have to overcome to achieve personal character growth. It is a negotiation between modern sensibilities and anticipating the audience and being loyal to the novel.

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