At least it was delivered well. 
I need at least 3 beers to get through every line of dialogue uttered by Cryin’ Sam the Weepy Hobbit in RotK. Bleeech.
As to the OP, you apparently don’t have a problem with a touching romantic love scene… Well, what kind of dialogue do you expect in such a scene? And being in Elvish helps it, not hurts it: Elvish, like French, makes everything seem more romantic. “Ah . . . chere madame, vos lobes d’oreilles sont comme tetes de poisson.” probably sounds romantic in Elvish, too.
I thought he did that stragetically, to get Theoden to at least make some sort of move. Wasn’t the fear that Theoden would do nothing at all? And he was known to be touchy, right? So, propose a plan (that you know won’t work) so that Theoden can then diss that plan and come up with the better one–Theoden’s action is secured, his ego is stroked and Gandalf can take the hit on that one.
Does that make sense?
Oh, and when Aragorn runs like hell to say that the “beacons are lit!”. I loves me some Viggo, but he says that line like a 12 year old.
Now I am reviwing all manner of scenes in my head and coming up with some really cheesy dialogue. It would seem that it is uneven, at the very least.
For me (and I know I’m going to get jumped on for this) it’s when Sam declares, “I may not be able to carry it, but I can carry you!” before he heaves Frodo on his shoulder like some fireman.
It just seemed incredibly cheesy and I winced in the theater when he said it. I know it’s supposed to be heroic and I’ll-drag-you-every-step-of-the-way, but it just jarred me.
I have no idea what that says in French! does it have something to do with a fish?
I love romance, but that line is pathetic. People who ask it are NOT elves that have power and beauty etc. I also don’t see Arwen and Aragorn needing to reinforce their love via sentimental tosh. They could have referred to their past any number of better ways, IMO. I dont’ know much about their early relationship, but maybe they shouldn’t even have brought it up, since it is not real pertinent in the films. I feel like Frankie Avalon is going to pop up and start singing some ditty about “true love” right after she says that line.
And why does Arwen’s “fate get tied to the Ring”? I never have figured that one out.
He ain’t heavy, he’s my hobbit.
Well, it kind of makes sense, but its just not true. As the dialogue a bit later reveals:
Everytime Elrond and Arwen opened their mouths it drove me crazy. These are the two major characters least portray like the actual characters.
Jim
snerk
While the timeline isn’t quite clear, Saruman hadn’t mustered his army at the time Gandalf made that speech. Possibly Gandalf was hoping that Rohan could march on Isengard and destroy the Uruk-hai before they were fully … born, or however you want to put it.
More to the point, I think the filmmakers wanted to illustrate that Theoden — men in general — had lost their nerve for war and were in danger of giving in to fear and despair in the face of Sauron/Saruman’s power.
Speaking of Theoden, I forgot about the scene where he mourns his son. I hate how he says “No parent should have to bury their child.” What a jarringly anachronistic, Oprah-esque sentiment. In pre-industrial times, children died all the time, whether it be from disease, deprivation, violence, or exposure (the family just can’t afford another mouth to feed). I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but losing children was a known and common part of life, not some great upending of the cosmic order the way we see it now.
Another fan of the old “Bloom County” strip, eh?
Eowyn: I am going to save you.
Theoden: …You already did.
GAAAHHH! The dialogue, it hurtsss us, preciousss! It freezes, it bites! Dear God, what a cringeworthy moment that exchange was, on so many levels. Apparently it is possible for every muscle of the body to wince simultaneously. Either that or I experienced nitrogen narcosis from having my suspension of disbelief explosively decompress.
Because, you know, even though Eowyn’s defeat of the Witch-King was one of the most memorably dramatic battles in the trilogy, still… there was something missing in the way Tolkien wrote it, wasn’t there? How could that scene possibly be made more compelling? Why, of course! By gratutiously referencing an entirely different movie trilogy! Surely George Lucas’ sublime ear for dialogue is the missing ingredient that will infuse the scene with authentic emotion!
What was Peter Jackson thinking?! Maybe there’s some kind of venomous flying insect native to New Zealand that flies into your ear and stings your brain, causing you to make the worst possible directorial choices about when film homages are appropriate.
I really want someone off-camera to say “Don’t toss that dwarf, hand me the pliers!” Yes, I know it’s “crush,” but it’s all I can think of when I hear that line.
Personally, I think any time Christopher Lee is talking, the dialog is bad. Except that his worst moment is really a monologue, when he’s up in the tower making the mountain fall on the gallant lads. “Hummina hummina hummina horny borny corny.” Don’t all stone me at once.
French speakers are free to correct me, but it’s something along the lines of “Dear lady, your earlobes are like fish heads . . .” Sure sounds like Berkeley Breathed to me!
Interestingly enough, many of the weaknesses pointed out hereactually originate in the book, although sometimes in different forms.
This is shortened, but taken fairly exactly from an exchange in TTT. It is in an interlude, rather than a summing-up speech.
This is taken directly from TTT.
There were many references to Legolas having exceptionally good eyesight, and he is asked to be a “human” telescope in several scenes.
This one did bug me, however, because it is jarringly ungrammatical. “Whence” means “from which”, so Elrond is saying that they have to chuck it into the volcano from from which it came.
And as a quiet, fireside kind of scene, it would’ve worked much better.
I agree that the line is necessary to reinforce to the audience that Legolas has abilities beyond those of a normal human.
“I am no man!”
Blargh. The preceding “dramatic” removal of the helmet didn’t help matters.
As a distant second, I agree with “I may not be able to carry it, but I can carry you!”
Nope, I’ve got it now.
“I gave you the chance of aiding me willingly, but you have elected the way of pain!”
What. The hell. Elected? The way of pain? Not chosen pain, or chosen insolence, or decided to suffer…no. Gandalf clearly elected the way of pain. It’s so bad it sounds like a Japanese video game, someone set up us the bomb, and elect the way of pain. It shouldn’t be english, it is just barely, but should not be.
I’d forgotten about his election in my earlier post, and for me, this is the king of the godawful lines in the movies. Hats off to Chris Lee and the whole gang.
Holy shit, what a bad line.
That’s the part I hate most. Tolkien would never, ever have written that line, and Theoden never would have said it. Argh.
They leave in the very next scene. And Saruman had been working in that army a long time. There is no way attacking him maybe a week earlier would catch him completely by surprise. And of course the value of a fortress in this kind of combat is immense.
I guess its somewhat illustrates that Theoden and the men had lost the nerve for war. But is it worth it making Gandalf an idiot to show that?
I agree with your last point, though. Hadn’t thought of it before.