Fantasy characters grow. They evolve or change in any well-conceived story world. But in Peter Jackson’s movies I felt a disconnect with Legolas’s introduction to The Hobbit movies. Did you notice the change?
In The Lord of the Rings movies we met an exciting Legolas, one unafraid to battle but also willing to revel in a jolly good time with his comrades. The rivalistic relationship of Legolas with Gimli the dwarf provided the movies with their strongest humor moments. (Remember how they kept track of their kills during battle in order to score who was the best?) And Legolas was intuitive and borderline wise as he assisted Aragorn in his quest.
Personally I feel that Peter Jackson’s last film in this series, namely The Desolation of Smaug, was superb. The characters were put forth with superb creativity and intrigue. But I make exception for the introduction of Legolas into the film.
The CGI work on his face made him stand out like a sore thumb (or an odd Elf in this case, LOL!) It reminded me of the way that CGI work brought back the young Flynn in Tron: Legacy and how they put Arnold Swartzenegger into Terminator Salvation. It was fun to see Legolas again, but his stiff doll face kept demanding my focus. Worse than that, he lacked expression. True, he’s an Elf, but the expression of his eyes empowered his character in TLOR movies and that was missing here.
Devoid of humor and lacking his roguish side, the new Legolas leaves a lot to be desired. Fortunately, it was Smaug the dragon that ruled the screen in this film.
Question: Did you like or dislike Legolas’s portrayal in Desolation of Smaug? How do you think it compared to the Legolas we knew in The Lord of the Rings movies?
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