April 15, 2002

Hugo Weaving as Elrond Halfelven
Peter C.

Is there anyone else out there who feels that the casting of Hugo Weaving as Elrond was a bit of a mistake? I for one, not having paid much attention to who Jackson had gotten for that particular role was a bit startled to see "Agent Smith" as the Elvish lord.

I know it's a bit unfair for me to confine Weaving to his role in the Matrix, but as I watched his scenes for the first time I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

The next few times I watched the film, I adjusted and even began to appreciate his role as one of the lords of a fading race, watching the world change before his eyes. In particular I enjoyed his comment "Men are weak." He said it with such distaste I could believe it all.

However, the initial shock of seeing him onscreen without sunglasses and an earphone still leads me to believe this was a mis-casting.