April 5, 2002

When Will Gandalf Lay the Smack Down?
Brett C.

Shortly after Sir Ian McKellan missed out on the Oscar for best supporting actor I started to think about the role of Gandalf in the movie. Something that eventually occured to me is that Gandalf's ability to give the forces of evil a good kickin' has been savagely reduced.

In the novel Gandalf manages to save the Fellowship from the wolf attack in Hollin by creating a wall of flame, he holds the Balrog up in the chamber of Mazabul and collapses the roof on it to buy time to reach the Bridge of Khazad-dum, and most dramatically he holds off an attack by all nine Nazgul at Weathertop which Aragorn sees from afar as a display '...like lightning that leaps up from the hilltops.' In the movie the first two scenes are cut completely, while the last is replaced by Aragorn driving off the Ringwraiths courtesy of a torch and their highly flammable robes.

The thing is without these segments to show his power poor old Gandalf the Grey spends a lot of time as evul's whipping boy. Saruman slaps him silly in Orthanc [justifiably] and then does it again on Caradhras. While this sets things up nicely for their final meeting after Helm's Deep is does leave the grey pilgrim looking a little lame in the power hierachy of Middle Earth.

Does anybody have any info on whether we will finally get to see Gandalf cut loose in the upcoming movies? Considering how PJ has expanded action scenes like the Watcher in the Water and the treachery of Saruman I am drooling over the thought of what he might do with the Wizards confrontation at Isengard, or the showdown between Gandalf and the WitchKing at the gates of MInas Tirith. Of course I wouldn't want to see Eowyn robbed of her glory with the Nazgul, but it would be nice to see ol' Gandalf really reach down into his bag of visual effects to hold up the Black Captain.