Question on Gandalf

[Cayal]

For a all powerful wizard, from what I gathered from the movies (haven't read the books past the first one) he wasn't very wizardy. Except the light from the staff thing he did twice.

So what makes him all the more powerful, special in the LOTR world?

[Kissmequick]

Well the spells he does do are pretty powerful. He beat a Balrog, that's quite good as wizardy things go.....

Ofc, the geeky answer is - he's a Maiar, or demi god, though on this plane he loses much of his power, and has the frailties and weaknesses of men. He's not supposed to interfere by force ( hence he doesn't use his spells very often) but by influence.

[Toraspanda]

Read the books Jaire, and forget those dreadful films - which could hardly be less true to Tolkien!

[Cayal]

Originally Posted by Kissmequick

Well the spells he does do are pretty powerful. He beat a Balrog, that's quite good as wizardy things go.....

That is more a warrior thing though. At least the way he did it in the movie.

[pyan]

*Sigh*

The films are a condensation of a massive novel with a huge back-story...to make them, Peter Jackson had to take liberties with the plot, the timeline, the characterisation, etc, etc....

Originally Posted by Toraspanda

Read the books Jaire, and forget those dreadful films - which could hardly be less true to Tolkien!

Good advice.....

[Nesacat]

Peter Jackson did a very good job with a huge epic. He had three movies to work with and given those very tight limits he did well and deserves to be respected.

As for Gandalf ... the books are the best way to go. He is indeed very powerful and not because he can cast a spell. He's so much more and you need the books to really understand how he fits into the big scheme of things.

[pyan]

Oh, I'm not saying that Jackson didn't make a good fist of the attempt to film an unfilmable book...just that if you attempt to analyse characters in the book by their actions in the film, you're going to run into problems.

Originally Posted by Jaire

For a all powerful wizard, from what I gathered from the movies

This is a good example - only by reading the books do you realise that this impression, given by the film, is so far from the book's slow reveal of the power and weaknesses of the Istari...

[Cayal]

The book is in line to be read, but I still want to know now.

Why was he afraid of the WitchKing? (The one Eowyn killed)

[pyan]

I wasn't aware he was - he blocks him in the gate of Minas Tirith, and fends off the Nazgul in the race to save Faramir - so where does he fear him?

[Cayal]

Apparently he isn't.

[Kissmequick]

Originally Posted by pyan

I wasn't aware he was - he blocks him in the gate of Minas Tirith, and fends off the Nazgul in the race to save Faramir - so where does he fear him?

Well, he was at least technically a living man - and no living man could beat the witchking.

And if you take the comment * There are many powers in this world for good or for evil. Some are greater than I am. And against some I have yet to be tested* then he knew fear, and knew he could be beaten.

I don't think he was nescessarily afraid of the witchking - but he always appeared to me to be pretty nervous about facing him. It was his great test - and he could fail, in fact he would have failed if he had faced him instead of Eowyn, because, as I say, he was a living man.

And as for his beating of the balrog was a warrior thing - er I don't think any of the warriors could have shielded themselves, or cracked the bridge with a word, or weilded the secret fire of Anor, or survived being wreathed in flames or even smote his ruin uppon the mountainside

[Cayal]

What are you talking about? I do that every other weekend.

[Kissmequick]

Originally Posted by Jaire

What are you talking about? I do that every other weekend.

Jeez, I thought the snakes and spiders were bad enough in Oz, now you tell me you have an infrestation of balrogs? Note to self, cancel the holiday to Oz.

[Cayal]

No need to cancel, just get a good guide.

[Joel007]

I've always gone by the idea that "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." When you apply that to magic, you can imagine why wizards would use their spells sparingly