Favorite Scene Friday! The Lord of the Rings: "I would have followed you, my brother..."

This week’s Favorite Scene Friday has the distinction of kicking off Escape-athon 2014. And while the scene is from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - one of the greatest fantasy films of the last few decades of all time - there really isn’t anything particularly "fantastic" about it. There’s no magic in it and really no special effects to be seen. A great battle between men, hobbits, monsters, an elf, and a dwarf has just taken place, but we don’t see any of it in this bit. We do get the aftermath, however, and that’s why I’m highlighting it.

To set the scene a little bit, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), bearer of the One Ring, has been traveling with his companions, the Fellowship of the Ring. Their mission: toss the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. The group is eventually attacked by a huge battalion of Uruk-hai who are bent on stopping Frodo. The hobbit runs off on his own, set on finishing his mission. Sean Bean's Boromir (whose intentions and loyalties had been unclear - he borderline attacked Frodo shortly before the battle) tries valiantly to save hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) - "the little ones" as he calls them :'( - but is all but killed by the Uruk-hai. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) appears and is able to kill the leader of the Uruk-hai before the monster can behead Boromir. Then...this scene happens.



Something that’s been a little lacking in the new Hobbit films as compared to the Lord of the Rings films has been the acting and emotion. I struggle to think of any scene like this one in the new films and I haven't really connected with any of the characters the way I did with Aragorn, Boromir, and the rest of the fellowship. This short clip between Aragorn and Boromir features some of the best acting in either of the franchises and is one of the few that really gets to me on an emotional level. It's an incredibly emotional scene that highlights sacrifice, brotherhood, and redemption.

I know this is a heavy way to kick off Escape-athon, but this is a great chance to showcase a fantastic, emotional scene in an epic fantasy film. I promise the rest of the month will be a little more upbeat. Happy Friday!