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LOTR: Legolas’ Helm’s Deep Shooting Reviewed By Archery Expert, And He’s Unimpressed-TGN

Summary

  • Legolas’ shooting in the Battle of Helm’s Deep earned a low rating from archery expert, Grizzly James.

  • Legolas’ feats throughout the Lord of the Rings movies become increasingly ridiculous, including using a shield to surf down stairs and gracefully sliding off a moving Oliphaunt.

  • While unrealistic, Legolas’ audacious moments in the movies tie into the franchise’s themes and provide entertainment value.

An archery expert has reviewed Legolas’ shooting during the Battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Played by Orlando Bloom and adapted from the character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, Legolas played an active role in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie trilogies. Throughout both trilogies, Legolas used his unparalleled skills as an archer and as a warrior to defend Middle-earth from Sauron’s evil forces.

While speaking with Insider, archery expert Grizzly James reviewed the real-world accuracy of bow-and-arrow scenes from popular movies and television shows, including Legolas’ shooting at the Battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which earned a low rating. As James highlights in the video above, Legolas does do some things right, especially given the fantastical circumstances, but he does miss the mark in some essential areas. Check out James’ comments in the quotes and video below:

His elbow is a bit high, but I’ll give him that when you’ve got some big orc dude with a stick coming at you, you’re not always going to get a chance to set and make the perfect shot. But in order to speed shoot to that kind of level, you’d need a pretty light poundage bow. I’m going to go four (out of ten), but it’s cool.

Legolas’ Feats Get Increasingly Ridiculous Throughout The Films

The scene reviewed by James is relatively tame compared to many of Legolas’ other feats throughout the movies. At another point during the Battle of Helm’s Deep, Legolas uses a shield to surf down a set of stairs while successfully firing a series of arrows at orcs who had breached through the walls of the fortress. His rivalry with Gimli to see who can kill more orcs in battle later leads to an even more audacious feat during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Legolas effortlessly climbs up the body of a moving Oliphaunt, swiftly kills all the warriors riding the creature, shoots two arrows into the Oliphaunt’s head, and gracefully slides off its body as it tumbles to the ground. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is even more ambitious as during the eponymous battle, Legolas fights the fearsome orc Bolg, Azog the Defiler’s second-in-command, atop a stone bridge. As the bridge crumbles during their fight, Legolas essentially defies the laws of gravity as he leaps between the plummeting stones before getting on even ground with Bolg again, and finally kills him.

Related: What Went Wrong With The Hobbit Movie Trilogy

What these scenes lack in realism they more than make up for in entertainment value while also tying into the franchise’s themes. The Lord of the Rings is an epic tale of good versus evil, a tale of unlikely heroes reaching their fullest potential through courage and selflessness. Legolas’ most audacious moments are not only entertaining to watch, but can also connect to The Lord of the Rings‘ universal themes, regardless of their accuracy to the books or to real-world archery.

Source: Insider