A character that I liked is a character named Strider. ' "Him?" said the landlord in an answering whisper, cocking an eyes without turning his head. "I don't rightly know. He is one of the wandering folk- Rangers we call them. He seldom talks: not but what he can tell a rare tale when he has the mind. He disappears for a month, or a year, and then he pops up again. He was in and out pretty often last spring; but I haven't seen him about lately. What his right name is I've heard: but he's known round here as Strider. Goes about at a great pace on his long shanks; thought he don't tell nobody what caused he has to hurry. But there's no accounting of East and West, as we say in Bree, meaning the Rangers and the Shire-folk, begging your pardon. Funny you should about him." (Tolkien 153). It odd that the author doesn't describe the character of Strider. When I thought of Strider, I thought he was a medium sized man, strong but good with any kind of weapon with long black hair. When I saw the movie, I was partly right but a tall man, with medium length hair. The person who plays Strider, Viggo Mortensen, a great sword fighter in the movie, great character.
Another character that I LOVE is a Mirkwood Elf named Legolas. . . ' He then pointed out and named those whom Frodo had not met before. There was a younger dwarf at Gloin's side: his son, Gimli. Beside Glorfindel there were several other counsellors of Elrond's household, of whom Erestor was the chief; and with him was Galdor, an Elf from the Grey Havens who had come on an errand from Cirdan the Shipwright. There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. And seated a little apart was a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance.' (Tolkien 234). How they described Legolas . . . an interesting character, nothing that I'd imagine in the movie, of these two characters. For the person who played Legolas, Orlando Bloom is an excellent fighter as well as Viggo, but Orlando does his own stunts which I think is really awesome.
The difference between the movie and the book is quite different but also the same. In the beginning when Gandalf is talking to Frodo, Gandalf tells the story of the hobbit named Sméagol, but it doesn't show that in the movie. People are still debating about the character named Legolas. People say that in the book Legolas has dark hair but the movie he has light hair. Personally in my opinion, Elves should have light colored hair like blonde or even red, orange, or orange red. For Strider, its amazing how they played him out in the movie. When they both introduced him, he seemed mysterious in both the book and the movie.