LOTR Fellowship of the Ring - Aragorn vs Lurtz: Movie Fight Review

[@JimCullen]

"People tend to stop fighting when you chop their head off." - Matt Easton, 2016. Some great wisdom there!

[@JimCullen]

But seriously, I loved this video. Some really great sarcastic humour throughout.

[@intergalacticimperialist9670]

Jim Cullen wise words indeed lol

[@hjorturerlend]

"You die when you are killed"

[@wingtsun1]

Are we fundamentally sure that losing your head means you can no longer fight ? Tis only a flesh wound after all !

[@robertwatson5594]

Jim Cullen there can be only one

[@mystdefiance1]

4:22 "you probably needs practice a bit more". But Matt, Lurtz was born a few days before that fight!

[@punchdrunkatheist]

I feel like this comment was funnier than intended to me, but whatever, it was a good comment.

[@TheMteaIzLuv]

A literal infanticide :(

[@WilhelmDrake]

Ya and Aragorn is in his 70's

[@kellygreenii]

Vilhelmo De Okcidento 90s

[@draugur345]

@@WilhelmDrake 80s

[@The0spetsnaz0]

"Decapitation! The kids love it!" --Matt Easton, 2016

[@bbdawise]

As a kid at heart, I can confirm this.

[@kevingooley9628]

Matt should borrow the Decapitation! Sound effect fr Brandon Tenold.

[@primorock8141]

I loved watching it as a kid so he's not wrong

[@Sangth123]

Turns out the deflection of the knife was an actual thing that happened on set, the actor playing Lurtz was supposed to miss and hit the tree, but his makeup/mask were not doing his vision any favors and accidentally aimed at Viggo, who at the last second pulled his sword up to deflect it in that awesome shot we see which they kept in the movie.

[@talleman1]

badass Vigo.

[@Raptorman0205]

Nothing let the threat of real injury to bring out gritty, believable actions in actors. You see the same thing later in movie 3, where the Eromir is actually having a massive die-cast metal flail swung at her by the witch king. The look of dread is partially the acting, partially the natural reaction of "wow I could actually die today on set."

[@factbeaglesarebest]

Most terrifying aspect is the fact that the knife wasn’t a prop that was s real knife

[@mogaman28]

@@Raptorman0205 Eowyn

[@pulguinha682]

@@factbeaglesarebest It was real metal, but blunt. Would do some nasty damage, but probably non-fatal (depends on where and how it hit though)

[@glenndemoor3020]

The bit with Makoare throwing the knife is the famous "overzealous" shot that Jackson left in, as in it wasn't supposed to go straight for Mortensen's face, but it did, and luckily he was responsive enough to knock it aside.

[@wierdalien1]

Glenn de Moor Viggo was pretty unlucky in filming

[@MathiasLaakkonen]

Yeah, the funny thing is that they were going to use a plastic dagger but Viggo said "fuck that, throw the real thing and I'll deflect it".

[@MathiasLaakkonen]

He sure was, at one point in the movie he kicked a helmet and broke his toe.

[@Myzelfa]

I heard Lurtz's actor wasn't supposed to really throw it but it slipped out of his hand.

[@Blake_Stone]

He sure goes for the bleachers with that swing. Nearly did a pirouette.

[@MegaFarinato]

Decapitations, kids love it.

[@edi9892]

Thank anime for that... people see drawn characters and think: cute,must be for kids....

[@KSxJoker]

No wonder there are child soldiers in ISIS right now.

[@MegaFarinato]

Or maybe that we like to think that kids are something inoccent but in reality they are the most cruel of all. Trust me, I was a kid back then.

[@edi9892]

MegaFarinato In a way kids are innocent. They didn't live long enough to carry a burden and they aren't developed enough to do great damage with intent (with exceptions). On the other side they can be like little psychopaths only caring about themselves until they develop further.

[@neilwilson5785]

I loved decapitations even more as a kid. I just wasn't allowed to see them. I had a picture of a shrunken head in a book about the exploration of South America, which was only second in glory to a picture of dinosaurs running away from an erupting volcano. Ahh, childhood.

[@TheAquarius1978]

The only lucky part on that fight lol was Viggo Mortensen actually defecting the dagger to his face, because the actor playing Lurts, screw up and " missed the safety target ", throwing the dagger right at the head of Mortensen, because that scene wasnt scripted.

[@nealleffler4267]

TheAquarius1978 Beat me to this comment by 9 minutes. Yes, that was an actual metal knife and now a safe, stunt knife that was really defected by Viggo

[@axeltenveils6816]

MustBeNoodly It is in the movie appendices.

[@axeltenveils6816]

***** I have it all in blue Ray. Do watch them, they interesting and in some places funny.

[@JimCullen]

I can't find any definitive source, but on the commentary track of the DVD, Peter Jackson said this: "There’s a shot coming up where [Viggo Mortensen] had to hit the knife that gets thrown at him with his sword, and he did it first take. That was a real knife that was being thrown, and he literally did bat it away with his sword for real: it wasn’t anything fake about it."

[@TheAquarius1978]

Jim Cullen Yup, because for what i have heard the " orc " guy screw up because of the make up, it was afecting his field of view, so he ended up throwing the nife at the face of Viggo, by mustake.

[@alfatazer_8991]

That's no moon that's Matt Easton!

[@edgepixel8467]

That's Matt unaware that it is possible to comment without sticking his whole head into the frame every two seconds

[@sulonextron6751]

AINT NO MOON COZ THER AINT NO SKY COZ THERE AINT NO GLOBE EARTH!!!

[@ivanlagrossemoule]

With those pulling-out skills no wonder Aragorn didn't have kids.

[@scholagladiatoria]

lol

[@Ezio999Auditore]

Hahaahahahaaaaaah!!!!

[@keaganwheeler-mccann8565]

Except he had 3. (that we know of)

[@dumpstermaster104]

lol

[@temujin5743]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@Sharyf]

In short - if you can sneak leap on opponent... just hit him with a sword instead.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Indeed!!

[@SanityVideo]

He could have released the bow that was pointed at Boromir if he'd just stabbed/cut him. Maybe he could have cut the bow string, or chopped at his hand to move the bow, but considering he didn't have much time, I don't think tackling him was a bad choice.

[@Tareltonlives]

Or how about taking a shot at him during the leap?

[@ansenjenn9526]

he was trying to save boromir, maybe if aragorn stabb him by natural reflex lurtz would have still shoot the arrow

[@MrDavidKord]

He had to move the arrow enough to redirect the shit.

[@PenneyBack]

Matt, did you know that dagger deflection was real? To quote reddit: "Apparently, the dagger was supposed to have been thrown past Aragorn and into a tree. However, the actor playing the orc had vision troubles with his mask, and accidentally threw the knife directly at Viggo Mortensen, who was forced to deflect it in desperation. The director liked it, and thus kept it in the movie."

[@BarbikaPahor]

why did he jumped on orc when he could unscrew his pommel and end him rightly?

[@Oberstgreup]

Elven swords have peened pommels, duh!

[@joethesheep4675]

he couldnt have done that because Boromir was in the pommels blast radius.

[@JonSnowize]

Lurtz is at most a handful of months old and almost beat a 100-plus year old experienced warrior so he deserves some credit at least.

[@crazyscotsman9327]

Argon was also exhausted from fighting a bunch of Orcs before hand. He was on his last leg and we can see that from the moment the fight starts.

[@RiasGremoryIsLife]

Aragorn was 87 when this fight happened though.

[@JonSnowize]

Fresh Certified Memes I could swear he was around 120 or something, been a long time I've watched the films though

[@Sivart343]

JonSnowize Gimli is the one around 120 at the time of LotR.

[@Oberstgreup]

Aragorn was 87, but that's like 25 in Dunedain years.

[@ErwinPommel]

"People tend to stop fighting when you chop their head off" Nonsense. 'Tis but a scratch!

[@monoperative]

Pause at 3:03 for comedy gold.

[@scholagladiatoria]

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@kjerins]

About pulling the sword out - the way it looks to me is that Lurtz let go of the sword to punch Aragorn in the head, and was a bit slow on the punch.

[@macmurfy2jka]

Yep. That's what I saw. Kurtz disengages to go for the punch.

[@bwcmakro]

I think it might also be on account of the fact that Lurtz just got slashed and stabbed and maybe was already blacking out a bit.

[@davei4952]

also.. two hands against one

[@nicholascunningham3927]

Matt, you scared the shit out of me 2 seconds in.

[@scholagladiatoria]

I hope there wasn't too much mess to clear up.

[@gollypo448]

I hope he doesn't have laminate flooring. Loose stool water plays havoc with laminate.

[@nicholascunningham3927]

No. Luckily, I just so happen to like watching your videos in a diaper.

[@tanegurnick5071]

nicholas cunningham diaper? you mean nappy?

[@gollypo448]

Tane Gurnick He's probably from the Colonies.

[@akoponen]

Possible reason that Aragorn managed to pull the longsword out is that Lurtz released his grip on it in preparation for doing something else with his left hand, but with impeccable timing Aragorn pulled out the blade and preempted the move.

[@Arcsinner]

I really appreciate your giant face

[@filomenaa]

It's so giant and orange

[@gevsen]

and instantly fuckable..... wait, are we talking about the same thing?

[@edpjunior]

I've been on the internet long enough to know that you may very well be.

[@Distracted]

Too many carrots.

[@uergihliauglhufirgu]

It´s the moon!

[@faenrir11]

do Maximus vs Commodus from Gladiator!

[@faenrir11]

yes.

[@gregoryfloriolli9031]

Irisviel Einzbern Have you seen the Netflix series, Roman Empire: Reign of Blood? It's starts out with a battle between Emperor Commodus and a gladiator and the fight choreography is so bad.

[@faenrir11]

Haven't seen that one. As for the Gladiator with Crowe, the film is beautiful enough that I couldn't care less about its historical accuracy. Would be fun to have it there, but it really doesn't matter. Treat it like you treat LotR and you'll have fun.

[@lordmorgoth7]

Irisviel Einzbern maximum commodity

[@aliberkozderya3112]

"People tend to stop fighting if you chop their heads off." Thanks for the useful information.

[@sonny19931]

Also to note: decapitations, for some reason, look "cleaner" and "more heroic" that some other forms of homicide, on screen. One of the things Aragorn could have done to finish off that orc could have been pulling out a knife and stabbing him repeatedly in the neck or chest... but think about, how gruesome would that have look? A repeated stabbing makes you go "jesus, that's brutal", while a decapitation makes you go "whoo, take that!"

[@Noah-pc6wq]

Giant Matt Easton is best Matt Easton.

[@axeltenveils6816]

Also Aragorn has over 70 years of experience over Kurtz.

[@EgoEroTergum]

I forgot that he was so old in the books. He's got some sort of pure-human-half-elf-nephalim ancestry that adds years onto his life and keeps him pretty.

[@axeltenveils6816]

EgoEroTergum Both in movie and in books he is 87 years of age, I believe. He is a Dunedain, a descendant of Numenor and heir to Gondor and Arnor. Also he is very distantly related to Arwen. The first of his Ancestors was the half-elf Elros, brother of Elrond, that chose the fate of men.

[@Blake_Stone]

In the books he not only has the age advantage on Lurtz, but the existence one as well. Pretty good edge to have in a fight.

[@Hordalending]

To true. Aragorn has several decades of hard swordfighting behind him and probably knows every dirty trick in the book. But poor Lurtz was spawned some few weeks or months ago, and only knows brute mindless force. Of course Aragorn has the best cards here.

[@Oberstgreup]

Aragorn is Arwen's first cousin 65 times or so removed. He is a direct descendant of Elrond's brother Elros through 60-some generations of Kings of Numenor, Lords of Andunie, Kings of Arnor and Arthedain, and Chieftains of the Dunedain of the North. He (and his ancestors Elendil and Isildur) was descended in the direct male line from the elder sister of one of the early Kings of Numenor. Of course, first cousins 65 times removed aren't biologically possible for humans, but if they were, that's much too remote a degree of consanguinity to be an obstacle to marriage. It might have seemed a little weird to Elrond, though, since as an Elf he must have remembered his brother very well. 6,000 years is just a couple of generations for Elves.

[@Krshwunk]

"Lurtz is now frantically backpedaling and defending with his pretty unwieldy and short and not-having-a-handguard *rubbish* machete/falchion/weapon thing." That made me smile.

[@cuachogaidh]

it's entirely possible to move quietly in the woods if you have experience. Although I'm surprised you didn't comment on the fact that despite having his hands full with bow and arrow when tackled he managed to pop up with sword and shield magically in hand

[@genxer1]

For that matter, instead of tackling him why not just cleave his head in since you have the total element of surprise.

[@RyuFireheart]

"People tend to stop fighting when you chop their head off". Unless its some kind of humanoid hydra hybrid. Context.

[@OskoreiMick]

when Aragorn cuts/blocks the knife that was thrown at him, that was done for real. a steel knife was thrown and was supposed to fly past him, but the guy playing Lurtz misjudged and ended up throwing it at Vigos head. had he not blocked it it would have hit him

[@Mtonazzi]

Vigo had to put with so much shit during the making of these movies that I hold a great respect for him as an actor xD

[@crowRKO1990]

The guy playing Lurtz also had trouble judging the depth of his movements when he gave Viggo that headbutt which almost knocked Viggo out cold. Oh also he blocked that knife while dazed which was after the Aragorn stuntman kept MISSING the knife. Viggo has insane reflexes.

[@OskoreiMick]

***** smarter then you obviously

[@OskoreiMick]

***** ahaha SS brother?

[@OskoreiMick]

what do you mean by ss brother?

[@cam92a65]

I thought Lurtz fought pretty well, considering he was only a few weeks old at the time.

[@andoionmalvon5328]

Towards the end where Aragorn pulls the sword out of Lurtz in my opinion its not really unbelievable even with Lurtz strength seeing as Lurtz has only one arm and Aragorn has both.

[@breaden4381]

Perhaps a slippery, bloody sword.

[@andoionmalvon5328]

Braden Vande Plasse That too

[@gollypo448]

Lurtz has one arm plus the 300lbs of meat surrounding the blade, contracting around it in response to the blood loss. People have failed to extract smaller blades far less deeply embedded, even without the victim's active participation. Even a prison shank can be very hard to extract from a large muscle.

[@EgoEroTergum]

Note to self: Remember to wax sword blade so thrusts don't stick.

[@andoionmalvon5328]

Golly Po Fair point

[@apollohateshisdayjob9606]

Great video again, though I have a couple points on context and overview I'd like to share: 1st the knife throw and sword recovery. They actually did keep field layout in mind, as Aragorn was thrown in the same direction his sword was flung. Also, neat bit of trivia, the actor playing Lurtz was supposed to throw wide (for safety) but accidently flung the knife straight at Vigo. That parry actually happened. 2nd: the initial bind and later rocky moment. That flurry would have been far less effective as an opening move, since Lurtz had a tower shield. At the rocky moment, Lurtz had lost his shield, and had a wounded leg, so compromised mobility. 3rd: how Aragorn freed the sword. My interpretation is that Lurtz was pulling Aragorn closer in order to then be able to grab or strike him. However in order to do so, Lurtz had to release the sword to try to make a quick grab (if he still had his other arm, no release would have been needed) As was shown through the fight however, Aragorn is much faster, so he was able to evade while freeing his sword and deliver the final stroke.

[@sonictimm]

"... a complete decapitation! The kids love it ... " lol

[@johan.ohgren]

Tim T nothing creepy about that😂

[@vikingwolf4328]

Please review more LOTR fights!

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

Yeah, like Sauron's mace technique ;)

[@MedievalGenie]

What mace technique? I thought it was stuck in the ground 35% of the time?

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

Pc Genie, What are you talking about? Watch the intro of the first movie and come again.

[@MedievalGenie]

Henrik Yngvesson it was several years ago.

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

Perhaps you're thinking about the Nazgûl at the Minas Tirith battle.

[@rhemorigher]

INCOMING MESSAGE FROM THE BIG GIANT HEAD!

[@Squiddles17]

You also have to remember that at that point Aragorn had fought and killed quite a few Uruks, while Lurtz had just kinda walked up on Boromir. Which could lead to Aragorn being a tad gassed out and comparatively Lurtz is surprisingly unlike the others in that he isn't finished off in seconds, also Lurtz wasn't particularly skilled or intelligent he was the leader because he was particularly ruthless and brutal, which is kinda how orc/uruk culture works also he was like 3 or four months old at that point. Loved the video just figured i'd add my two cents into it.

[@Clfgy]

Please do it for the whole battle of Amon hen

[@kiltedcripple]

theory: Lurtz was weakened by both the loss of 2/3 of an arm, plus the run through, and slipping into shock. that's why his grip on the sword failed vs Aragorn, leading to his beheading. also, since Lurtz didn't headbutt Aragorn, perhaps what we missed there was him releasing the sword to try and punch Aragorn, but in that spilt second, again extended due to shock, Aragorn struck first with the beheading blow?

[@AntoineBandele]

Bro, I seriously would edit your commentary videos for you.

[@MrMonkeybat]

Aragorn could of skipped right to the end, instead of jumping onto the back of the guy you are sneaking up on, cut his head off with the sword in your hands. Profound quote: "People tend to stop fighting when you chop their head off." Matt Easton.

[@ChrisGeisel5000]

Matt, I'd love a review of Captain Alatriste fights. Aragorn switched to rapier for those. 😉

[@KanaiIle]

Was it really necessary for Aragorn to leap onto Lurtz in the first place? If he got there, he could just have, you know, cut him with the sword? Either Lurtz arms or his bow to prevent him from shooting Boromir?

[@TheHylden]

Yeah, that chop-chop of the head off of Lurtz move would have been pretty useful when he was completely unaware of Aragorn's presence :)

[@eduardosp2024]

I thought the same thing but the risk is that Lurtz looses the arrow into Boromir anyway. A cut wouldn't necessarily move him sufficiently off target. Even a decapitation would still let him fire that last arrow. (Boromir was gonna die anyway but Aragorn had to try.)

[@KanaiIle]

But he could have cut at the bow, couldnt he? Slamming into Lurtz had a risk of him just loosing his arrow as well.

[@eduardosp2024]

Hmm he could have cut the bow but that just ensures he releases the arrow if he catches the string. Tackling moves the arms holding the bow completely off target. I shoot a bow but am no combat expert so I'd be interested if Matt opined more about that.

[@KanaiIle]

Well, if he had cut the string, the shot wouldnt have gone anywhere^^

[@AnoNYmous-bz2ef]

On Lurtz's defense, he was born(actually hatched from a membrane of some sort) just a few weeks before that confrontation. That knife throw scene only got in the movie cuz that's a real knife aimed at Aragorn's face and he really deflected it with the sword. In other words it's there cuz it's badass.

[@Dravreth]

come on Matt Lurtz is only a few weeks old give or take a few days he hasnt had time to practice with his weird club, blade, thingy.

[@Oberstgreup]

I always assumed movie-Saruman had his Uruk-hai practice with live opponents.

[@SnoW-pk9zo]

Orc machete

[@SnoW-pk9zo]

And it's not a rubbish weapon. It is actually really sturdy and well balanced

[@TheTiDman]

Thanx for the fight rewiew. One thing my son and I find funny is how Lurtz is holding his bow and arrow when Aragorn charge him, and a moment later he comes back into frame ready to fight with his sword and shield.

[@Fingaladinga]

I've got to say that these videos of yours are actually quite inspiring to me. I like to write stories (a lot of which have sword fights in them) and watching these really helps me be able to write the fight sequences more realistically. Also, I'm a big fan of (good) fight scenes, and this channel had helped me to find some good ones I didn't even know existed (like The Flame and the Arrow). Having said that, I'd like to say that in the original unextended version of this scene, Lurtz does not lick the knife, and Aragorn still knocks it away when he throws it.

[@kwanarchive]

I don't suppose you can review of Sokka vs Piandao?

[@Todesnuss]

One of the few interesting non-bending fights eh?

[@FaoladhTV]

As a side note, the bit where Aragorn bats aside the thrown knife is especially interesting because that actually happened. The stunt man who threw the knife misjudged and threw it directly at Viggo Mortensen (I guess that the original choreography would have had the knife miss entirely), who reflexively batted at it with the sword resulting in a take that they decided to use. Also, my impression is that Lurtz releases his grip on the sword in his belly in order to try to grab Aragorn (possibly his head), and that's when Aragorn pulls the blade out and strikes at the neck.

[@Radimkiller]

God dammit Matt, I have a notebook on my lap any your face scared crap out of me. To the topic : some trivia from imdb.com "During the fight between the orc, Lurtz, and Aragorn, the moment where Lurtz takes out the dagger Aragorn had stuck it in his leg, and then Lurtz threw it at him. That was an actual dagger. It was supposed to hit the tree behind Viggo Mortensen, but because of the bad capabilities with the orcs armor, he accidentally threw it towards Viggo. Luckily, Viggo was fast enough to deflect it. " Also I have heard that because of make-up, the actor playing Lurtz cannot see very well and was very clumsy.. So they agreed with Viggo to punch each other with real force, instead pretending. I'm not sure if it's true.

[@Adagamante]

Great video! I'd chalk up the "sneaking upon" bit as more of a perception thing. Since Lurtz was paying attention to something else, he didn't notice Aragorn's sound, so neither did we.

[@CarloParducho]

Old video but man I almost spat my dinner onto my screen with "People tend to stop fighting when you chop their head off." hahaha I think you're my new favorite channel!

[@Katana_Gryphon]

What did you think of the sword fight in that God-awful James Bond movie Die Another Day?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Truly awful.

[@Katana_Gryphon]

scholagladiatoria Awww no points for chair surfing? :P

[@grinningchicken]

I loved that fight.

[@MasonicadaM]

lol thats my favorite bond film by a clear mile

[@Oberstgreup]

Great review! Aragorn has had a long lifetime of practicing sneaking up on people as a ranger, plus he has the cloak from Lorien that makes the wearer almost invisible, and Lurtz is preoccupied by thinking about how much he's going to enjoy putting one last arrow into poor Boromir, so it's easy to see how Aragorn could sneak up on him.

[@CongoJoeFilm]

Matt you should do Kingdom of heaven movie sword fights

[@CongoJoeFilm]

wow I didn't see that film in forever but the one fight scene when the Viking dude takes an arrow to the neck. Also the desert fight scene

[@breaden4381]

Simple really, fighting techniques from the 14th century, swords from the 13th century, and a "German" with a two handed viking sword.

[@breaden4381]

Two handed swords are still an issue though.

[@mayhemlok]

And/or maybe discuss the "Guard of the Hawk" - whatever it was called: when Liam Neeson's character first tested Orlando Bloom's sword skill in the forest.

[@Mtonazzi]

They just transated the italian name for the posta di falcone guard; which is similar (if not almost the same) to the german vom tag guard.

[@hraefn1821]

Matt I'm almost certain you're aware of this but that knife block Aragorn does with his sword wasn't actually in the script. The stuntman was supposed to throw the knife away from Viggo and he was supposed to dramatically duck out of the way. The stuntman missed his shot and sent the knife RIGHT at Viggo's face. A METAL knife mind you not a rubber one, and Viggo's weapons training kicked in and he slashed it out of the way. Peter Jackson loved the move SO much that he left it in. Feeling it reinforced how badass Aragorn was. This doesn't add or detract from the realism of the fight in any way but I just found it badass and interesting. Cheers mate.

[@tyguy6296]

this video is a prime example of why you are my favorite historical combat channel. 1) you are not overly critical. you understand the difference between something being inaccurate, and something needing to happen a certain way for story/practicality. 2) you use lore friendly explanations where appropriate (ie lurtz being tough as nails and shrugging off the knife to the leg. most guys on youtube would call that out as unrealistic without taking into account the inhuman durability of uruk-hai) 3) you offer your own very reasonable alternatives when things could be presented better. 10/10

[@mta9375]

The bit where he licks the blood was improvised by the actor if I remember correctly, fits really well with the way he's portraying Lurtz anyway.

[@squashedeyeball]

Nice review as always. Well, Aragorn is somewhat of a super human, being a Dunedain... Plus he is of the line of kings. In middle earth, things like these counts big time on you being way above average mortal lol

[@squashedeyeball]

Port Kapul Not better in the sense of the message of the tales, but yes, they are more *powerful* than others, in term of *raw power*. Just like great heroes could fight Balrogs and Dragons. Not that Aragorn comes close to them though. It doesn't take from the "little people can do great things" aspect, that's an entire different subject.

[@mrgabest]

First of all, I would suggest that the LotR novel(s) has no message, because Tolkien was staunchly opposed to allegory or didactic storytelling. Instead, let's say that the story utilizes several different kinds of heroes, each suited to a different task. An Aragorn or Gandalf is needed to oppose evil directly through strength of arms or will, and a Frodo or (more importantly) Samwise is needed to resist the temptations of power. In a broader sense, Aragorn is the archetypal 'old world' hero, who is morally uncomplicated and essentially incorruptible. Samwise is the archetypal 'new hero', who wrestles with his conscience and feelings of powerlessness in the face of true evil - but ultimately overcomes them by refusing to let his friends down.

[@mrgabest]

***** With respect, it is not too peculiar. Tolkien himself, in a letter to Milton Waldman that was eventually published as part of the Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, notes that Samwise is 'the chief hero'. If you're interested in reading the full body of the letter, it is available here: tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Letter_131 The relevant paragraph is third from the last, or you could search for the words 'chief hero'. Tolkien lore aside, I tend to think that everybody is entitled to their own interpretation of a piece of art, exclusive of the author's intent. If Frodo seems more heroic and more central to the story to you, there's no reason why you should change your mind. I happen to agree with Professor Tolkien and his reasoning.

[@tangsoodoarnis4life]

Could you do a fight review on "The Mask Of Zorro"? the fight between Capitan Love and Zorro, either the first or final fight.

[@MaverickCulp]

I'd like to see you review Boromir's fight right before this one.

[@MrCearl]

I guess Lurtz should have spent his month-long life practicing more with his sword rather than his bow.But I like the symbolism behind this fight: Saruman's industrially produced war-machines are crude and rushed in their execution, and though they might look big and scary they can't make the cut against the tried and tested methods of a super-sharp magical longsword with a heroic scion to wield it.

[@CavemanCROM]

In regards to Aragorn pulling his sword out, I always assumed when he yanked the sword it would've just cut through Lurtz's hand or something. I also just realized that L-dog only had one arm at the time, so that'd reduce his grasping power. Great video as usual Matt

[@spikeguy33]

Nothing like an orange Matt mug occupying half of your 22 inch screen :) Had to exit full screen on this one ;D

[@Haannibal777]

"People tend to stop fighting when you chop their heads of" Most insightful comment ever!!!

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

That's why Aragorn didn't stab until last move when Lurtz was disarmed, cause stabbing would only get his sword stuck and leave him open to Lurtz sword.

[@Verithiell]

Matt,, that close up on your face makes the review all the more entertaining and funny.

[@Sweatykeyboard]

Oh my god i just went to a movie marathon of lotr on last friday and now u post this, my luv, my own, my precioussss

[@Sheepo25]

Fun fact: The sword and shield that Lurtz uses weren't actually his. He only had a bow and arrows and he picked the sword and shield from a dead Uruk. I imagine he trained mainly as an archer which explains his lack of finesse with a sword.

[@dariushutchinson2424]

Matt was armor (specifically the breastplate) ever engraved with lions or dragons of the country like Britain. Also (apart from the examples known) were helmets shaped into lions or other animals for battle. like in Game of Thrones

[@ronytheronin7439]

What is your opinion on shoving the blade further in your stomach just to bite the enemy? Are there treaties on the subject?

[@OneMindAnyWeapon]

The insightful observation that people generally tend to stop fighting when you chop their heads off. ;-)

[@Rob-pl9vo]

Should have done the entire scene. Like, can Legolas stab people with arrows or would they break? Why didn't Legolas have a sword in the movies? Can midgets fight like that irl? Is Sean Bean awesome? Was he better as Boromir, 006, or Richard Sharpe? Could Sean Bean really fight with arrows in his aorta, liver, and intestines? Wouldn't Gimli have a hard time breathing while moving at any speed due to his bone density? Would you like to see Legolas in more badass elf armor? Fuck one, Marry one, Kill one: Arwen, Galadriel, Eowyn go!

[@Oberstgreup]

Legolas didn't have a sword in the book either, he had the same pair of long knives. Sylvan Elves were more into ambush and guerrilla tactics than hand-to-hand combat. Galadriel was already married, and Elves don't remarry even if widowed (with the one famous exception being Galadriel's grandfather, which turned out so badly it probably became an ironclad rule as far as his descendants were concerned).

[@Rob-pl9vo]

Oberstgreup FMK is a game, bro.

[@Malagar1]

Matt, if you are going to make more movie fight reviews at your computer then I would suggest using some kind of screen recording software (like Shadowplay or Bandicam) to record the fight scene itself. You can then combine it with a separate video of your face or just have your commentary as audio only.

[@caveman0861]

Hey Matt, a while back you did a video on the final fight in The Force Awakens, and mentioned that you may re-visit it once it came out on blu-ray/DVD. Any chance we'll get to see a review of that fight with the video in the future? Thanks.

[@Dantick09]

Holding the blade inside the body is a smart move in that cituation, effectively anchoring the blade so it can't do additional damage and is itself a plug on the wound.

[@AUTOBOTGJB1997]

Could you review one of the fight scenes from Vikings? Maybe Ragnar vs Earl Haraldson, or Ragnar vs Rollo?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes I definitely intend to.

[@AUTOBOTGJB1997]

YAY!!!!!!

[@annandune]

Great review, as ever. I think a few people may have made similar comments here ( haven't read them all ) but Lurtz is all about brute power. Meanwhile, Aragorn is a man of 80+ years with a life expectancy of 200+ years who has been trained by elves. The strength disparity probably isn't all that much either as the Dunedain were taller and stronger than other men. I put the way Lurtz knocks him about down to the fact Aragorn was off balance right from the start. To me, the fight goes like this - Aragorn leaps in to stop Boromir dying ( not realising he will die anyway ) and puts himself at a disadvantage, gets himself pinned, struggles to loosen the shield ( and yes, for a normal guy this would be very difficult and even he was struggling but Dunedain warrior here ) but is still at a disadvantage. Lurtz probably could still have finished him off but didn't realise who he was up against and so through hubris just toys with him, doesn't take much notice of where he is throwing him and conveniently chucks him close to where he dropped his sword. Now Aragorn has his sword we have super tough Dunedain guy with decades of training vs super strong monster Lurtz who doesn't die easily but has very little skill. From the point of view of someone like yourself who knows about the martial aspects of the fights, it probably will stretch things a bit but in terms of characterising who these two people are and what they can do I think it works pretty well.

[@austincummins7712]

I know this is an old video but I re-watched it and I cannot overstate how awesome it is. The combination of your attitude towards the fight in general, your face in the camera, and a dash of "mother fuckers" sprinkled into your typical witty commentary to top it off makes for a classic movie fight review video with Matt Easton.

[@notstayinsdowns]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the orc born/hatched/cloned only a few days before this fight? How much experience could he have, but be a clunky strong man?

[@MrMorphine482]

Matt, in order to free the weapon from Lurtz's grasp, could he have twisted the sword to induce shock or pain and get a moment of loosened grip? it's hard to tell from the footage, but would that be a valid tactic?

[@southpawmoose]

In the last season (series) of the Vikings, there is a battle that takes place on the rivers, and most notably upon a barge. Rollo leads the Franks against the northmen. I noticed a lot of swords, and I thought, would a sword be the weapon to use in such close and crowded settings? I would think a sheild and Seax or a short ax would work better. Your thoughts?

[@stefanobi73]

Nobody expects a stab! Hey Matt, I have a question to épeé-fencing. I don't know for sure but could the time after a hit be a simulation of the secundants jumping in? In that case it would come closer to a civilian duel than suggested by some of your videos, because the secundants would defend the duellants, so they would not need to do this themselves. Unfortunately I don't do épeé fencing, but I've read much about student duels and mensur.

[@scholagladiatoria]

A 25th of a second? I don't think so. I've fought in and judged a lot of tournaments and I doubt seconds could react that fast. My understanding is that the 25th of a second division is simply because the early electronic scoring equipment was set up that way.

[@stefanobi73]

Oh that's really not enough time, but that in turn means that this 25th of a second doesn't really make sense. It's not like you're going to do much in that timespan. I really wonder why they put it in the ruleset or why they haven't removed that rule.

[@AriMalatesta]

For what I understand is .25 as in a quarter of a second (1/4), not a 25th (1/25)... I think it's simply because a full second is too much for a precise measure of reaction/advantage and there's no point to finer measurements (decimals) as in sprints.

[@brockmacd]

Lurtz's grip strength without a glove could be easily enough overcome as he has a hollow grind/blood gore, and Aragorn has a nice hand and a half/two hand grip?

[@josephhunt1297]

really hoping you'll do some fight reviews from the Highlander TV show, particularly ones using disparate weapons =)

[@godwar4034]

Did the ancient Mycenaeans shield have a large-round center-grip shields?

[@jadovaoliaro]

Fun fact, Aragorn actually did deflect that small dagger/knife, the stunt man was meant to pretend to throw it and ended up actually throwing it, so vigo just deflects it like a badass.

[@ohmyshou1der]

I would prefer a bigger orange face

[@tomlyne7388]

Matt, love these viddies. It's probably not the first time you've been asked but have you taken a look at the Ziyi Zhang vs. Michelle Yeoh fight in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? Great variety of weapons and techniques, choreography seems top notch too. Would love your insight.

[@TunaTompa123]

I have a question about historical fighting: what is more important in a duel, say with medium armour and weapon of choice: strenght, cardiovascular conditioning or speed/agility?

[@normtrooper4392]

watching boromir still be alive after all the damage he had suffered reminded me of the time you read an account of, I think it was afghan, warrior who had been stabbed multiple times and shot once but still continued fighting until his head was split

[@johnny2hats330]

The way Lurtz throws that shield always impressed me as a kid

[@jaredtimme5851]

I like how fast Viggo moves after he retrieves his sword I wish more movies and TV shows would bring speed like that into the fights

[@savagenature1]

About Aragorn being able to pull his sword out of Lurtz's body even though Lurtz is pulling it in, it should be pointed out that Lurtz had his right arm cut off and thus is only using one hand while is using two hands. A two handed grip is usually going to be stronger than a one handed grip. But I do think your point still stands

[@Gnarlf]

Nice video Matt, but honestly i like the normal TV Setup better. Anyways, i think in the end he tried to hit Aragorn. I believe there is the start of a swinging motion in the shoulder., which incidentaly could assist in the recovvery of the sword, since it kinda moved the orc away from him. And it would explain why he couldnt hold on to it as well. But all in all you are right. It looks a little to easy. Keep up the good work. ^^

[@VCBird6]

You finally did it!!! 8'D Interesting bit: the part where Aragorn deflects the knife thrown at him was a total fluke, as the actor playing Lurtz had his vision blocked by his costume and threw the knife too low. Aragorn's actor managed to react fast enough to just barely deflect the knife!

[@matthewantonello5029]

what is the value in a deep thrust if it leaves options to your opponent like it did in this fight? Is it the aim of a thrust to immediately retract the blade or does the deep in and then out cause some kind of especially grievous wound?

[@drone6675]

Matt, would you do a fight review for any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies?

[@goatmoag]

I read a print account a long while back, about some famous pirate, that they did an autopsy on and when they opened him up they found his intestines were actually quite a spaghetti mess, with some parts even dead ending, but somehow the right parts managing to join together enough to function. In that, he had been wounded in the gut so many times but survived. Does that at all sound familiar? Never could find it after when I wanted to find it as documentation. Surprised you don't seem to have a problem with Lurtz throwing the knife, as so many seem to have problems with using a knife for throwing. Always seemed like it could come in useful to me at an opportune time, though certainly judiciously so. Really enjoying the channel. Thank you.

[@thebigleowbosiki]

About damn time you did this video Matt!!

[@Crystalgate]

About hitting people who are rolling; I think Aragon has a light equipment load. This means he gets 12 invulnerability frames in which Lurtz cannot hit him. I think you need to count the number of frames Aragon rolled before saying anything about Lurtz's skill.