Favourite Action Scenes #5: The Bridge of Khazad Dum (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)

Part 1 (Getting to the Bridge)
Part 2 (Gandalf vs. The Balrog & The Aftermath)

I was really struggling to decide which action scene I wanted from Lord of the Rings. I debated Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith, but I eventually settled on this scene from the first film.

After fighting goblins and a cave troll in the Mines of Moria, the Fellowship are pursued by demon known as The Balrog, and attempt to escape via a narrow stone bridge spanning an enormous chasm.

Most of the action in the scene is simply the Fellowship trying to get away, but isn't discretion the better part of valour? Anyway, the first part involves the Fellowship traversing a stone staircase leading to the bridge. However, there are goblin archers shooting at them, and the staircase is in disrepair, requiring the heroes to jump over a precarious gap. But as the Balrog draws closer, the tremors make the gap larger, so those on the other side have to be thrown across. Eventually, Aragorn and Frodo are the only ones yet to clear the gap, but at this point it has gotten too wide to jump. Their response? Wait for the section they're on to collapse, and then ride it over the gap. All as Howard Shore's background score reaches an epic crescendo. That's ultimately why I picked it.

But it doesn't end there. As the Fellowship crosses the bridge, Gandalf stays behind to stall the Balrog. Any perception of Gandalf being seen as a quirky old wizard known for his fireworks is quickly dashed here, as he faces down the giant demon and destroys the bridge with those four simple words.

OK, like a lot of people, I do have issues with the immediate aftermath; As the Balrog plummets down the chasm, it uses its whip to pull Gandalf down with him. He grabs on to the ledge, but nobody goes to try and help him (except for Frodo, who gets held back by Boromir). Granted, there were still archers on the other side, but Aragorn and Legolas were carrying bows and could have offered some cover. Anyway, Gandalf falls down the chasm, and we are treated to a poignant moment afterwards when the rest of the Fellowship are mourning outside the mines.

"Fly, you fools!"