10 Subtle Signs Movie Characters Were Getting Smarter

10. Legolas Learned From The Cave Troll - The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

It goes without saying that in The Lord of the Rings, although Frodo (Elijah Wood) was the sole ring bearer, he wouldn't have been able to get anywhere close to the fires of Mount Doom if it weren't for the help of the Fellowship of the Ring. Among his eight companions were great warriors, and they helped carve the path to Mordor.

There was even a little healthy competition between Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) as to who could kill the most Orcs, Uruk-hai, and enemies in general. When the former took down a hulking oliphaunt, the latter was quick to point out that it still only counted as one kill, and it may have been none had they encountered such a beast earlier in their journey.

As the company were forced through the Mines of Moria, they were attacked by Orcs, and more than one cave troll. During the fight, Legolas climbed on top of one of the beasts' shoulders to shoot an arrow through its skull, but his weapon merely deflected away.

Fast forward to near the end of their journey as Legolas found himself with the task of bringing down an oliphaunt at least ten times bigger than the troll. Learning from his fight in the Mines of Moria, Legolas still climbs up towards the head, but instead of aiming at the top of the skull, he fired his bow into its base, and instead of using just one arrow, fired three to be certain.