The Hobbit!

Trailer just released...  the hardest part is the waiting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippymjp 

I never understood that entire story.  If the wizard can fly on giant eagles, and the eye thing can be distracted so easy, why didn't they just tie the ring to a big rock, send a diversion to the eye thing's front gate, fly over the volcano and drop it in?

 

Sure would have avoided a whole lot of unnecessary trouble.  

Several reasons, although the movie doesn't explain it unfortunately.

Practical reason:  The movie would have been too short.

Book reason:   The Eye (or Eyes) of Sauron would have spotted the Misty Mountain Eagles from miles away, and the Eagles were no match for the Nazgul.

The only reason that the hobbits were able to make it is because they were such an inconspicuous target on foot, able to slip through all of Sauron's minions where armies and others could not.  

To add another reason beyond lack of air-superiority concerns, long before the War of the Ring Valar decided against getting involved with the wars of Middle Earth, so it would be like asking for American bombers to help before the United States officially entered WW2... they were sympathetic (like the US shipping supplies to the British), but would not actively wage war on other nation's behalf as a neutral party.   

The Eagles were able to swoop in at the very end as they were only on a "neutral" rescue mission, the Nazgul were already destroyed, Sauron's forces and attention were distracted with the ensuing conflict at the gate, and the Eagles didn't even bring Frodo and Sam all the way back to Rivendell or Minis Tirith.    The Eagles would only take them as far as Ithilien, and they had to go the rest of the way on horseback. 

So the author did actually cover all his bases, but the movie was excruciatingly long in the extended versions as it was (my butt seriously hurt after three hours, lol) so its understandable they had to gloss over some of the explanations.