Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
I think it is fair to say that Peter Jackson's trilogy of the Lord of the Rings is one of the best trilogies ever made. If not the best!
Of course I am writing this because I spent all day yesterday watching the three movies! (regular, not extended, editions) and once again I was amazed about how big a failure Frodo turned out to be.
Of all the original Fellowship I don't think you can doubt the heroic qualities of Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. Even Boromir, the most flawed of the Fellowship attains redeemed hero status with his final act of sacrifice in trying to save Merry and Pippin.
Speaking of which, of the four Hobbits in the Fellowship, Merry and Pippin, as well as being good comic relief, consistently showed their heroism and intestinal fortitude throughout.
That only leaves Sam and Frodo. Sam, having pretty much whined his way through all three movies, still managed to exhibit his heroic qualities by almost literally dragging Frodo across MiddleEarth and up the slopes of the Mountain of Doom. It is safe to say that without Sam, Frodo would have been captured before he even left his Burrow!
You might say that Frodo had the hardest task, being the Ring Bearer, and up to a point, you'd be right. However, there are a few references throughout the movies that state that he, and only he, had the qualities necessary to get the ring to the mountain. That was his job, his only job. Everyone else was there to help him reach his destination, and all he had to do was drop the ring in the fire, WHICH HE NEVER DID!
The Fellowship got him so far, Sam got him further, Gollum showed him the way to Mordor and Sam dragged him to the Mountain. Granted, when Gollum attacked and he and Sam fought, Frodo got to the end himself, but, at the end, he failed.
Standing on the edge, the ring dangling out over the river of fire, Frodo decides to KEEP the ring! He would have walked away with it, possibly killing Sam in the process, if Gollum hadn't jumped on him and bitten his finger off.
The ONLY reason the ring is finally destroyed is because Gollum and Frodo fall off the edge whilst fighting to see who KEEPS the ring. In the end, it was destroyed by accident.
Frodo may have wanted to be a hero, may have been seen as a hero, may even deserve to be called a hero for getting as far as he did, but it was Sam who got him there, Frodo could never have made it without him. Frodo becomes the Hobbit version of Sauron, and as such, for me, will always be Frodo the Failed Hero.