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My take on Boromir is that his very first instinct was to take and use the ring. He could clearly see that the entire council disagreed with him, and said no more about it, agreeing, in a sense, to follow their direction. But the "rightness" of destroying the ring never sat well with him. He was never convinced in his heart that destroying it was the right and best thing to do, but since he was "outvoted" on it, he went along with the council decision. I don't think he ever abandoned his misgivings about their mission, he merely stopped talking about it. I don't even really see it as an evil lust for personal power of the Ring. I think he just really believed first, that it could be useful as a weapon FOR Gondor, and second, that any attempt to enter Mordor with it would fail and they would be caught.

This is something we have all done. Usually saying "whatever you think is best" when we really mean, "OK, I think this is a dumb idea, but I will go along with the group rather than argue about it. When this fails, we will do it my way."

That's my take anyhow. I don't think he had a pre-meditated plan at that point, just a bad feeling about the mission.

Hmm, I agree - and further, I think he saw himself as one of the few who were fit to wield the Ring. Clearly, to him, Hobbits were not going to be much use, or Dwarves - the Ring was for either Men or Elves to use. Since Elrond, the most influential Elf around, had said that no-one was to use it, the Elves wouldn't go for it. Boromir didn't much care for Gandalf it seems, I think he'd have fought Gandalf taking the Ring (not that he could have stopped him if Gandalf had wanted the thing...)

So, to his mind, it was up to Men. Actually I think this was his whole philosophy, that in this fight only Men were really suited to be players. Of Men, only he and Aragorn were there, and it seems to me that he was not yet willing to acknowledge Aragorn's rights as Heir of Isildur. So to Boromir, the only logical candidate to use the Ring, at the Council, was himself.

Fortunately wiser heads prevailed!

Interesting, or not, in comparing the movie council with the book council.

The purpose of everyone being there. In the film, it is implied that they were arriving on some sort of schedule, or had been summoned to a meeting for the purpose of discussing the ring. In the book, they have all happened there for their own reasons, many having to do with the growing darkness in the east, but were troubled by their own affairs and had all come there at the same time by chance. Though most of their troubles are related to Frodo's mission, they don't know it yet when the council begins.

Why do you suppose Bilbo was not seated at the council? - even if Jackson didn't want to give him as much of a part there, for brevity, I wonder why he didn't sit him in Figwits chair. (would have saved us from the figwit business we are left with)