The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cat Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Action
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 4

Awards:
The Movie Files Movie Championship I: Elite Eight

Summary: The Fellowship, broken, tries desperately to fight on. Aragon (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) travel to a human city hoping they will fight Saruman's army, but instead they retreat to their fortress at Helms Deep. Meanwhile, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) travel towards Mordor where they reluctantly team up with the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis) who may turn on them at any moment. Now, as the hobbits travel towards Mordor, the stage is set for an epic battle between Saruman's army and the humans at Helms Deep.

Review:

Tim: This sequel had one of the most difficult jobs of any motion picture- continue where a perfect fantasy epic left off and end setting the stage for the final chapter of the trilogy. This is no easy task. Normally in trilogies, the second film is the weakest of the three. It is a transition movie and it is very hard to do successfully. Peter Jackson gives us a sequel to make Tolkien fans proud.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is very unlike its predecessor, because the first was mostly an adventure/friendship tale. This film is very much a war movie. That is an important fact to consider when seeing this film. It will not be very much like the first film. Also, the fellowship has been broken into two. Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Ian McKellen have no scenes with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Likewise, neither does either set appear at the same time as Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan. That is understandable, but that also means this film loses something the first had. By having to tell three seperate stories, the characters' screen time all takes a blow and oftentimes it will be nearly thirty minutes before you see Frodo and Sam, for example. Also, while the first film was really about Frodo Baggins, this second one is primarily about Aragon, Legolas, and Gimli. The other characters are important, but take a back seat to the trio in their defense of Helms Deep.

Perhaps the most interesting character in the film is the special effects masterpiece that is Gollum. His screentime is the most amazing and enjoyable of the film. He has beautiful lines and is entertaining, His creation is something Jackson and his team should be proud of, because it is remarkable.

I do have several criticisms of the film. First, that they reuse some of the exact same footage from the first film. Why?? Now, they use very little, to give them credit, but I could not figure out why they did so. Perhaps it was for those who did not see the first, but even that explanation does not work. It is just a bit confusing. Also, the newly introduced characters in this film (mostly humans) are not very interesting or likeable. In the first film, the characters we met were all fantastic and exciting. In this second film, we are told a tale of a king poisioned by a evil advisor and the peril of the king's daughter. The problem is that we don't really care about them and would rather watch the characters we know and love.

A smaller complaint I have is that it seems like every 5 seconds, one of the heroes is thought dead, and then, surprise- they are alive. This happens to nearly every major character in the film!! Enough already. We know they aren't going to die and it is creating the suspense some might expect. Also, the whole Gandalf returning thing was just confusing. I can understand that he managed to escape, etc. But what was the whole Gandalf the Grey/ the White? I couldn't understand when he said, "Gandalf the Grey, yes, thats what they used to call me." Maybe I need to read the books, but it didn't make a great deal of sense.

Finally, Frodo and Sam continue their journey, but they are perhaps the most frustrating out of the whole movie. I understand the need for the continuance of the loss of innocence and the burden of the ring carry, but it was difficult watching the two beloved hobbits continue with no progress at all. Frustrating.

All in all, while this film has a few flaws, it is still better than almost all other films out there. The film is terrific, beautiful, and wonderful to behold. It does a fitting job transitioning between movies. It is perhaps the best second film in a trilogy ever made (well, maybe Godfather Part II).The film is not as good as the first, but it is near-perfect.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 9.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Braveheart, X-Men, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King