Review
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Year
- 2002
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris
- Review date
- Monday, December 30, 2002
The story continues as Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) head to Mordor to destroy the Ring. In their way they are suddenly attacked by the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), who doesn’t give up on his quest to get the Ring back, yet finds himself serving Frodo and Sam and guiding them through those tumultuous landscapes. Meanwhile Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) manage to escape from those who held them captive and end up in the land of Treebeard (voice of John Rhys Davies), whom they try to convince to go to war against Saruman (Christopher Lee). Of course Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys Davies) don’t know they’re safe, so they continue to look for them while getting immersed in the land of Rohan, where Saruman has laid his hands and whose people he plans to attack at Helm’s Deep.
As you can see from the plot description, The Two Towers is actually a movie with three different storylines. Thus that’s the way I want to approach this review, because each deserves to be criticized individually.
The most interesting and effective of the three subplots is the one with Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Much has been said about the landmark that is the character of Gollum. Well, everything you’ve heard is true. The work done with this character is breathtaking, not only in characterization (in large part due to the extraordinary work of Andy Serkis), but also in the way the character feels so alive, both in the way it looks and in the way it behaves. I also found it terribly interesting how Frodo is becoming weaker by the minute and if it weren’t for good-natured Sam he would probably not survive much of what he has to go through. Sam’s speech at the end of the movie is one of many highlights of this character, which I loved to see get more developed.
The second most interesting story is the one with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, as they help the people of Rohan to fight against the forces of Saruman. A love triangle is formed between Aragorn, Arwen (Liv Tyler) and Eowyn (Miranda Otto), the King’s (Bernard Hill) niece that is both touching and full of tension. It could be said that the entire movie builds up for the final hour, in which the battle of Helm’s Deep takes place. Well, I don’t have the words to describe the magnificence of it all. To say it’s huge is an understatement, the battle is colossal! The sheer scope of it should earn Peter Jackson as many awards as possible, because it never ceases to be exciting, impressive and entertaining. A feast for the senses.
The weakest storyline belongs to Merry, Pippin and Treebeard, as their scenes usually slow down an otherwise fast-paced movie. Then again, the last half-hour of that story totally redeems its earlier moments, as the Ents make their appearance and take center stage in astonishing fashion.
Kudos to the entire cast for delivering great performances; to Howard Shore, who offers a variation of his already excellent score; and to Peter Jackson, who is the man responsible for such a spectacle.
I wish second parts were always as good as this one.
“There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.”
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Other reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Groucho
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Review
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- Director
- Peter Jackson
- Year
- 2002
- Rating
- Reviewed by
- Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho
- Review date
- Thursday, February 06, 2003
Dazzling adaptation of the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, a sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), this is an epic movie in all the extension of the word, with larger-than-life battles and a wholly developed medieval atmosphere that’s fantastic. Too bad too much attention is paid to the battles and not enough to wasted subplots like that of the Ents. Instead of being entertaining, the scenes at the forest are boring, as are the extended battles after a while. Only Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen) makes up for some intriguing moments in the sequences not involving Frodo. As for the latter, his adventures are truly interesting and very well developed, through Sam and especially Gollum (a CGI character voiced by Andy Serkis), the hideous river folk who wants more than anything to steal the Ring.
Sméagol / Gollum is in fact the single most important character of the film, with Serkis working magic through his voice and movements that inspired the final result. The character is perfectly developed in all aspects, with his conflict made clear to the audience and his influence in Frodo terrifying.
Other fine characters are King Théoden, played by Bernard Hill, and his counselor Wormtongue, appropriately played by Brad Dourif. John Rhys-Davis works some fine comedy as Gimli and transmits wisdom through the voice of Treebeard.
One big change from the novel is the lack of a climax, which is only prepared but not executed; I guess the film-makers thought Helm’s Deep was enough but it wasn’t for me, as the ending of the second book involving Frodo was far more intriguing. Good thing they ended with the touching “Gollum’s Song” in the final credits to make up for that! Plus: Now I know the third movie will start with a bang!
“They stole my preciousss… and we wants it!”
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Other reviews of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002): Morris
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Morris wrote at 12/30/2002 12:16:27 AM:
Great review lad! And very interesting comments indeed. If I was already drooling to see the third part, well, now... Gosh, I'm going to explode! Too bad you didn't really like some of the extended battle scenes and stuff. I thought differently, but I'll write my review soon. Meanwhile, great movie!