Brian Balchack Reviews The Two Towers

Maquiladora: Warning! Spoilers everywhere, describes the ending of the movie!

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS ( 2002 )

" A true cinematic masterpiece! "

What seemed like an eternity after Fellowship Of The Ring was released into theaters, The Two Towers, the second story/book in The Lord Of The Rings saga will be released onto the masses late this month. In an extraordinary turn of events I was able to experience The Two Towers in it's entirety at the very first Southern California screening today.

Let's dive right into the magic and lore that can only be The Lord Of The Rings...

With so much excitement filling my heart as I sat and watched the title screen take form on screen, I had to calm myself for the coming adrenaline rush. As the old broken logo "Lord Of The Rings" logo, as seen at the beginning of Fellowship, formed onto the screen and the music swelled, the audience clapped in admiration for what they were about to experience.

The mountains of Caradhras then appeared on screen. We heard remnants of when the fellowship was trapped along side of the mountainside as Saruman tried to bring the mountain down. Then, BAM! We were transported deep inside the mines of Moria where we see Gandalf The Grey (at a different perspective from that in Fellowship) defying the likes of the Balrog. Gandalf yells the famous words "You shall not pass", at that point the Balrog is then plunged into the black depths of the mines. Gandalf, is of course, pulled into the pit as well as the Balrog's whip latches onto Gandalf's leg.

From this point, we now follow Gandalf into a free falling scene, where Gandalf draws his sword, Glamdring, and plunges the blade deep into the Balrog as they fall. Then comes one of the coolest sequences of events in fantasy film history.

With a barrage of scenes hitting the screen, we are clued into how Gandalf The Grey becomes Gandalf The White...but first we are treated to a few battle scenes between Gandalf and the Balrog. The Balrog is defeated, but we don't actually see it onscreen until a storytelling sequence later in the movie when Gandalf returns to join Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli in their quest. When the Balrog is defeated, one of the most goose bump inducing scenes ever seen unfolds onscreen as the Balrog's fire is put out and put to rest forever.

The first 30 minutes of the movie moved very quickly, in which a good third of the book, from which the movie was adapted, is ripped through, giving the basics of the plot, and the whereabouts of each character as we had left them at the end of The Fellowship Of The Ring.

The movie follows the fellowship by cutting between the 3 stories of the separated groups. It starts with Frodo & Sam as they journey to Mordor. We get a glimpse of the fires of Mordor from far away. Frodo, carrying the weight of the ring, and Sam commenting on how the only place in Middle-earth you don't want to go, is the only place they were trying to get into!

We then get a few sequences of Aragorn, Legolas, & Gimli tracking the group of Urk-hai that had taken Merry & Pippin. Many things straight out of the book ensue, and within a very short amount of time the two hobbits escape the clutches of the Uruk-hai...but we are led to believe that they didn't. A great cinematic tactic to keep fans of the movie guessing who have not read the book.

Nightfall comes to all parties, in which we turn back to Frodo & Sam who have Gollum to reckon with. Gollum, trying to steal The One Ring back, scuffles with the hobbits a bit and becomes tied and bound by Samwise Gamgee.

When Gollum appeared onscreen for the first time, the CGI blew me away. NOTHING that has ever been computer generated to act out scenes with human actors has ever looked this good. Gollum fit right into the background, the foreground, and everything in between when it came to key sequences that included his character. Even as Frodo & Sam both wrestled Gollum to the ground in his introductory sequence, in which both live action characters beat extremely hard on the CGI character, the CGI Gollum stood the ultimate test of blending in. Forget CGI Yoda, Jar-Jar Binks, and Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets' "Dobby", WETA Digital have outdone themselves with Gollum. Absolute beauty.

Right about here in the film, we are introduced to King Theoden, Eomer, Eowyn, and the vile Wormtongue. They all ensue in a power struggle which ends up leading to Eomer's banishment from Rohan. King Theoden seems to be under a spell, cast by the likes of Saruman The White. King Theoden makes no decisions of his own, and is puppeteered by Grima Wormtongue. This spell is lifted later in the film when Gandalf The White, and the others of the fellowship show up to Rohan.

Back with Aragorn, Legolas, & Gimli, the group are surrounded by The Riders Of Rohan, in which they reveal that the two Hobbits they seek were no where to be found in the dead pile of Uruk-hai that was killed the previous night by the Riders. Leaving the fellowship, the Riders move onward, and the fellowship starts to give up hope of finding their friends...that is until the skills of Aragorn, one of the greatest rangers of all time, come into play. Aragorn starts tracking the trail and the happenings of the previous nights' activities of the Hobbits. Flashback sequences are then revealed and the audience is enlightened as to how the Orcs & Uruk-hai argued about eating the fresh meat that was the Hobbits, and how Hobbits in turn escaped their grasp. From this flashback, we then follow the Hobbits into Fangorn Forrest, we meet the almighty Treebeard as he stomps out an Orc that was on their tail.

Now, of course my review can't go on forever like this as I will give away the entire movie, but I do want to mention some keys moments in the film that stood out from the events in the book, as well as things that were changed to enhance the overall viewing experience and story telling of The Lord Of The Rings in cinematic form.

A key sequence which I thought was absolutely brilliant in the film is the spilt personality of Gollum. There is a sequence in the movie where Frodo, being the master of the ring, has gotten Gollum to obey his orders and lead them to the black gates of Mordor. Gollum, willingly obeys Frodo, but when the Hobbits sleep, Gollum struggles with a sort of split personality. That of "Gollum" and that of "Smeagol", which Frodo reminded him to who he was before he came into possession of the ring early on in the film. In the sequence, "Gollum", who acts as the mischievous devil, argues in a shot by shot conversation with "Smeagol", who wants to do good by the Hobbits.

I felt this was a great way to delve deeper into the psych of Gollum, and to deliver to the audience who he was before the ring rotted his mind for 500 years. From what I can tell, this sequence will hopefully lead very well into a scene I hope to see in Return Of The King or the extended edition of The Two Towers, that we've all seen pictures of with Smeagol & Deagol sitting in a boat long ago just before Smeagol got hold of the ring.

After seeing trailers and clips from The Two Towers. I like everyone else, was very skeptical about the love triangle between Aragorn, Arwen, and Eowyn. Though, after seeing the film, my qualms have been put to rest. The love story is shown through a sequence of flashbacks, flash forwards, and present events. Aragorn and Eowyn do take a liking to each other, but it never really reaches beyond the point of some low level courting. And even when the courting commences, Aragorn can do nothing but to think of Arwen, who in a flashback sequence, is shown supposedly leaving the shores into the undying realm after the fellowship left Rivendell. We also see moments of Elrond giving his daughter the advice to move on as she would only see her love in Aragorn die because of her immortality.

As Elrond spoke of his daughters troubles, a really interesting flash forward was brought into the story as Arwen saw herself at Aragorn's graveside. If anything, the love story served as a testament to the love that Aragorn and Arwen share for each other.

Treebeard and the Ents of Fangorn are another example of the wizardry that special effects company, WETA Digital, possess. When you see Treebeard for the first time you will realize the brute strength and power of the oldest creature in Middle-earth. Being a huge talking tree with a beard, one would think that Treebeard might be a cheesy character onscreen. Quite the contrary. Treebeard, being from the dark greenish brown forest of Fangorn is somewhat shrouded in mystery. He blends so well with the forest that the only time we really get to see him in full action is he is moving, or we get a close up on his eyes and mouth.

One thing I found to be different pace wise was the placement of the Ent battle at Isengard. In the book, this event happens in the middle of the book and seems like ancient history once we get to Shelob, but in the movie we get the Ent battle dead last. This makes complete sense as the to final battles of the film seem to happen concurrently onscreen. This would also make sense for the chapters of the book that are supposed to coincide as well, but the nature of the way the stories are split in The Two Towers made this stand out in the movie as I watched.

When Frodo, Sam, and Gollum reach the Black Gates Of Mordor they watch men who supposedly serve Sauron enter into the gates. This is obviously different from the book, and I cannot see why or how they fit in as of yet. These men are also present in a scene where they ride Oliphants as Frodo & Sam watch, just before their capture by Faramir.

Speaking of Faramir, in the book I got the feeling that Faramir had more integrity then his brother Boromir, but in the movie the essence of Faramir comes in right where Boromir's left off, as a slightly weary soldier who believes the ring will help his people win the battle against Sauron and his forces. Faramir holds his stature until the very end, where in an extraordinary change in character, releases Frodo & Sam, and gives his life to do so.

I felt that this change in character was very odd, considering that he was so unwilling to let Frodo & Sam go the entire time he held them captive, yet, at the slight comparison by Samwise to his corrupted brother, Faramir has a change of heart, puts his own life on the line, and lets them go. To me, the chnge seemed too drastic.

In the book, Tolkien describes a scene where the fellowship has to hide from the likes of what they suspect to be a Ringwraith, riding something big, black, winged, and flying throughout the night sky in search for The One Ring. The movie emphasizes their wrath, and brings their images to life.

The Ringwraiths ride what looks to be a giant dragon like figure, with a long neck, long tail, and massive wing span throughout the realm of Mordor. These creatures and the Ringwraiths that ride them are very menacing, and extend the fear that the Ringwraiths brought on horses in the first movie, into the second. I think fans of the movie and the book will both be very impressed as to how these mysterious beings are portrayed onscreen.

Another key sequence in the movie that was apart from the story in the book was a scene in which the people of Rohan are making their way to the solitude of the Helm's Deep fortress, are attacked by Orcs riding nasty looking creatures called Wargs. During the battle, Aragorn knocks an Orc off his Warg and ends up riding the Warg to the end of a cliff where they both go over the edge! After a moment of grief, King Theoden, Legolas, and the others accept Aragorn's fate and press on to Helm's Deep.

Aragorn is later seen floating down a river face up, where he seems to be passed out. The memory or spirit of Arwen wakes him, and he travels back to the fortress of Helm's Deep.

This really seemed unnecessary, but now that I look back at that particular scene in the movie, I felt it did add some depth to the caring of one another in the fellowship, and how their friendship has grown since the first movie. Legolas, Gimli, Eowyn, and King Theoden were very distraught over the apparent loss, and very enthralled once Aragorn made his way back.

Where as Hobbits, Merry & Pippin, were used as the tension breakers in Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers used Gimli, the dwarf, throughout the film as comic relief. From the playful taunting with Legolas, to the remarks Gimli would make during his Uruk-hai slaying, Gimli's character was used to break a lot of the tension and lessen the seriousness of a situation.

Do we want to see Gimli, representing all dwarves of Middle-earth, as comic relief? does is degrade the society of dwarves? These are questions that kept coming up, but after some thought, I feel that it was alright for Gimli to be used as a tension breaker in this film since we spend the most time with him, Legolas, & Aragorn in the film. Hobbits, Merry & Pippin, took on a much more serious tone in this film which lended more creditability to their characters and character traits. I think as long as Return Of The King doesn't use Gimli TOO much as the "funny man", we'll be able to see Gimli from all angles, as we do now with Merry & Pippin.

One of my absolute favorite parts of Fellowship Of The Ring is the prologue sequence. With The Two Towers we are treated to a sort of prologue which happens in the middle of the film. Just before things get rolling in Helm's Deep, a flashback happens where we get to see a conversation between elves Lady Galadriel and Elrond. During the scene Galadriel gives Elrond as well as the audience a rundown of where things stand at that point with Saruman, Sauron, the ring bearer, the fellowship, and Middle-earth.

Although this narration happens within the middle of the film, not a beat is missed. It's fits right into the story up to that point, and transitions beautifully into the next. Plus, for the people that aren't jaded by knowing everything from the book (like myself) it catches them up to speed with a lot of the meat of the plot that one wouldn't know if they didn't read the books.

This scene also serves for a greater purpose. By adding this conversation in between the head of Elves of different regions of Middle-earth, it makes more sense as to why Elves, led by Elf Haldir, come to assist the people of Rohan in the battle of Helm's Deep instead of rangers as it was portrayed in the book. Elrond made a decision, and that decision was to help.

As we've all seen from the trailers, the battle of Helm's Deep is absolutely massive. If someone never told you there was CGI in these sequences, you'd NEVER, EVER know it. It is absolutely seamless. Beautiful in every respect...even though it is the carnage of battle. The battle of Helm's Deep will amplify what you think you know about the struggle of the free peoples of Middle-earth and then some.

Not having yet read Return Of The King, knowing the end of The Two Towers book, anticipating how the filmmakers were gonna end the movie, and seeing what actually happened was baffling, but made sense in the end. The ending of the film consisted of 3 parts, all of which concluded the stories of each member of the fellowship.

In the end, Frodo, Sam, & Gollum are taken to Gondor where Orcs are already attacking the city. In the aforementioned change of heart that Faramir has, he releases Frodo, Sam, & Gollum back into the wild to complete their mission. Before they leave, Frodo, being controlled by the ring, is summoned to the top of a structure in Gondor where a Ringwraith flying a winged creature tries to snatch the ring from Frodo's grasp. The Ringwraith is shot by arrows from the men of Gondor and Frodo is taken down the steps by Samwise.

Now, not knowing what happens in Return Of The King, this was a tad confusing to me as a book reader, but as a straight movie watcher ofThe Lord Of The Rings saga, I found no problems with it. I felt it was added as a climatic ending to the Frodo side of the story.

On the Merry & Pippin side of the story, the two Hobbits convince Treebeard to take them to the south end of Fangorn forest where Treebeard finds trees chopped downed to the stump. Angering Treebeard, he calls upon the Ents and wages war against Isengard, which is now empty expect for the likes of some Orcs and Saruman The White. The Ents bring forth a breaking of a damn and flood all of Isengard...this is the last we see...for now.

I felt this was a great way to show what ends up happening to Isengard, although some events are missing from the end of the film that were in the end of the book, for instance Gandalf banishment of Saruman from Isengard, these events HAVE TO make their way into Return Of The King.

Morning comes to Helm's Deep where the people of Rohan, the Elves, and the fellowship have been slaying Uruk-hai all night to keep them from breaching the inner wall, but to no avail, the Uruks enter. At the last moment of dawn, Gandalf The White shows up with the 2000 banished Rohan warriors and helps to destroy the rest of the Uruk-hai. We dissolve into afternoon and we see Aragorn & King Theoden talking about how the battle is over, but the war for Middle-earth has just begun.

The only part of this end scene I didn't like is that as soon as we saw Gandalf and the Riders Of Rohan go into battle with what still looked like an overwhelming amount of Uruk-hai, the end sequence where they talked of their victory from the battle was cut in. It seemed a little too easy for a task that seemed extremely daunting. I can see the approach being that they had shown so much battle earlier in the film that there was no reason to go into more, but it seemed just a little to fast of a transition to me.

The very last scene, which takes us into the credits on a very weary note, is a sequence with Frodo, Sam, & Gollum drudging towards Mordor once again. As they headed into the wild, Gollum went into his schizophrenic split personality mode once again. He argued with himself about killing the Hobbits and taking the ring. His Smeagol side was against it, while his Gollum side struggled for control. In the end, his Gollum side won, and convinced his Smeagol side to kill the Hobbits.

Ending the movie on a very unstable note was pure genius. Gollum hinted at leading them a certain as to not having to kill the Hobbits himself, but rather to let "her" do it. References to "her" pay a bit of homage to the book readers and give way for an outstanding intro sequence in the next film. Like I said, pure genius.

With all that said, the ending of The Two Towers ends the same way the Fellowship Of The Ring does. The fellowship is once again on an uneasy path. The ring bearer and his partner are alone to face the challenge of destroying the ring in Mordor. And the fate of Middle-earth is unknown.

This is exactly true to the book. But, the question is, does The Two Towers stand alone as an independent movie from the others? Does is bear it's own weight? Personally, I'd lean towards NO rather than YES. The fact that you are thrown into the middle of a story with a bunch of characters you don't know and aren't introduced to in the film might confuse someone who has never seen or heard of Lord Of The Rings before.

The Two Towers as a film was absolutely amazing. Any fan of the books as well of the first movie will be thoroughly engulfed by the story of The Two Towers. To compare this "middle movie" with that of another great in the world of trilogies, like The Empire Strikes Back is to say many wonderful things, as Empire is hailed by many to be the greatest in the Star Wars saga.

Like Empire, The Two Towers has no beginning and has no end, but does a greater service to the characters we have been cheering for since the first film. The Two Towers plays on a very darkened tone. A tone where there is not much hope and things seem to be teetering on the end edge of permanent despair. Even the imagery in the film is very dark and contrasted. Unlike the beautiful greens and blues of Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers draws from the many "dead" colors of the world, and throws our beloved characters into the mix.

The actors performance were truly brilliant. Not a flawed character in the bunch, and that includes all CGI characters such as Treebeard & Gollum. Never once did I think to myself..."that person doesn't fit the part".

An absolute masterpiece is at hand. With the second chapter under our wings, we shall soon have the one of the greatest stories ever to be told in the greatest cinematic form that we could have ever hoped for. This movie truly does justice to the books that inspired it.

I like this review.... not too spoiler intensive, it focuses on how each of our characters did this time around, and some good news for all regarding Arwen! (< smug>HairOfTheDog was right!< /smug>

FROM TheOneRing.net™

TTT Review - What Of The Cast Performances?
Demosthenes @ 7:18 pm EST
Tigerlilly Gamgee sent in this Two Towers review that is largely absent of spoilers. Those who want a feel of the performances in the film may enjoy this one, though if you're trying to avoid spoilers regarding who may or may not be at Helm's Deep, perhaps you should steer clear.
The Two Towers - What Of The Cast Performances?
I had the priveledge of attending an advanced screening of TTT this morning here in Chicago (along with Roger Ebert... and many other contest winners). My opinion is still forming for this movie; it is just so strange because you are accustomed to FOTR and then you see the characters in a new story (which you probably already know the ending to). Overall, I did like it. I was not disappointed. I need to see it again!
It varies away from the books a lot more than FOTR did. Some parts didn't even exist in the books, and in other cases you are seeing the same story from different perspectives. Sam and Gimli stole the show, in my opinion. Everyone voted that Pippin would be the comic relief in this movie, but I think that Gimli has stolen his trophy on that account. Many of Sam's greatest moments from the books are left in the movie (Sam fans will be cheering at these parts!), and some really nice new scenes are given to him. Legolas is also more likeable in this movie. He becomes a little more "humanistic" in quality, as opposed to the slightly "magical" nature he had about him in the first film (his kind-of "aloofness"). Elijah Wood does a great job with Frodo as he becomes possessed by the ring. There are some heart-breaking moments for him and Sam (one really huge one at the end; which is from a shot in the trailer, but you wouldn't know that that shot of Frodo is actually in a scene with Sam and not Gollum).
The new characters are all lovely. Eowyn has a very nice introduction and she doesn't whip out the sword quite yet (at least, not in a big way). Theoden is well played and Wormtongue is great. Eomer is also a lot better than I expected (no offense to Karl Urban, it's just that he seemed a little dryer in the books; but new life is good). There is also some nice stuff with the Rohan refugees, some of it is very emotional and may move some to tears (look for the Jackson kids in the caves - boy they get around don't they!).
Gollum and Treebeard, in my opinion, have not fallen in the "Jar-Jar trap", but those who have not read the books may not like them. I can see how putting an Ent on screen is a difficult task (with their not wanting to be hasty and all - I don't think that people will quite understand them if they haven't read the books). Merry has a lovely speech at the Entmoot (addition); Dominic is really stepping up to the plate. Gollum is done very well, though slightly different from my impressions of him in the book (though, I have never really liked him - so don't listen to me). I never felt pity for him while reading the book, but that aspect is brought into the movie very nicely. His relationship with Frodo and Sam is great! It really made me see why Frodo trusts him.
You get to see Merry and Pippin start to grow up in this film. I mentioned the speech Merry has... great! Pippin also has a nice moment with Treebeard when they have left the Moot. He's not so much of a "fool" anymore.
The scene between Arwen and Elrond is very well done. Everyone is worrying about her being in the movie, but I enjoyed that scene (though her picture on the poster need not be so big). The flash-forward was very moving and it let's the audience see more of what Arwen is sacrificing to be with Aragorn (that was probably unclear to non-readers in the first movie). Fear not, she does not come to Helm's Deep (though I can't speak for Haldir's troops on that matter)! I, personally, liked the elves at Helm's Deep. It gave the movie a slight Silmarillion-like moment. I think it added to the relationships of the characters, and it showed more where the fate of Middle Earth is heading. Helm's Deep is spectacular!!!!!!!! 'Nuff said there...
The movie has a great climax accompanied by a speech with Sam. I was accompanied by Rosemunde Brownlocks (from my Line Party) and she made an excellent point that... at one point or another in the movie each character has a moment where they realize that this is their fight. All of Middle Earth is in peril, not just an individual race or kingdom. This speech is the climax of those moments. Very well done... go Sean Astin!!!!!
Well, this is already long, so I will end here. I tried not to spoil too much, so hopefully I didn't ruin anything for anyone. Now, I am eager to see what Ebert is going to say (though something tells me he's probably going to be skeptical about it). Fans will not be disappointed, though I am beginning to think that maybe I shouldn't have re-read the book so close to the movie's release date (because of the differences - it made them much more noticeable). They are each in their own, different, yet the same. Be ready for moments that will blow you away!
~Tigerlily Gamgee~

Hair,

Thanks for posting that. Must have missed it when I was over at TORN today.

I am a bit nervious about these reports of greater deviations from the text. But I'll keep an open mind.

In the meantime I ran across this from FilmJerk.com. Apologies for the rough language. There are spoilers here as well, so skip over it if that's not your cup of tea.

It will be interesting to see if his prediction that "women won't like it" is borne out. Mrs. Iguana will be Test Subject A.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
By Marco
Review Date: December 2, 2002

"The Two Towers" is the film of the year. It's an epic battle and some that loved "The Fellowship of the Ring" might be shocked because of the sheer power, violence and volume of impressions "The Two Towers" features. That doesn't mean it is bad. In the contrary: It is cinema to my liking. The sort that makes the screen explode.

I've read the books about five years ago so excuse the mistakes I'm probably going to make. Also excuse that I am reviewing the film, not the book. I loved the book, but Jackson's job was that of an adaption. And he did a brilliant job. The rest of the text contains spoilers. Don't read on if you want to see the film unspoiled.

"The Two Towers" opens with the camera hovering over snowy mountains. We hear voices and screams. Then, the camera enters the mountain and we see the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog again. This time, from a slightly different perspective - and slightly longer. That's good: The film opens with my favourite scene from "Fellowship." It starts with an impressive bang. That's because Peter Jackson did all the character introduction and the geography of Middle Earth in "Fellowship." He can now dive right into it. At the beginning, that causes some problems, because the intercutting of the scenes make the film appear episodic and uneven. However, as soon as all the plot threads are interwoven, The Two Towers becomes a bulldozer you cannot stop until the very end. In it's pure kinetic style, I was reminded of James Cameron's Aliens which also had such a relentless energy.

Each of the three story parts (Aragon/Legolas/Gimli - Frodo/Sam - Merry/Pippin) has a distinctive style. The Merry/Pippin-plot for example starts out rather grisly and later becomes the calm part that acts as a counterpart to the battle at Helm's Deep. This different style and different speed of the three threads make the film more vivid than the rather linear Fellowship. One thing is alike to all three plots: The darkness. Frodo's and Sam's walk through the marshes is extremely gritty. The landscape is chilly and the bodies floating under water are truly creepy. It's an eerie landscape and one can see that Peter Jackson is a genius when it comes to portraying evil. The hobbits then reach the black gate which is operated by two cave trolls. The impressive thing about the scene is the weight of the portal. The use of models and CGI is perfect and gives this set the depth and weight it needs to be convincing.

Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas search for the two hobbits. The story of the three makes up the biggest part of the film. After they re-unite with Gandalf, they set out to free Théoden from the spell of Saruman and guide the people of the city to the stronghold of Helm's Deep. In those scenes, I was very impressed by Jackson's courage to use some ancient tongues. If I'd like Shakespeare, I'd say The Two Towers is Jackson's Henry V because of the long, melancholic monologues and of course the war-theme. I don't know if the kids will like those heavy words. Anyway, on their way to "Helm's Deep", Orcs on wargs attack and that's a fierce scene. Very well edited. From there on it's straight to the last third, to the big battle. It is intercut with other threads, but overall, it accounts for about 45 minutes of epic sword- and bowfight.

Jackson introduces us to the geography of the fortress before Saruman's huge army approaches with thundering noise. The vista is amazing and the battle will keep you on the edge of your seat. There's the scene with the exploding wall you might know from the trailer. The spectacular thing is the huge stones that rain down after the explosion. Again, they *feel* heavy and when they fall down on some Uruk-hai, it really hurts. This is definitely the biggest set piece in the film - but it's not my favourite scene. That comes later. Oh, and before the battle actually starts, Jackson shows children being prepared for the battle. It's a simple yet effective way to show the dispair of the people. An army that has to send its kids to the front line is probably the most impressive symbol of a hopeless situation. But you don't have to become all depressed. Disrupting the doom are some comic relief moments from Gimli. The funniest scene has him just standing behind the wall. You only see his helmet (they made him a bit smaller than he should be but never mind) which causes some much needed laughter. I wouldn't have liked The Two Towers being ironic, but a little humor is most welcome.

That leads me to the last thread: Pippin and Merry. The beginning of their story is very rough. There is actually an intestine visible when the Uruk-hai kill each other in a frenzy. "The Two Towers" is tougher and rougher than "Fellowship." That PG-13-rating is really hard to swallow. There's a lot of R-material in this film. I personally think violence fits the story and atmosphere, but this is not for kiddies. Jackson shouldn't care though. One can clearly see how much fun he had with those scenes of carnage.

Later, the two hobbits flee into the forrest and meet Treebeard. I really like this tree-guy. His nose, his eyes, his "skin", his voice. All perfect. If you see a wide shot with him and other Ents, they appear to be the most CG-ish of all characters. I guess leafs are hard to animate and the color green is tough for the effects-people. However, that's not bad because the forrest looks terrific and the Ents are wacky guys. When they set out for Isengard, my favourite scene begins. This is the "nature strikes back" scene and seeing Saruman watching his army being blown away by some trees made me smile. The almost biblical flood afterwards has a clensing effect after all the dirt and foulness we've witnessed. Wonderful scene.

Now to Gollum. He's the best CG-creature I've ever seen. There are moments, when you clearly see that he's digital (for example when he catches a fish), but the major feeling is the one of being impressed. Before our eyes, a couple of pixels become an important character. I'm already heartbroken if I have to read comparisons with Jar-Jar or Dobby. Gollum might also be a little nag, but he's way more complex. When did you ever see an artificial creature having a schizophrenic conversation with itself? Over a couple of minutes, Gollum actually argues with himself. Either you accept this, or not. If you don't, you're perhaps not really into fantasy movies to start with.

Gollum is the CG-highlight. Others include my favourite Balrog in his early scene, the cave trolls, the explosion at Helm's Deep, the attack on Isengard, Treebeard - oh and the oliphants. They are majestic. At that point in the movie, they are almost too much because they don't much serve the plot. But the sight is impressive - and I always prefer "too much" to "not enough". As in Fellowship, the backgrounds are stunning. New Zealand once again becomes Middle Earth. The difference to something like "Attack of the Clones" is the fact, that Jackson filmed real landscapes and added the buildings. That gives the image the depth it needs. Even if you don't like the war mongering in The Two Towers, you'd at least have to acknowledge that this is a very good walking guide through Middle Earth ...

Now, briefly, the actors: Sean Astin has more to do and shines. Elijah Wood appears a lot less than in part one but he's good. The other two hobbits have less gags than in "Fellowship" - and it works. This time around, the jokes go to John Rhys-Davies who's funny as Gimli and impressive as the voice of Treebeard. Orlando Bloom was better in "Fellowship." He has one or two wooden lines and is less fancy with his tool - the bow that is. But he's still good. Viggo Mortensen was probably the best man in the film. If Fellowship was Frodo's quest, The Two Towers is Aragorns. And Viggo does a good job portraying that. On the other hand, Ian McKellen was reduced. He's stiffer than in part one and apart from 2 or 3 funny lines, he only has some heavy dialogue. Cate Blanchet has only a cameo and Liv Tyler was less distracting than I thought. Her scenes are still rather useless.

Bernard Hill was grand. Sometimes I had the feeling he's playing captain of the Titanic again and steering his ship Rohan into doom. Miranda Otto was also good. There were lots of discussion about the "love triangle". It's not happening actually because Eowyn sees that Aragorn loves Arwen. The few glances of Miranda Otto speak volumes and were better than any love relation a lesser director would have attempted to put more estrogen in the picture. I guess the changes of the female characters will be the most talked about among Tolkien purists. For me, they felt right. Also something to discuss: The movie ends before the book does. It ends when Gollum leads the hobbits to a grisly fate ... to "her" (he pronounces it deliciously).

To sum things up, "The Two Towers" is the movie event 2002. A colleague of mine said, women won't like it. Well, that might be sexist. I'd rather say geeks (and there are some women among those) will particularly enjoy it. It's an epic war movie full of amazing visuals and astonishing power. It is not a light movie. It's the evil stepchild of "The Fellowship of the Ring." One cannot exist without the other. "Fellowship" did not only introduce the characters, it also remains a counterpoint to "The two Towers." When I left the cinema I felt beaten and exhausted. And for that, Peter Jackson, I thank you.

Marco's Rating: A

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LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS ( 2002 )

" A true cinematic masterpiece! "

WOW!