Overall Rating
  Awesome: 79.15%
Worth A Look: 11.39%
Average: 3.86%
Pretty Bad: 2.7%
Total Crap: 2.9%
15 reviews, 428 user ratings
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| Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The |
by Isobel Sharp
"You know the movie is good when a shiny gold prop gives you the willies."
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Picking up where the first film left off, Two Towers covers a lot of ground in a (relatively) short period of time. The weakness of being the middle of a trilogy is apparent, but made up for by being a tasty, filling middle, very nearly worth standing on its own. Despite a hurried beginning and not entirely satisfactory ending, the over-two-hours of movie left in the center of this film, plus great acting and beautiful direction, make Two Towers a worthy companion to Fellowship of the Ring.When last we left our intrepid adventurers, they were scattered to hell and gone across the landscape of Middle Earth. Frodo and Sam had struck east, to deliver the Ring to destruction in Mordor; Merry and Pippin, nabbed by Uruk-hai, had been dragged off, leaving Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to follow in their wake, attempting rescue. The first part of the film flits back and forth between these three groups, plus the plight of the people of Rohan, a land under harrying attacks from the forces of Saruman. New characters are introduced, new problems are revealed, and generally quite a lot happens in a very short period of time.
Unsurprisingly, this is the weakest part of the film. Though the settings are still beautiful, and the acting still strong, so much ground must be covered (literally as well as metaphorically) to set up the main story for this film, that it all seems rather hurried. Nevertheless, this is a necessary phase the film must go through before it settles into a deeper, more flowing story at the heart of the film. Or, to be accurate, two stories, both important but quite discrete, are being told here: the trek of Frodo and Sam across the land towards Mordor, and the first serious conflict between the forces of darkness and those who would resist it. Despite the beginning, once the film gets going, shifting between these two stories is almost seamless, and neither suffers at the hand of the other.
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin), in their quest towards Mordor, have come upon an unlikely ally in the form of Gollum, the twisted creature who possessed the Ring before Bilbo discovered it. Gollum (Andy Serkis) is warped both physically and mentally; he craves the Ring as much as he fears what that craving drives him to do. Frodo, himself beginning to feel the corrupting effects of the Ring, shows sympathy to Gollum, calling him by his real name of Smeagol, and protecting him from the suspicious Sam. Gollum responds the this sympathy as best he knows how, trying to aid the hobbits in their journey towards the Black Gate and entrance to Mordor.
Serkis, through much CGI wizardry, manages to be both the voice and to an extent the form of Gollum, and as a result this character is much more complex and compelling than a pure CGI creation might have been. Every twitch and retch in Gollum’s behavior is revealing of his inner mind; a scene in which Gollum argues with the darker forces of his nature makes the viewer almost painfully sympathetic for the creature that Gollum used to be – and very aware of what might be happening to Frodo. For his part, Wood plays Frodo as increasingly frantic and fearful, feeling the evil tug of the Ring, and edging closer to succumbing. Astin’s Sam is the strongest member of this party, feet firmly pointed towards Mordor, while never forgetting that the life they’ve left behind is the best motivating force for moving forward.
The other main story involves Rohan, a land lying between Saruman’s tower of Isengard, and Gondor, the last kingdom of men and Aragorn’s ancient homeland. Rohan has been corrupted from within by the evil of Saruman, and its king sits weakly on his throne while his people are killed and land taken by Saruman’s marauders. The arrival of Aragorn and his companions shifts the balance of power in Rohan, restoring the king to vitality, but nothing can stop the onrushing force of Saruman’s main army, slicing through Rohan to destroy all that lies in its path.
The story of Rohan, ending in the Battle of Helm’s Deep, also reveals the fate of the elves in Middle Earth, and revisits Aragorn’s relationship with the absent, but never forgotten, Arwen. It also where Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), takes his first, reluctant steps towards his destiny as king. Mortensen, getting more screen time in this film than the previous, becomes a stronger presence by the minute. His Aragorn does not seek power, but when faced with such desperate times, and a need for a strong voice of leadership, is unable to turn away from that which he is clearly so well-suited for. Mortensen does an excellent job in the part, giving Aragorn a depth both in sorrow and in valor, and truly becoming a noble presence on screen.Of course, a lot more happens – the Battle is spectacular, the departure of the elves from Middle Earth is sorrowful, and all the characters are fleshed out even more (including giving Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) more than comic-relief lines, thankfully). The Ents are beautifully done, and the Ring only gets creepier. We’re introduced to Gondor, and the end leaves Frodo and Sam walking towards a trap set by the tricksy Gollum. Ultimately, nothing is resolved, the fate of being a Middle Film, but the strength of The Two Towers are the stories at its core. They are done so well that ultimately, the weaknesses of the film can be overlooked.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=6450&reviewer=291
originally posted: 12/19/02 14:56:08
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USA
18-Dec-2002 (PG-13)
DVD: 29-Aug-2006
UK
N/A
Australia
18-Dec-2003
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