Fate would have it that The Two Towers is the quintessential post 911 allegory;

Rating: 10/10 (6 February 2020)

Faceless world altering evil being stood up to my the united grieving good of the little person. When Gandalf or Sam or Merry or Faramir speaks they're speaking using Tolkien's words through time and talking directly to us. Undoubtedly the success of this and the other Rings movies are that they are lovingly and reverently adapted by teams of indie creatives at the height of their passion and the tops of their game. However, it's enduring legacy and legendary status owes itself to the fact that The Two Towers had, and still has, a reason to exist in the world. It speaks to what fantasy was made for and it bolsters the human spirit and champions hope and understanding, forgiveness and love.

There's a sensitivity here not usually applied to middle films in a trilogy but making the groundbreaking meld of CGI and characterisation of Sméagol/Gollum the central arc of the story is very smart. It gives the film thrust and purposeful connective tissue to Return of the King. His arc from Gollum to Sméagol and to Gollum again is sad, important and due to Andy Serkis also hilarious. It does everything a middle film should, introduces new characters, fleshes out old and builds tension to the third film. The battles are bigger but no less well crafted and every side story is a worthwhile one.
The extended version is a difficult bag, all the scenes removed are extraneous certainly, but are all brilliant moments and in any other film, indispensable. Boromir and Faramir scenes manage to actually give more relatability to a character that's already dead and the funeral of Théoden's son is incredibly sad, poignant and pertinent.