It'll make you drool for the next one

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2002)

First of, it is not as good as Fellowship. It is however, almost as good. There were few elements I didn't like about the movie and many, many I did.
Most people are talking about the CG. And most people are focused on Gollum. I want to give a mention to the Ents. We all knew about what Gollum should look like, but how do you animate a tree. Now we know. The Ents were perfect. There is no other way to decribe it. Their distinct appearance, their voices, their mannerisms are all just brilliant. Gollum is almost perfect. He still has that slight unreal look that all CG has that tells you he isn't really there, but from the way the actors and Gollum himself behave, it doesn't cause a problem. He is animated, alive, and acts on the environment around him better than any CG character to date. There is a scene where Gollum and Smeagol complete for dominance that will blow you away.
While everyone was anticiapting the Battle of Helms Deep, few people were ready for the battle at Isenguard. I think this stole the movie. The Ents rampage was just amazing and there wasn't a second in the battle you though they were fake. It just felt like the keep was being torn apart. Helms Deep was one of the best action sequences ever. It is fast paced, intense, and features large and small scale fights all around to keep the variety going. The battle builds and builds until its wonderful climax that will have you cheering in your seat.
Now, I would give Fellowship a 10. It is the perfect movie for that story. I give Two Towers, really, a 9.5. The problem in it are not enough to drop it more than that however. My problem, you ask? Is the pace of the movie. Unlike Fellowship, which really, has two parts, Two Towers builds and builds for 2 hours until the Battle of Helms Deep. After the first 1.5 hours I was just eager to see the Battle and urging the movie to get on to it. There were a few small bits of action during the first 2 hours, but mostly it was story. Mind you good story, but 2 hours is a long, long time to build up to something. Especially when it seemed that it took forever just to watch the warriors of Rohan preparing for the Battle of Helms Deep. Also, to create some tension, they make it seem like a key character might be dead, but it is a character you know will live, even if they don't stick to the books, this character is too important to die now.
Then, once the Battle of Helms Deep start, there are breaks to the rest of the story, which is still slowly developing. It isn't until there are battles in all parts of the story that the pace really moves and you can't even sit back for a good 30 minutes. I wish they had started all the battles at the same time, so that while you would break from story to story, there would be action in all of them, so the last hour would be nothing more than a nonstop fight. The intensity of Helms Deep is just too great to switch to the Ents talking and Frodo walking. It is too much a shock in pace to feel confortable.
That is why I'd say Two Towers is a 9.5. However, once the ending is in full gear, it makes up for just about any problems with the movie. The Battle of Helms Deep is amazing and filled with bits that will leave you in glee and the Ents rampage at Isenguard will just leave you with chills.