Like Gollum/Smeagol, the film has a double nature

Rating: 7/10 (13 November 2003)

As a fan of Tolkien's books, I had high hopes for this movie, which were partially realized and partially dashed to pieces. My reaction was torn, I wanted to thank Peter Jackson for his dedication and wack him with a frozen tuna, at the same time. The film contains its own internal metaphor in the split character of Gollum.
In fact, I'll start by praising Andy Serkis and the CGI team's rendition of Gollum. That in itself was worth the price of admission. The supporting actor awards from Saturn, OFCS, and VES were well deserved. Easy as it might be to find flaws with Jackson's renditions of certain characters or plot elements, Gollum is above reproach and interacts with the Hobbits amazingly well.
Also well done are the short battle scenes twixt Gandalf and the balrog. Gandalf's character is generally well played, and most of the scenes with Gandalf are satisfying.
As a sensory spectacle, everything about this movie is breathtaking. The cinematographers, costumers, and set designers should be lauded for impeccable work. The CGI is overdone at points, but perfect in others. I cannot fault the effects. The sound is solid, and unlike the first film in the series, everything that needs to be heard can be heard.
So where is the split? Where does it go wrong? Well, I can't help but feel that Jackson has done a great disservice to Tolkien's original vision, at the same time he does it homage. Where characters were simply omitted from the Fellowship of the Ring (Bombadil, Goldberry, Old Man Willow, Barrow Wights, etc.), in The Two Towers they are mutilated beyond recognition.

The worst damage is done to the Ents and Faramir. The Ents are among the oldest creatures in Middle Earth, valuing cautious deliberation and patience above all else. In this movie, they are depicted as hasty. Never would I have thought to see a hasty ent! Not only that, whereas in the books they decide to assist the Rohirrim and depose Saruman through patient deliberation, in this film they are duped into it. Simply unforgivable.
Faramir, likewise, makes a transition to the screen which transforms his formerly wise and cautious character into one of paranoia and bungling. Rather than the stark contrast with sibling Boromir, we get more of the same.
It would have been easy enough to conceive a script in which these characters stay true to Tolkien's inspired vision without extending it unnecessarily -- indeed, the entire scene at Osgiliath is tacked on via Faramir's distorted character. These are the real crimes against J.R.R. Tolkien, as I see it.
The matters of the exodus from Edoras, the elven contingent at Helm's Deep, Arwen's interactions with Elrond and Aragorn, these are all reasonable liberties IMHO. They further character development more-or-less in keeping with the spirit of the original, and may serve in resolving portions of the final film that omissions in the first film complicate (e.g., where will Meriadoc get a blade from the Gondolin Wars, if not from the barrow wight?). It is those added scenes and dialogs which outright destroy perfectly filmable characters that remind me of Melkor's orcish perversion of Iluvatar's elves.
The movie is still enjoyable, and for those who have not read the books or who care little for source integrity, it will likely be excellent. I give it a 7, overall.