Not Bad

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2002)

"Fellowship" is difficult to live up to. Although "Two Towers" is an enjoyable watch, it probably won't get another one out of me until all three are released on DVD. The first movie flowed better. The narrative style and structure of this sequel falls short, and there seem to be too many quick disjointed cuts.
The beginning of the movie was a little weak and I did not like the "episodic" feel the flashback/dream gave. This flashback explanation of Gandalf defeating the demon and "coming back" was not a great place to start. At least it was a dream of Frodo's... a good script-writing trick (one of a few in this movie).
We all think Gollum's character was superb, the movie had nice graphics, good enough acting. But the first was a better movie because it had better flow, camera, etc. Someone on IMDB also noted the "cliche" Hollywood tricks placed in this movie... I won't repeat them, but they sure do exist. (But what do you expect in a blockbuster? Ahhh, how to appease such a critical generation...)
Anyhow, I feel much like Gollum. We like it! We don't like it! We don't know! OK, no, I like it... but perhaps the final cut was a bit off. I mean, it's not like I sat in the theatre thinking these things... they are just after-thoughts. When the final third installment is included, the movie will work better. But I feel it is always important for a movie in a trilogy to stand up on its own.
Who knows, maybe a super-amazing-o-ramic-super edition will be released!