Magnificent second part

Rating: Null/10 (14 September 2015)

The Fellowship has been broken, Frodo and Sam travel towards Mordor alone, Merry and Pippin have been taken by orcs, Gandalf and Boromir have fallen and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli must make haste to save at least some of their comrades. And at the same time the threat of Mordor grows as war comes to Rohan, the land of the horselords.
It is an epic in the every meaning of the word, and possibly one of the best second parts of a trilogy in the history of cinema. Sure, all three of the movies were shot back to back, but the fact still remains that middle parts of any kind of story are often the hardest. You have already established the setting, introduced the main characters, yet you still have to hold back until the end finale.
The Two Towers solves this by giving us one amazing opening battle in the War of the Rings. The Battle of Helm's Deep, still considered to be one of the greatest battles put on film, and for a good reason. It is cinema at its finest. The huge scale of it, the special effects, the practical effects, the pacing, the score, the fury and the stages.
But we also have other good stuff to tide us until the end of the film. The movie jumps around quite a bit, juggling various plot lines, and they all work very well. And, most importantly, this movie introduces some great new characters. Bernard Hill plays the role of Theoden, King of Rohan, and he is a very fitting counterpoint to Aragorn. He's an aged monarch, a warrior past his prime, and thus frailer, but also possessing pride in his status as a ruler. Very good performance, one of my personal favourites. But it's Gollum (Andy Serkis) that everyone always mention, and for a good reason. In many ways he's the most important character in the whole story. He's the tragedy under all the heroics, noble sacrifices and great deeds. He's the dark shadow, the weakness of mortals made flesh. Without him Frodo's struggles wouldn't mean half as much. And Serkis plays him perfectly. He's a marvel of special effects and man's ability to slip into a role. Especially considering that he's essentially two characters molded into one.
The Two Towers is a great film on all levels. It transitions us from the origin stories of The Fellowship towards the grand battles of the Return of the King, all the while keeping the story flowing smoothly and keeping us firmly in the mood for Middle-Earth. Masterfully done, Mr. Jackson.