Disjointed a bit, weak in spots, richer in fantasy and a worthy sequal to a masterpiece...

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2003)

Warning - SPOILERS included...
Magic with which middle earth came to life in Fellowship is wearing thin in The Two Towers. Its a complicated trilogy, maybe the most complicated filmmaking ever attempted. Not just adapting Tolkien's story for the screen, but the filmmaking craft itself is stressed to the limits. It must have been a nightmare to shoot, all the angles for a single scene, and I can only imagine the horror of editting it...
However, while technical part of the craft is well done with only minor quibbles, its the storytelling that suffers in The Two Towers. Though I am a great Tolkien fan, I am reviewing Towers as a film buff. Books aside, this is a separate creation. When Towers work, they do so splendidly, but when they dont they dwell on mediocracy. This however is not the fault of being a "middle" film.
The Ents with Merry and Pippin story is the most solid part of the Towers. It has ups and downs but it stays coherent. When it suffers it does so due to it being the shortest of the three stories. It is unfolded a bit awkwardly at times, considering what is going on in the other two. Visualising walking and talking trees is no easy task, and they are visualised perfectly. They brought tears to my eyes...
The main plot with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli is a mish mash. They have a task and they are at it. Sadly, it doesnt work all the time. The plight of Rohan is established well, with a small village forced to exile before an orcish onslaught. The trouble begins in Edoras. Bits were corny, purging Saruman from Theoden - the excorcism scene for example. Bigger fault by far is the retreat to Helm's Deep. I never really felt like it was something they had to do. It felt contrived, devoid of suffering. The plight of Rohan that was well established early on was not continued here.
Battle of Hornburg, the Helm's Deep is generally well done but is set up with mixed emotions. A few corny scenes before the battle ruin the atmosphere and despair of Rohan men, women and children is not portrayed well. The battle itself is grand, trully epic. Some heroic stunts could have been omitted though.
Frodo and Sam and Gollum, ah yes, the Gollum. All Kudos to Peter Jackson and the crew for the Gollum they created. They could have easily gone for a cute Gollum, E.T.esque... Instead, they brought a trully sad and tormented creature to life. The Towers shine when Gollum is on screen. The Smeagol vs Gollum dialogue is amazing. You love him and hate him at the same time.
The weakest part of the Towers is the story of Frodo, Sam and Gollum encountering Faramir and the army of Gondor. It is cold and uninvolved. The whole plot is too long for the little it tells. Faramir had to be introduced better... Only magical moment here is Gollum running with a fish in his mouth!
As a whole, three hours of The Two Towers go by in a breeze. Hopefully the extended edition will remedy some of the problems. The magic of Fellowship still lives in Towers. Except in Gollum scenes, it is most evident when Gandalf with Eomer and the riders of Rohan charge down the hill into thousands of orcs... It cuts then to the Ents tearing through Isengard... Epic, trully epic... It brought tears to my eyes.