Epic movie that will leave you hungry for the third and final installment!!

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2011)

First of all, I would like to apologize. I know I was supposed to make this review a day after the first one's but I got caught up with other stuff (including finals, which I am unfortunately still enduring :/). So here it goes...
This film is nothing short of EPIC!!! ANY adjective used to describe this has to come from ''epic''. The fight scenes, the emotional ones, the beautiful landscapes, the timeless characters, the humor... EVERYTHING!!!
LOTR: The Two Towers is split into three parts- The adventures of the three groups of the now separated Fellowship (after Boromir's epic death in FOTR: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli; Pippin and Merry; and Sam and Frodo. Aragorn and the other two are searching for Merry and Pippin who were taken away from them when they were captured by Orcs in the first film. Sam and Frodo, of course, are traveling towards Mordor to destroy the evil One Ring. And now they are accompanied by the creature Gollum, who has pledged to take them to the Black Gate of Mordor.
That's technically it for the premise. Telling you anymore would be spoiling the movie for you. And, believe me, there are some twists and turns in the movie's great plot.
The characters in this movie are deeply developed. They have deep and rick personalities; some gentle, some fierce and some purely evil. Nonetheless, even the villains are likable do to the incredible amount of care given to the character's development.
The film stays true to the book while making some minor changes for the best, although the heart and soul of the book is left intact. The character's personality are also true to the book's intentions.
The special effects in Two Towers are AWESOMEEEE!!! The battle of Gandalf and the Balrog at the beginning as they are falling down the Bridge is greatly handled and has some impressive effects. The color palette is less varied as the environments are grimmer than the first film. The Battle of Helm's deep is awesome too in the film's finale. The epic scale given to it is great.
The acting in this one is top-notch, which special nods given to Sean Astin and Ian Mckellen. Miranda Otto also gives a stellar performance as the grief-ridden Eowyn, who falls in love with Aragorn.
The sound effects are cool. Orcs growl epically, swords clash which a ''clang!!'' and arrows speed across the landscapes to eventually land in another person's helmet which a metal clinking sound or flesh tearing when it hits bare flesh. You'll even laugh when Aragorn kicks the Orc helmet in the pyre at the beginning. The reason he screams so realistically is because he broke his toes on the helmet when he kicked it in real life. (LOL!!!). The soundtrack is moody and greatly integrated into the movie's scenes.
All in all, excellent movie. Epic fights, beautiful special effects, great soundtrack, top-notch acting and true attention to the book combine to make a great movie. You'll enjoy this one greatly if you love the books, or are simply looking for a great fantasy-action film.