Why The Two Towers will become a classic

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2002)

I was on the nightly premiere of The Two Towers, and it seems clear to me now that there will never be another adaption of The Lord of the Rings. After the trilogy is completed, the legendary books will always be connected with this series of films.
Many people were astonished by The Fellowship of the Ring. The Two Towers will blow their minds away. While Fellowship was an introduction of the characters in the story, Two Towers is full-scale mayhem (`open war is upon us, whether you risk it or not'). The violence is raw, the evil is dark and the Uruk-Hai army is mighty. This is also the point where the trilogy really becomes an epic story of the classic themes; love and friendship, hatred and war. The characters all become more complex. Elijah Wood portrays the increasing darkness in Frodo brilliantly - his frightening eyes telling a whole story of their own, Legolas is the ultimate medieval action hero and King Théodan is also given a worthy performance by Bernard Hill. The most successful character, however, is the one of Gollum/Sméagol. He is geniously portrayed by the actor and mountain climber Andy Serkis, who both does his voice and his movements. Gollum is definitely the most complex CGI character up to date, and his appearance is also very realistic.

The footage is amazing. Peter Jackson has simply done an even more splendid job behind the camera this time than with Fellowship. The beautiful nature of New Zealand is a pleasure for the eye, with its majestic mountains and adventurous plains. Fangorn forest is fantastic. The extra lightening effects, as are widely used with Gandalf, adds to the experience.
The Battle of Helm's Deep. It is huge, overwhelming and epic in all its form, as is the movie. It is hard to believe that the film really manages to portray the battle as great on screen as it was meant to be, but Peter Jackson has accomplished the task. That is really the core of my opinion on The Two Towers (as on The Fellowship of the Ring): Tolkien's story of Middle-earth was a perfected masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest of all stories. In these years we are witnessing it come to life on the cinema screen in a way no one could have imagined. We are privileged. The professor would have been proud.