It's not quite the same earthquaking cinematic experience of the original Lord of the Rings film, but The Two Towers still comes across as one of the most powerful and entertaining fantasy action films this

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2003)

The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the greatest adventure films ever made, so it's really no surprise that its successor, The Two Towers, falls just slightly short of achieving the same powerful cinematic experience, but it is certainly a worthy installment in what is growing to be a tremendously well-made trilogy. The film starts off a little bit slowly, as it picks up where the last film left on in true sequel form, following Frodo and Sam as they continue their journey that was interrupted so suddenly by the end credits of the last film.
This fabulously written film, which only takes artistic liberties in clarifying points that may have grown vague from the last film (the way the best adaptation films do), may go a little too deep into the amazingly intricate storyline to keep the attention of some of the younger viewers or some of those not familiar with the novels, but the experience remains just as intense and entertaining. The war for Middle Earth is officially underway, and the battle scenes are some of the most impressive that I've ever seen in a film.
Generally, I think that a film with as many computer generated special effects as can be seen in The Two Towers is destined to suffer at least slightly from them, but they are so seamless and impressive here that they really do not take away from the quality of the film. The majority of the battle scenes are done almost entirely on computer, but are still incredibly entertaining and convincing. There are walking talking trees in the film, which was a little off-putting at first, but are successful adaptations from the novel and are amazingly convincing on screen.
(spoilers) Pippin and Merry, the two characters from the original film with the insatiable appetites and the endless sources of comic relief, are back in the second film playing the same characters with very little change other than that they seem to have matured quite a bit from their original roles, quite possibly because of their increasing experience in the war for Middle Earth. They spend the majority of their screen time in the film with the walking trees, trying to get them to take them to the battle but having little success. But once they finally make it there, they make a surprisingly effective and creative contribution to their side's participation in the battle.
Clearly, a black and white movie review written by some guy you've never seen or heard of (me) cannot do justice to the breathtaking things that happen in this film, you just have to see it for yourself. Brad Dourif, who is most famous for his role as the voice of the lovable Chucky, the doll from the Child's Play films, and for, I might add, his excellent contribution as the gas station attendant at the beginning of Urban Legend, takes on a role in The Two Towers that fits his iconography perfectly. This capable actor who has been acting mainly in B-movies for the majority of his career has made a seamless jump to a part in one of the greatest trilogies of all time. Now all we need is a part for Bruce Campbell and all of the underrated B-movie actors will be back in the spotlight!
The comic relief in this movie is one of its best features (aside from the startlingly brutal and convincing battle scenes, of course), and none of it is cheesy or just thrown in to get a cheap laugh. There is a delightful scene where Aragorn (once again played spectacularly by Viggo Mortensen, in another of the best performances of his career) and Gimli (the lovable but amazingly powerful dwarf played by John Rhys-Davies) sneak around to the outside of the castle as it is being bombarded during the battle, and Gimli timidly asks Aragorn to toss him to the bridge because he can't jump over the gap himself, stopping Aragorn to ask him shyly not to tell the dwarf (Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom).
This is a powerful adventure film that knows when to be funny, when to be romantic, when to make you cringe, cheer, cry, and gape. It entertains even through the slow parts, even going so far as to throw in a little schizophrenia scene with the little goblin that Frodo and Sam enlist as a reluctant guide. This scene is reminiscent of Geri's Game, Pixar's exceedingly amusing animated short film that precedes A Bug's Life, but like the rest of the comic relief, it does not dampen the effect of the rest of the movie by making it laughable, but rather allows us to relax between scenes of breathtaking scenery and cringe inducing battles. For the second year in a row, The Lord of the Rings is sure to be an enormous contender in the Oscar race.