A towering achievement, but certainly not one of the best of all time

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2002)

This film is indeed a modern epic deserving of high praise, but I cannot understand how the good voters of this website have placed this film and its prequel amongst the top ten films of all time. Films worthy of this ranking must in some way change the art of cinema or, at bare minimum, they must be saturated with originality. "The Two Towers" is merely a brilliant collaboration of technology and writing; the art of film itself is almost unnecessary. Nothing artistically original has been presented in this film, and moreover, it is not even an original concept, the genre or the plot itself.
I'm sure that the ratings for this film are predicated on pure enjoyment and cinematic intensity, which this film does deliver in spades. I must say that the last hour of this film is one of the most invigorating hours of cinema I have ever experienced. I'm just not sure how, and I felt this after about an hour and a half, fans can watch with fresh eyes and vehement curiosity when the plotlines have become somewhat redundant. A battle occurs, a character we care for is wounded or killed or perhaps he fell and will inevitably return. I applaud Peter Jackson for making every battle as new to our eyes as possible, but after a while these beautifully constructed battle scenes play out as simple formalities.
Overall, I would definately consider this film amongst the great action/adventure films of recent years, but surely not amongst the best of all time. It is a copy of a great piece of art, delivered with grace and beauty by technology. Once we begin to label films with such high praise because of technological feats, we are forgetting the true purpose of art, and for that, "The Two Towers" is simply not as good as its cracked up to be.