The legend continues...

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2002)

*SPOILERS*
I'll say this right off the bat. Whatever problems I had with this movie (and there were a few), I nevertheless was impressed deeply with Jackson's handling of CGI and camera. I don't care if you're a naysayer of the series, or a fan. If you're not impressed with the choreography and direction of the battle of Helm's Deep, you need some serious help. No director, to this date, has done what Jackson has done on the screen. He doesn't just throw rambunctious CGI as you would throw a bucket of paint on a murel and call it art. He has a formula. He knows what fits, and what works. Call it good instincts, or maybe he's just a genius. The most important trait for a director is being able to tell the story without the script. Can the audience understand the feeling, or the gist of the story just by looking at the scene, and the actors, and the lighting? Can you integrate CGI into this and still achieve the same effect on the audience? If you mention Final Fantasy, or Star Wars, you'll probably say "Heck no". This movie stands alone. The Two Towers, if not going to be recongnized for its good storytelling, is cinematic masterpiece by biblical proportions. That said, I believe Andy Serkis needs some serious, serious consideration for the best supporting actor role as Gollum. It's not just Jackson's employment of some of the most realistic CGI ever used, but the script and acting was done perfectly. We're not just looking at a mindless talking CGI, like Jar Jar, for that whole moment. We really believed we were actually seeing a living, breathing Gollum.
Now on to the story itself. Some dedicated Tolkien purists will probably have a few beefs with Jackson for the myriad of changes in the characters. For those who have never read the novels, these changes are only additional subplots for the audience to remember. These aren't detrimental to the actual storyline (to some degree), but nevertheless not very subtle and made rather obvious. I'm a bit on the neutral side in this, but I thought Jackson could have done a lot better. Two things that stand out:
1) Legolas - I find it disturbing that fangirls seem to like this character only because Orlando Bloom is "cute" despite the horrible dialogue Jackson and Walsh provided for him. This only cheapens Legolas. If he were any other movie character concocted by any other writer, it can be excused. Not Legolas. I thought Jackson should've given more thought to him. Give him one personality (he seems to bounce back and forth between optimism, and pessimism at the whim), and make him kick more butt. He's an Elf. His combat prowess and reliability should be paramount. Why make him act and look ridiculous (the surf scene with the shield bugs me to all Hell)? I'm not saying give Legolas the powers of Jet Li, but at least enhance his fighting abilties if you are not going to give him good lines. Just wishful thinking. This brings me to the next point:
2) Legolas / Gimli - I can somewhat see the need of comedy relief in something as dark and morbid as the Two Towers would eventuate towards the final hour of the movie. I have no problem with that. However, because Legolas seems to shift between personalities, and Gimli seems to be more focused on creating comedy relief, their friendship is virtually non-existant. As a result, their whole "how many can you kill" little adventure in Helm's Deep is out of place, and awkward.

Not exactly detrimental. None of this detracts me from enjoying the movie, but it stuck in my mind even at the closing credits. Oh well.

The Two Towers succeeds in telling the story, and that's important. Not exactly Tolkien's story, but Jackson interpretation of the novel series. He provides enough, without going overboard, or cutting too much. The dialogue isn't exactly top-notch, or memorable (in fact, it's actually quite subpar in my opinion) but it gets the job done.
Anyway, I'm not going to go anymore deeper. For me, I'm not going to remember this movie for the story. I'll leave that to my leather-bound collector's series (yes I am a Tolkien fanatic). I'll remember this movie for its technical achievements, and the way Gollum stole the entire show.
8/10