Risking everyone's wrath, I beg to disagree

Rating: Null/10 (10 January 2003)

I'm not a die-hard fan of Tolkien and deviations from the original idea, when well staged and performed, are surely welcomed and appreciated, but I must confess that this time I had great expectations and was disappointed. The film has lots of action and special effects and is very grandiose. It also has a fine storyline, flowing smoothly on, and is technically impeccable. But in spite of all those merits, it has no soul and leaves me cold. In contrast with the first installment, in which there was character and atmosphere building, and you left the theater with a feeling of euphoria, you make no emotional connection with any of the characters in The Two Towers, exception made for the endearing Gimli (Rhys-Jones), creepy Grima (Dourif's very good performance) and the animation character Gollum, which I must say, is the best thing on the film. Others noticeable are McKellen, who manages to come alive as Gandalf with a wink, and Lee's screen presence which is always outstanding. For the rest, I came out of the cinema with a feeling of having been cheated. I just hope that the third installment is as good as the first was.