Not bad, but not great

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2003)

Thank heavens for Peter Jackson. The out-of-the-blue Aussie auteur, previously best known for the 1996 Michael J. Fox bomb The Frighteners, has managed to deliver where so many others have failed, or feared to even attempt. He has successfully translated J.R.R. Tolkien's massive Lord of the Rings trilogy to the big screen with maximum verve and minimal crap. Last year's Fellowship of the Ring scored a bulls-eye with moviegoers and critics alike, and there was an audible sigh of relief among hardcore LOTR fanatics when the long-awaited film was finally released to smashing success.
So, where does Mr. Jackson go from there? He took a gamble in filming all three of the LOTR movies one after the other - what if Fellowship tanked? The whole franchise would have been up the creek. Thankfully, that fear was soon vanquished, but now Jackson has yet another roadblock to overcome: expectation. Hype. Buzz. Fellowship set the standard for Jackson and his crew - now all they can do is surpass it. That's a lot of pressure. I mean, a LOT of pressure. Thus, The Two Towers is arguably the most important film in the trilogy, simply because it has to live up to the expectations of millions of LOTR fans, AND the general movie going public, AND the critics, AND the studios that pay for the whole shebang. I'm amazed that Jackson hasn't had a stroke by now, or at least one mother of an ulcer.

So when all is said and done, does The Two Towers deliver? Yes. Is it as good as Fellowship? No. Does it still kick ass? For the most part, yes. It's just not very graceful doing it.
Simply put, The Two Towers is an exhausting movie. By the end, I felt like I'd been through a war zone. The film is just SO LONG, and there is SO MUCH GOING ON, from epic battles to flowery speeches to zombified swamps to talking trees....the first word that came to mind when I left the theater was "overstuffed". I feel like I'm beating on a dead horse, though - these movies are complete adaptations of the novels, and as such, there's going to be a whole lot of stuff packed into 3 hours. But even so, those 3 hours don't have to feel like 6. I can see where Jackson and company could have trimmed a bit here, shuffled a bit there, moved around a few parts here, just to make the narrative flow more freely. TTT's plot is heaps more complex than Fellowship's, and the best way to deal with that is to tell the story in the simplest, most direct way possible. But Jackson jumps back and forth between plot lines like Quentin Tarantino on speed, and it just doesn't work. This may be Jackson's way of keeping us from getting bored, but it's ultimately distracting and unnecessary. Yes, there are a lot of plot threads to juggle - from Frodo and Sam's descent into hell, to Aragorn's crew trying to rescue Merry and Pippin, to Merry and Pippin themselves just trying to stay alive, and more subplots than you can shake a wizard's staff at - but they should be juggled, not thrown into the air and allowed to crash back to Earth. The plot itself is average at best, and when coupled with the smothering story structure, makes for a rather underwhelming experience.
Fortunately, there is still plenty of good here, and a whole lot of great. The performances are once again top-notch, save for some flat dialogue and a few stilted scenes. The characters still feel the need to turn every sentence into a poetic work of art, Arwen still needs a shot of caffeine, and Frodo and Sam still need to get a room already, but otherwise the acting is very good. The gorgeous scenery and cinematography are back in full force, and it's likely the best eye candy you'll taste all year. The world of Middle-Earth just comes alive on screen - it's like you're RIGHT THERE. I don't know about you, but I'm booking myself a vacation to New Zealand ASAP.

But where TTT really shines is, yes, the butt kicking. The battle scenes are simply breathtaking (and cringe-inducing at some points - dammit, that sword just came right at my face!), and the final showdown at Helm's Deep is just unbelievable. There's so much buildup, and such palpable tension, that when the battle finally occurs it feels like you're going to war right alongside Aragorn and the Elves. There are so many fighters on screen, so much attention to detail, so much pure EXCITEMENT that I simply couldn't take my eyes off the spectacle, not even for a second (or a much-needed bathroom break). Oh, and Gandalf is alive. But you probably already knew that.

There are certain things that work in The Two Towers, and there are things that don't. Unfortunately, the good doesn't outweigh the bad, so TTT manages to find a fairly neutral middle ground. Will The Two Towers disappoint LOTR fans? Probably not. Will it disappoint everyone else? It's hard to say. But one thing is for sure: TTT is an experience you won't forget. Just try to ignore the rampant Hobbit homoeroticism, and you'll have a blast.

My Grade: 7/10