Strong as ever

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2008)

For better or worse Peter Jackson and team continued to release the second installment of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. For some, this brings great joy, for others, this brings dread at the thought of being dragged to another three hour escapade of traveling midgets trying to destroy some jewelry by their nerdy, obsessed friends.
So there I am sitting down, eager to watch the next chapter in a movie trilogy based off of my favorite books. I enjoyed the first one so much that by the time this one came around I had no option but to, again, expect nothing but excellence. The bar was set, the standards were made, and they were already as high as they could be...and they did it again! Flawless execution in adaption, remarkable cinematography, convincing acting, exciting battles, great choreography and overall storytelling.
This chapter in the series is the most action oriented. I mean sure, the last movie may have had the largest battle scene ever seen on screen today but "The Two Towers" was the one to actually go deep into the battle and really bring about a great war epic. This one incorporated a lot of eye candy for the typical everyday movie viewer. Yes, slashing, hacking, bow work, and massacres of bloody orcs aplenty! But don't let that fool you, it's also filled with an excellent story and expansion of character development.
This time around the story focuses even more in on the world of men. It deals with men struggling to survive in a war that is quickly turning directly toward them. And while J.R.R. Tolkein's books dealt a lot with the half lings and their journey to destroy the One Ring, he also dealt a lot with man and their common struggles of power, love, and honor. He was after all a man himself...most of his writings in fact actually reflected his own life when it came to stories of men.
I could go on and on about this movie; how the music captures the heart of Middle Earth, how the sets for Rohan (the mountainous land of men) looked so convincingly real and inhabitable, etc. But I'll stop it short and just let you know that this movie is no let down, just like "Fellowship" was no let down either. It continues to give justice to Tolkein's work and it's pulled off with style, integrity, and excellent workmanship. "The Two Towers" will inform the public of the wonderful work Tolkein did 50 years ago, and entertain even more.