Astonishing! A dazzling masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2002)

"The Two Towers" is every bit as good as "The Fellowship of the Ring". Why? Because it is pretty much the same movie. Stylistically, the movie hasn't changed from last year, and that's a good thing. It is just a continuation of the classic story, now with more characters and action, but the heart and purpose the same. People who didn't see last year's film are going to be hopelessly confused. Go rent it! The new characters in the film are truly great. Bernard Hill was wonderful as Theoden. Brad Dourif was simply a marvel to watch, and Miranda Otto was great too. Gollum is going down in cinema history as being the most realistic computer creation ever. The filmmakers could not have done a better job. I was stunned and shocked at how glorious he was. Andy Serkis is a genius. The Ents are also smashing. In the beginning they are the definition of cool, in the end they are the definition of killing machines. Quite something to behold, indeed! Like last year, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellan, and Viggo Mortensen are terrific, as well as the rest of the cast. Shore has a sure score again in this one. There are also many simple and beautiful visual touches that add a lot of cinematographic artistic dimension to the piece. Of course the movie does have flaws. Much is lost from the book, the result being that the movie feels extremely unresolved. There just seems to be too much Peter Jackson is going to have to squeeze in for "The Return of the King" next year. Also, there are many things that happen in the film that don't happen in the book at all. Some are really cool, and some are completely unnecessary. But still, overall, these are shaping up to be the movies of the century. These films are so good, they are positively going to stand the test of time. Keep up the good work, Peter! I'm breathless. 10/10