Superb second chapter to the Lord of the Rings trilogy

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2002)

This absolutely breath-taking piece of work is a worthy follow-up to the critically lauded and award-winning "The Fellowship of the Ring."

It certainly has its faults (especially in terms of changes made to the book), but anyone who has seen this film at least once cannot deny that this film is visually stunning, superbly crafted and utterly majestic. It deserves to be considered one of the top 5 films of the year (personally, it is one of my favorite films of all time and certainly is tops for me this year).
Director Peter Jackson has already acknowledged that, of the 3 films, this film departs most from the book. The treatment of the character Faramir certainly bothered me (what I like to call "the rape of Faramir") and I still could not (even after repeated viewings) come to grips with the scene involving Frodo and the Nazgul in Osgiliath. However, these small "gripes" are minute compared to the film's many "hits."
For one, Gollum is fantastic! Andy Serkis deserves to be recognized for his amazing work on this character. He infuses Gollum with the perfect amount of creepiness and sensitivity. I actually felt sorry for Gollum (which I never felt in the book). Must I also say that the Helms Deep was stunning! And that the Ents storming Isengard was my favorite scene of all! I was also extremely pleased to see that characters who were "slighted" in FOTR (Sam, Gimli and Aragorn, for one) finally come to the forefront in this film. Whereas Frodo dominated the first film, we actually spend a bit more time with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli this time around. The entire cast is superb - from the creepy Grima to the cynical King Theoden.
Needless to say, I CANNOT (cannot!) wait until "The Return of the King." It is my favorite book of the trilogy and Peter Jackson and producer Barrie Osborne have declared it their favorite film of the trilogy...it is going to be AMAZING! If the battle of Helms Deep is any indication, then the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is going to blow us away!!!