The Lord of the Fantasy Movies, part 2

Rating: 10/10 (12 September 2008)

Well, another day, another part of the LotR saga.
Those who saw The Two Towers' trailer over and over again, as it was shown a million times everywhere, already learned that the Gollum creature, who appeared very briefly in "Fellowship", would be an important character in this next installment and also knew the big spoiler that Gandalf was returning from the dead. Thanks a lot, trailers, you ruined what would have been a pleasant surprise.
So, now, the remnants of the Fellowship part ways, Frodo and Sam in their quest to Mordor and, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli on the search of the missing hobbits.
The emotional center of this story is no longer the ring or the Fellowship, but two different introductions. On one hand, Gollum, the first CGI character to have big psychological issues, marvelous portrayal by Andy Serkis, and also Rohan, the country that becomes the first victim of Saruman's improved Uruk-Hai and their invasion.
For the Rohan side, it's a beautiful portrayal of the vast land and it's inhabitants, mainly King Theoden, and his nephews, Eowyn and Eomer. With this setting, the story turns into more of a war epic than an adventure quest, like in the first movie. The big battle scene is longer than the one in the prologue and it's much more detailed. You get to see Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in full action, even though this is technically not their battle.
However, even though Frodo's story is the most important one, with all the build up and excitement for the battle at Helm's Deep, whenever you see Frodo, Sam and Gollum on their journey, you want to see what happens on the other side, and you don't really care for them.
There's a scene in which Galadriel tells a summary of what has happened, and that makes it sort of an intermission, not only for the movie, but for the whole saga. It drags too, but it's good information for those who just walked in.
The scenes with Merry, Pippin and the Ents were also killing the thrill for the battle going on, but later on, you see them in full action.
The scenes with the Uruk-Hai in the forest at night had me cracking up. "We ain't got nothing but maggoty for three stinking days!".
Still, the sequence with the forbidden pool was my least favorite. It didn't say anything and slowed down the plot, at least to me. Not only that, it made the previous scene with Frodo confronting Gollum rather useless. Why show him remembering Smeagol if he eventually goes back to Gollum. Still, it add a little more in the tragedy concerning the once hobbit. In the end, you are left with a small cliffhanger, Gollum wishing to take the ring from Frodo after "she" kills them.
The score here presents themes for both narrative cores: Rohan, a beautiful Norse country melody, and Gollum, a sneaky theme for his plotting and a more gentle theme for his Smeagol persona, and also a Björk sounding song (performed by Emiliana Torrini) for the end credits, that inspires awe when you listen. Still, the famed "Shire" and "Fellowship" themes are back with different arrangements, making them always a good listen, and, one of my favorites, Sam's theme, comes back as a reprise in the CD. Also, you can hear the Uruk-Hai pounding theme (which I first mistook as the orc's theme) a little longer.
As for the cinematography, special effects, visual effects, set design and costumes, are all flawless. What else can I say? It's funny. When "Towers" ends, nothing left unresolved in "Fellowship" was resolved here. Again, the ring hasn't been destroyed and Merry and Pippin haven't met Aragorn and the rest (although they did meet Gandalf). But, the Rohan situation is resolved, and Saruman with his Uruk-Hai is defeated. Not only that, Gandalf returns and Rohan is saved. That's very relieving, and doesn't make you feel frustrated. That's why it's far more enjoyable from beginning to end. This is a noble successor to "The Fellowship of the Ring", and my second favorite.