Disappointing; what's with all the over-hype???

Rating: 6/10 (26 August 2003)

**SPOILERS INCLUDED**
I must admit that I was surprised to see how much fanfare and praise LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring got when it was first released. I'm not really a fan of fantasy films, I just enjoy good movies and, to my surprise, Fellowship was a pretty good one. In my eyes it was flawed no doubt; me not being versed in fantasy stories, much less Tolkien's books, there were some aspects of the story/characters that I didn't particularly like. But hey, that's my bias I guess. Nevertheless it was a very good film and I was actually anticipating its sequel, The Two Towers.
Like almost all sequels, The Two Towers is a victim of the sophomore jinx. I wasn't as moved with Two Towers as I was with Fellowship. The battle scene was good, and the landscapes as expected were spectacular. But the story truly lagged at some parts. The whole business with the tree people' was pretty boring; although in the end we finally see what their purpose to the big scheme of things is. What was also annoying was how hard it was to understand what most of the characters were saying.I found myself rewinding many times to try and make out what was being said. What was pretty surprising was how little we see of the hobbits, who are at the crux of the story.
The Two Towers attempts to move at the same pace that the Fellowship moved at, but ultimately fails to do so. So many new characters were introduced to the point where you just lose track and cease to care about what is going on. So much was crammed into this film without much background. Fellowship kept you interested throughout, even through much dialogue and so-called slow spots'. The story of The Two Towers, however, lacks the same punch that Fellowship had, and simply lags at some parts.
With all this said, this is the 2nd in a trilogy, so I can only hope that the final installment brings everything together to make the whole LOTR experience memorable.
One more thingI am surprised that these two films are rated so high here at IMDB (LOTR 1 at #6; LOTR 2 at #10)???? They are good films, but to be rated in the top 10 along with undeniable masterpieces like Godfather I/II, Shawshank Redemption & Casablanca I feel is a travesty!! To the biggest fan of these types of movies/stories, could they really put this aside The Godfather, Usual Suspects, Memento or Casablanca and HONESTLY say that it ranks equally with any of those films? NO WAY!! I see nothing in these films that make them as groundbreaking' as the ones listed. Aside from the CGI eye candy what really is there to hold on to, like the marvelous ACTING in the films listed above? Will LOTR really be remembered 20 years from now as timeless classics like those? For the hype and monetary aspects, maybe..but for the actual movies, I doubt it very much. I really feel the hoopla around the LOTR franchise is undeserved and exaggerated.
The Matrix remains the only trilogy that hasn't disappointed, and for all of its groundbreaking leaps it still doesn't get the respect and recognition it truly deserves.