A Masterpiece! Better than the first!

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2002)

There have only been a few sequels that I have seen that have been better than the first: TERMINATOR 2, SUPERMAN 2, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and THE GODFATHER PART 2. Chalk up another film to that list. While FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING introduces us to the characters and begins their journey, THE TWO TOWERS is a 3 hour breathtaking ride of filmmaking enjoyment.
While Roger Ebert (who I lost all respect for after he gave that piece of garbage BLAIR WITCH PROJECT four stars) complained there is too much action in the movie, my response is so what? The Battle of Helms Deep was the greatest battle I've ever seen in my life onscreen.
This is the movie that George Lucas wanted to make. Like ATTACK OF THE CLONES, this movie splits up the main characters into separate adventures and the transition between the stories is done exceptionally well. The Battle of Helms Deep makes the Clone War battle in ATTACK OF THE CLONES look like a schoolyard brawl. The Battle of Helms Deep itself is worth the nine dollar admission.
The other thing I liked about THE TWO TOWERS is Liv Tyler's role is substantially reduced. I saw no reason for her to even be in the trilogy, especially since Arwen plays such a minor role in the book. She was just put there as eye candy for the horny teenage boys.
Overall, Peter Jackson has created a masterpiece of modern filmmaking. True, it doesn't follow Tolkein's story to the T, but THE TWO TOWERS is a film that should not be missed. Maybe George Lucas can see RETURN OF THE KING and base STAR WARS EPISODE III on that.
I give LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS four stars. (out of four)