It's Not Just Art; It's Magic

Rating: 10/10 (18 January 2003)

***Note: Can be revealing*** Yes! The 'Rings' gang has returned; this time to pursuit not one gleeful mission but several. Peter Jackson's "The Two Towers" is a dashing masterpiece of visual dazzle. Jackson's remedy to increase the journey adrenaline was to top notch the senses of our eyes and gaze through the screen as if it were a radiant constellation. Thanks plenty to New Zealand's visual effects workshop, Weta, their extreme realistic imaginations strongly surpassed "Fellowship's" capability (for instance, the zoom-out phase of Saruman (Christopher Lee, respectfully) and the multitude of Orcs, or the illustrious struggle between Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and the Balrog and their descent down the vertical cave). The splendid creation of Treebeard and the Ents added to the spectacular visual puzzle, and their fight for survival was a landmark in this film. But it is Jackson's conception of the monster-like Gollum that will win it many film effects awards, because this shows the farthest a filmmaker has explored to clone the characteristics and movements of a human (a creepy one, however), and interact with real actors and sets. Yet, it wasn't just the groundbreaking eye magic that makes this film seem so worthy. Howard Shore's grand compilation of sorrowful, joyous, and romantic tunes eased our ears. Every time, Arwen (Liv Tyler) was ravishingly reminisced by Aragorn (action-packed Viggo Mortensen), her choirs of angels chirped like robins. And on another note, the fellowship of Aragorn, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) broke out into a pleasantly, achieving tune that would make up for all that musical banter, which took up half the books. Cinematographer Andrew Lesnie exceeded the sky's limit, as the picturesque views of the snow-capped peaks of the dusted, rusted hills provided insight to many minds into Middle-earth. Jackson's depiction of the Battle of Helm's Deep no-doubt was pictured as a fuss for society. This 40-minute clash with the Uruk-Hai included Legola's grand stunt, boarding down the steps on a shield catching gasps of surprise. But it was the union of Gandalf and the Rohan Riders, led by Eomer (Karl Urban) that captivated the audiences, as they drove their horses down a nearly vertical trail, colliding and passing through the Orcs. Yeah, Jackson did not meticulously scrutinize Tolkien's masterpiece to verify every movement done in the chapters, but it's Peter Jackson's story. It raved out eyes, our minds...our hearts.