The story - and the heightism - continues

Rating: 7/10 (20 December 2004)

In the Two Towers (TT) we are re-united with most of our heroes from the Fellowship of the Ring (FotR). Split apart by betrayal, and a company of orcs, Frodo and Sam have begun the last leg of their quest to Mordor. Ant and Dec (sorry, Merry and Pippin) are prisoners of the orcs, pursued by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli  a quest that brings the company, and the people of Rohan, closer to conflict.
Opinion is divided about the second film. The entertainment junkies seem to think it's better than the first, largely on account of the Battle of Helms Deep, which is rather impressive. I thought it was a bit weaker, mainly because, in a wilderness adventure, there's more emphasis on the characters than in the spectacle of set piece action; and because the CGI is less subtle as a result.
Once again, liberties are taken with the story. There's no riding of the Grey Company. There's a more obvious tension between Eowyn and Aragorn (Legolas has to remind Aragorn who he's dating), and (controversial among the Tolkienites) Faramir's character has been darkened somewhat. In fact, the directorial trait of adding more colour to the main characters while painting out the subtlety of the peripheral ones continues from FotR. Partly because we're introduced to more characters in TT, the overall effect leaves the film slightly two-dimensional. On balance I thought the treatment of Faramir to be less heinous than that of Denethor in Return of the King, but more on that later.
The mood, though, remains pure Tolkien and that, more than anything, is the triumph of the movie. From the Beowulf-like set for Meduseld (Tolkien famously nicked his description of the seat of Rohan from the UK's first epic) to the majestic sweep of New Zealand, the film more than once reminded me of my own mental images of Tolkien's world. And, once again, I found myself interested in the story.
So, to the flaws. I mentioned in an earlier review of FotR the astonishing heighism in Peter Jackson's adaptation. You can imagine Jackson scratching his head wondering what to do for laughs now that Ant and Dec have been nicked by Ugluk, Grishnakh and the lads. His solution is ingenious; find the next shortest member of the company. Gimli, therefore, shoulders the mantle of comedy relief. As a strapping man of 6'4'' I am allowed a certain disdainful disinterest to such a phenomenon; but it is worth noting. Also worth noticing is the astonishing transformation of Arwen from a feisty, most un-Tolkien lady in FotR to the submissive pre-Raphaelite stereotype of the books. I guess this is because Eowyn has turned up, but still. The Elves still speak like they're doped up, except the peculiarly immune elfin fancy boy, Legolas. On that note, was it really necessary for him to mount his horse that way? Or surf his way down a staircase at the battle of Helms Deep? Jim Horner should do an alternative Beach Boys theme for that scene.
Anyway, these are minor points in a film that is, if not a major, then at least a minor, triumph. As mentioned by others, the film is worth seeing for Gollum alone. And I can think of many more reasons to see it. You could also check out the extended version, which is even better. 7/10.