Wow, absolutely fantastic

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2002)

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to see a premiere showing of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers". Needless to say I was pretty excited because for as long as I can remember I've been a great admirer of Tolkien and huge fan of the first Lord of the Rings film. I wasn't disappointed with 'The Two Towers'. Peter Jackson draws you into the film with the opening score, and leaves you breathless until the very end. The story line picks up where Jackson left off - a continuation of the first rather than another movie altogether. (I'm going to reveal the starting plot so please don't read ahead if you don't want to know.)
Merry and Pippin have managed to escape from the Orks that have held them capture, only to run into even more interesting creatures in the woods: Ents, trees that can move and speak.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are trying to rescue Merry and Pippin when they run into someone they didn't expect, Gandalf - back and now a white wizard, the highest a wizard can go. After being assured of the two young hobbits' safety, they travel to the kingdom of Rohan where Saruman holds the King in an evil spell. After freeing the king they must prepare for Saruman's army, which sole purpose is to destroy the world of men. The Battle of Helm's Deep (which can be quite disturbing at points, not for the very young or those who can't handle that kind of thing) decides the winner. (Peter Jackson spent over a month filming this scene and all that time was not wasted - it was a fantastic scene, well thought out and captivating.)
Frodo and Sam are trying to reach Mordor but find themselves lost. After an encounter with the creature Gollum, who at one point possessed the ring and maddingly wants it back, Frodo (who is beginning to feel the true weight of the ring) decides to let Gollum guide them. Gollum wasn't much different from a hobbit before he possessed the ring, and was called Smeagol. In the movie 'The Two Towers' you are able to see the struggle that takes place within Gollum. Smeagol represents the good left inside of him, and Gollum the bad. These scenes were some of my favourites - they were wonderfully shot and really took the film to another level.
And of course we can't forget the lovely elvish and thus immortal Arwen, who is faced with the choice of staying with her beloved Aragorn or leaving forever with her people; there's the nephew of King Theoden, the strong and noble Eomer who will do anything for Rohan, and his equally strong and lovely sister Eowyn who develops feelings for Aragorn; and lastly Faramir, the brother of the late Boromir, now Captain to Gondor.

This movie didn't feel like a movie. I honestly felt as though I had been pulled into the screen in the theatre. It was fantasticly shot, preformed, and directed. 'The Two Towers' is the classic tale of good against evil. It is perfectly carried through. There was not a moment I didn't savour - I didn't want this film to end and will be seeing it again in theatres the next chance I get. If anything, I think I enjoyed this film more than the first. And although I understand this movie isn't for everyone, I still highly recommend it to all. I give it a 9 out of 10.