very good but not quite as good as FOTR

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2003)

I've just watched the Two Towers and I liked it very much but it didn't floor me like the Fellowship did.
There is a lot to like about TTT. It's truly epic, it's action packed, some of the battle scenes are simply breathtaking and the special effects are great (the CGI Gollum simply rocks).

TTT is probably the most difficult of all three books to film mostly because story splits into several separate lines. The resulting constant crosscutting is often annoying and momentum breaking. Also there are a number of new characters and there is simply not enough screen time to develop them. Same goes for many of the the plot lines some of which are VERY thin. (hopefully this will be partly rectified on the extended DVD). For example, I found the explanation of why Faramir lets Frodo go entirely unconvincing. BTW, there ARE some plot changes as compared to the book. Unlike other Tolkien fanatics ( I think I qualify as one having read the books several times a year for the past 10 years) I don't think they were excessive. Such changes are always necessary when converting a book into a movie. For all those screaming about too many changes, just compare TTT with something like the Three musketeers, the Count of Monte Cristo or any of the Disney adaptations and you'll realize that you really have nothing to complain about.
However, I found that a couple of the new plot twists simply didn't work. The would be death of Aragorn is a prime example. The ploy there is EXACTLY the same as in the fall of Gandalf and it doesn't advance the story so why do it?

Finally, some of the acting performances in FOTR (most notably Bilbo, Boromir and Galadriel) were so good that the new guys (such as Faramir and Theoden) simply pale in comparison. I wish they'd let Sean Bean play Faramir too - just make Faramir and Boromir twin brothers or use a bit of make up.
As far as acting is concerned Gollum steals the whole show (huge props to Andy Serkis who played him).

Anyway, despite its shortfalls TTT is a very good movie, more than worth the money to watch it.