Extraordinary!

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2003)

The Two Towers is actually a notch down from The Fellowship of the Ring, but make no mistake: it's still an extraordinary film. The first hour or so is just a teeny, tiny bit ponderous, but other than that the film is virtually perfect in every other way.
The battle sequences are breathtaking. The battle at Helm's Deep contains copious blood-spilling and incredible special effects, making the audience believe beyond all doubt that 10,000 orcs are beseiging 300 weary warriors. In actual fact, most of what is on screen in computer enhanced, but it looks and sounds so much like a real battle that it's impossible to spot the difference.
The performances are uniformly excellent. John Rhys-Davies, as Gimli the dwarf, seems a bit too broad and plays the part slightly too much for laughs. However, the rest of the cast rise to the wonderful script, etching out memorable performances. The Two Towers is easily the film event of its year, and it leaves me and millions more yearning for The Return of the King in 2003!