The saving grace bears the name of Gollum

Rating: 3/10 (21 January 2003)

Both in relation to the book and as a movie in its own right, The Fellowship of the Ring was far better. If The Two Towers is a must-see nevertheless, it is thanks to the computer-generated character of Gollum. He comes out incredibly life-like, which is even more remarkable as that creature does not resemble anything on earth, at least not in appearance. This is the one point where the movie actually surpasses the book. I am willing to forgive the addition of a loincloth to Gollum's body (naked in the book) because I understand that otherwise there would have been trouble, especially in the USA.
If for the sake of action Moria was overdone in The Fellowship of the Ring (a scene reminding me of Indiana Jones), here the same happens to the Battle of the Hornburg. Among the changes to the plot the one that annoyed me most was Faramir's taking the hobbits as far as Osgiliath and to release them without obvious reason. Boromir was Faramirized in The Fellowship of the Ring, recognizing Aragorn as his King ("king" being his last word - oh, how I loathed that!), and now Faramir is Boromirized. (I am afraid in The Return of the King Denethor will be Sarumanized.) Aragorn's fall from the cliff, leaving him presumed dead for some time, was an unnecessary addition; could it be that in Part III his ride on the Paths of the Dead will be omitted instead?