Peter Jackson may be the gutsiest director of all time...

Rating: 10/10 (3 January 2003)

I've been reading a book entitled "The Making of The Lord of the Rings" which details the processes involved in completing the three movies of such epic scale. Seriously, just one of these films would be the pinnacle for many directors, but Peter Jackson has done the "impossible" and created at least two movies that will go down in history as a couple of the most ambitious and titanic fantasy adaptions ever made. I only know a little of what to expect in December 2003, but if the previous two films are any indication it will be a grand spectacle.
I've seen the Two Towers in theaters three times so far, giving it the most in-theater replay value of any movie in my history. The reasons I keep coming back are several...epic battle scenes, whether they take place in ancient Rome, on the battlefields of Vietnam or France or in medievel England are something that have taken over movies of the last few years - The Two Towers creates the longest and greatest battle I've ever seen on film, an hour passes like minutes as we watch Helm's Deep almost fall then rise and conquer. Strong characters like Viggio Mortensen's Aragorn and the amazing CGI Gollum made me want to see their performances again and again.

There were a few Hollywood moments that I didn't remember seeing in FOTR and that I could've done without - Legolas riding the shield down the staircase at Helm's Deep and the comic "relief" of Gimili. These small moments taint an otherwise seemless movie, but not enough to lessen its 10 star rating in my eyes.
It was such an amazing undertaking, such a dedicated work and such a risky endevour - these movies could have failed miserably had Mr. Jackson not been 100% dedicated to perfection and details within these films. Reading the "Making Of..." book, I realized even more that we are watching history unfolding and massive standards being set for future films of this and all other genres.