How to turn a masterpiece into schlock

Rating: 5/10 (2 January 2003)

Anyone who has read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and has an appreciation for the depth of characters and the richness of the dialog will be absolutely appalled by this screen play. I've seen movies where the writers/directors have taken "artistic license" with the original story, but I've never appreciated how deeply a story could be debased until I saw this film. The screen writer did to this movie what a 10 year old with finger paints does to a masterpiece painting.
Most of the new characters introduced in The Two Towers - Faramir, Theoden, and Treebeard - were dumbed down and converted to antagonists, whereas in the original story, each was a character of unique nobility and wisdom. I found myself shaking my head at the end of the Entmoot, groaning at Theoden's decision to ostracize Eomer and send the civilians to Helm's deep, blinking in disbelief when Faramir stuck his sword into the Ring around Frodo's neck.
It's not easy to capture the majesty and integrity of Tolkien's characters on film, but given that the story ranks as one of world's greatest, the writer and director should at least have treated it with some respect, and not defiled it the way the orcs defiled the king's head at the Cross Roads in Ithilien (which was not in the movie).
For those moviegoers who have not developed a deep appreciation of Tolkien's masterpiece, the Two Towers is an extravaganza of special effects and brilliant imagery, and a great action movie. But for those of us who revere the original trilogy, we'll probably have to wait another 20 years for a true-to-the-story remake.