More fighting, more creatures, more CG, and Gollum. Awesome!

Rating: Null/10 (2 July 2003)

I thought Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was visually stunning and extremely entertaining. I mean... of course, it is. Even if you don't like the genre, you can't deny that it's an impressive piece of film making. Did I like it better than the The Fellowship of the Ring? Well I like them both, but for different reasons. The first movie seemed to have a little more character development. Mostly because we meet the characters for the first time and get to watch them start their quest. Part two is the middle. It's starts in the middle of the story and ends, still in the middle.
The first film also seemed to center more on the whimsical life of hobbits and elves. This one has two of the hobbits stuck in a "tree" for most of the movie. I would have liked to see more of Merry and Pippin, but Gimli the dwarf helped pick up the slack in the comic relief department. This story is a bit darker and focuses more on the humans. Aragorn, helping to lead the good fight alongside the people of Rohan.
The Two Towers certainly excels with the effects. More fighting, more creatures, more CG. Of course, ya gotta mention Gollum. He just rocks. Very creepy, yet somehow cute at the same time. Very realistic too. I know we all love Yoda, but his CG counterpart was designed to mimic a rubber puppet. Gollum breaks new ground, thanks to the performance of Andy Serkis. Apparently there was some controversy about whether or not he should be nominated for an Oscar. Sure it might seem strange to have a person win an acting award without actually being seen on screen... but he deserves it.
Anyway, the battle at Helm's Deep is cool... the Ents are cool... it's all cool. Whether you like it more or less than Fellowship, remember that it's basically one story, split into three parts. Can't wait for the last installment. Then I can't wait to watch all the extended edition versions on DVD, back to back to back.