Not quite as good as the first/Merry and Pippen's story was the best

Rating: 8/10 (5 January 2003)

There are a few flaws this movie suffers from, and let me clear them away first, then I'll say why Fellowship is better (and it is). For one, Merry and Pippen's story wasn't nearly as long as the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli story or the Froddo/Samwise/Gollumn story. This is a shame as Merry and Pippen's story was the best. Pippen transforms into a much more leader quality person. He's the only character in Two Towers that show signs of character development. His disision (!POSSIBLE SPOILERS IN THIS NEXT SENTENCE!) -to convince the tree-men to attack Isengard- (.END OF SPOILER.)was brilliant and probably my favorate part in the movie.
Second, the part where (!YET ANOTHER SPOILER!) -Aragorn falls off the cliff, then later arrives (late) at the fortress of Helm's Deep- (.END OF SPOILER.) was very forced and affected the next few scenes in the Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli story.
Taking those flaws into account, the movie still might've been better than the first in the trilogy, but there's more that makes it not as good as the first. This isn't a flaw though, it's just a different style, and one that I don't like as much (or just aren't used to). While the first movie was straightford with all the characters in the same spot, the second has three seperate stories. The one with the most screen time is my least favorate, the shortest story is my favorate. The switching between stories is well done, but let's hope at some point everyone will get together (or just the four hobbits, that's also fine) in the third movie, and I also hope the hobbits get as much screen time as the other three.
There go all my complaints. Otherwise, Two Towers is everything I wanted and more. The battle at Helm's Deep is an epic battle in every sense of the word (Legolas sliding down a staircase on a sheild is classic). The camerawork is spectacular and a milestone in movie history. Love the ending!