Great Epic Film-making (Part 2--Even Better Than FOTR)

Rating: Null/10 (13 January 2007)

Jackson's second film installment of the JRR Tolkien trilogy is large in scope and vision. It is truly a great cinematic experience--rollicking good fun, scary monsters, human themes, and big battles. This film delivers the goods many times over. In my opinion, it is better than the first film.
This one does not center on the Ring. It centers on Aragorn's journey to Rohan--a horse kingdom--to warn its leaders of an onslaught of Uruks sent by Saruman to conquer them. What follows are some of the greatest and most exciting battle scenes ever put onto screen.
Peter Jackson directs this with the same type of style as was in the first movie--big, sweeping shots, lots of VFX, dark lighting, bombastic and rousing music. And it works just as well in this movie as it did in the last. The script is far better than the Fellowship's script. It is much more flushed out, much more interesting, and has a lot more action. I like it! The acting is on par with part one. Ian McKellan gives the best performance out of all the actors. His return as Gandalf (the White) is memorable. While not as likable a character in this movie, he still serves as a wise, all-knowing and powerful figure. I repeat, he is NOT the grandfatherly figure he portrayed in the first film, but a wise, lethal wizard that is strict and on the nose.
The rest of the cast is great as well. John Rhys-Davies serves as some much-needed comic relief. His performance as Gimli brings a lightness to the film (a film that basically coincides with The Empire Strikes Back). Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn brings a gritty and badass-type of quality to his character. He is more fleshed out in TTT than in FOTR. Orlando Bloom still plays the pretty boy elf that has a great CGI stunt double. I daresay the girls in the theater were drooling over him.
Overall, a worthy, if not better, installment on the trilogy. Epic film-making at its best.