One of the best of 2002

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2003)

CONTAINS SPOILERS
Rarely do I walk into a movie theatre with this much anticipation and expectations high as they were for THE TWO TOWERS. Only when viewing a STAR WARS movie am I this pumped, this high on what I am about to see. I expect an out-of-body experience and dammit, I better get it.

The fact that THE TWO TOWERS delivered the goods when my expectations were so high is the biggest compliment I can give this film. Like a STAR WARS film, there are so many incredible cinematic moments that make THE TWO TOWERS worth the price of admission; the vertigo inducing fall of Gandalf and the Balrog which opens the film, the creation of Gollum- both as a CG benchmark and as the best new character in the film, the shot of the trolls opening The Black Gate, the battle between the Riders of Rohan on horseback and Orcs on Wargs, the fearful deep bass sound of the Nazgul on wings, the exorcism of Theoden, the arrow attack on the giant Olipants, and of course, the colossal and desperate battle of Helm's Deep.
Again, as in STAR WARS, it is the characters that work so well to bring THE TWO TOWERS to life. Just like I did when I saw ATTACK OF THE CLONES, I spent the first half hour of THE TWO TOWERS with a silly grin on my face... Simply because I was in the company of these great characters again. The music too, is also a character. When Howard Shore's themes first rolled through the movie theatre, I felt like I was visiting an old friend.
In THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, it was Frodo and Gandalf that carried the film. In THE TWO TOWERS, Legolas, Gimli and Aragon find themselves carrying the weight of the story, with the quest of the Ringbearer playing second fiddle to the Battle for Rohan. Gandalf, sadly, plays a small yet pivotal role, while the supporting characters are given a chance step to the forefront. Gimli especially, who suffered from trimmed screen time in the theatrical installment of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, is brought to life here with fire and brimstone by John Rhys-Davies - not to mention some much needed, and quite effortless, comic relief for this grim chapter of the story.
But who knew about Orlando Bloom? Nothing in the first part of the trilogy prepared me for the charisma and confidence he brings to Legolas in THE TWO TOWERS. Bloom displays remarkable power and grace in every aspect of his performance, from his quiet moments of pain and confusion when he believes Merry and Pippen to be slaughtered, to the fear and anger he expresses to Agagorn when he knows they are facing certain doom at Helm's Deep. Plus Legolas is so damn cool. When he deftly swings himself up onto a horse in slow motion, I almost screamed with delight.
But by far the best character in THE TWO TOWERS is Gollum. Not only is he a masterpiece of CG, but he is wonderfully, performed, written and directed. The scenes of his split personality having heated arguments with himself are the most mesmerizing in the film. Especially subtle is the confrontation with Faramir when he huddles in a stony alcove with his back to us, his hands gently stroking his own shoulder when Smeagol speaks, then shaking with fists of rage when Gollum possesses him. Brilliant.

Technically, Gollum's CG interaction with Frodo and Sam are seamless. They fight, grapple, touch each other, grab at each other's clothing - all with utter believability. The scenes at the foot of The Black Gate are especially impressive as Gollum desperately pulls at Frodo's cloak. The CG Gollum, the CG cloak, and the real cloak worn by Elijah Wood are all completely believable in the frame. The illusion is perfect.
I have but one quibble with Gollum: he looks terrible in his very first shot! The first time we see his face when he is crawling down the rock face with the moon behind him is so CG! It's the only shot of Gollum that looks bad and it's the very first one!
In terms of story, THE TWO TOWERS suffers the same unfortunately fate as the first film - there is simply too much crammed into the three hours. The film needs to breathe and settle down. Characters need to be fleshed out and given a moment or two more to develop. THE TWO TOWERS suffers the opposite fate of ATTACK OF THE CLONES: It needs to be longer!
While the Rohan plot-line works superbly and drives the bulk of the momentum, the supporting subplots sputter and falter as the film enters it's second half. Merry and Pippen start off with all the fixings of their own fantastic little adventure, but then end up literally stuck in a tree for over an hour of screen time. Luckily, they march off to war in spectacular fashion with the Ents to save the plot line, but for the most part they disappear from the second half of the movie.
Worse is the plight of the Ringbearer in his quest to find entry into Mordor. With Gollum and Sam playing well off their mutual dislike of each other, and Frodo fearfully watching the sky for the Wraiths circling overhead, all the cards are in place for this subplot to really be spectacular.
It isn't.
A bored-looking David Wenham shows up as Boromir's brother, Faramir, and the whole quest grinds to a halt. These scenes obviously play great importance to the fate of Gondor which will be explored in the final chapter, but here they are thrown at us quickly and with little foreshadowing. We are pulled away from the borders of Mordor to deal with a character we know little about, and who's plight isn't particularly interesting, especially compared to the epic drama that Rohan is facing. Worse, we don't know what Frodo, Sam, or even Aragorn think about the situation in Gondor. All we get is some brief voice over from Cate Blancett. It's far too expository to engage us and the drama falls flat because of it.
The main reason this happens is because there isn't any time for Peter Jackson an company to tell this part of the story. Jackson, as he was with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, is fighting the clock to try and get Tolkien's four-hundred-plus pages crammed into a three hour theatrical release. Frodo's quest suffers because of it. Faramir needs to be set up with the same drama and intrigue as King Theoden is set up, but that would mean lengthening the film by at least twenty minutes - something that Jackson doesn't have the luxury of doing. We can only hope that when the DVD comes out that Jackson is able to work the same magic as he did with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - THE SPECIAL EDITION.