Inferior to FOTR and Tolkien

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2002)

***Possible spoilers throughout***
The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the greatest adventure/fantasy movies ever, The Two Towers is not. The liberties taken with the book in translating it to the big screen are numerous, pointless, and damaging. There is no tension, no character development (Gimli is simply there for comic relief; he even axes an orc in the crotch, that never gets old), and no single rousing performance (with the notable exception of the CGI-generated Gollum/Smeagol). The battle of Helms Deep is convoluted, unsuspenseful, and ridiculous, and Arwen seemed to be thrown into the movie to try and create a strong female lead (and something of a love triangle) where there wasn't one in the book. Other things (e.g. the oiliphants) were included almost as if Jackson were going down a list checking things off before moving on to the next disappointment. Where the book contained suspense, insightful dialogue, and yes, humor, Jackson has substituted some inferior jargon meant only to fluff the audience into thinking that this is somehow a masterpiece. Tsk, tsk, tsk.