'Towers' works on almost every level, except one plot thread

Rating: 7/10 (8 June 2015)

Welcome back to my reviews of the Middle-Earth saga. We've gone on An Unexpected Journey, visited The Desolation of Smaug, witnessed The Battle of the Five Armies, and met The Fellowship of the Ring. Today, we are going to go on our next stop of the Lord of the Rings saga. Fasten your seatbelts, it's time to get hit by a waterfall. Let's enter...
...The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The Two Towers follows several different plot threads: Sam and Frodo continue their quest to get to Mount Doom, as a creature named Gollum accompanies them; Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas all go in search of the Hobbits, and later head to Edoras in Rohan to assist in battle; Merry and Pippin are taken captive by Urku-hai and later meet a Ent that may help them in their quest.
This is probably my least favorite of the three films, let me just tell you that before we begin. Of course, that doesn't mean it's not a good film, it's a fantastic one. It's just I don't like some of the new characters we are introduced to and Merry and Pippin's story isn't that interesting to me. Anyway, let's get on with the review.
As usual, the best thing about the film is it's music. The music created by Howard Shore is always welcome, even in the film's most slow areas. The acting is really great too, by all members, but especially Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. Wood really portrays Frodo's desperation and slow descent into a form of madness due to him being influenced by the ring. Astin really works well with Wood, making Sam more than just a sidekick, but both a rock and friend that Frodo needs in his times of desperation.
The special effects are just as good as the previous films, if not better. Treebeard and Gollum are the obvious highlights, and they are created so convincingly that I couldn't really see any issues with them. I recently read that Treebeard was filmed on a green screen, and honestly, I couldn't tell, even when I watched some of the scenes in HD. Magnificent.
The cinematography and, well, shots of the film both are done beautifully. Every scene where groups are riding to battle and scenes where we see sweeping shots of landscapes look amazing, and you can tell that Jackson and anybody else working on that part of the film really wanted it to look good. The best example of this, in my opinion, is the first scene right before we get into what happened to Gandalf.
The plot works, for the most part. I found the scenes in Rohan to be the most interesting. Like Peter Jackson said, The Two Towers is mainly focused on Aragorn. It's his main story. So, obviously, that was going to be the most interesting and the most focused upon. I also liked Frodo, Sam and Gollum's story. Gollum's internal struggle is made that much harder halfway through the film, when Frodo has to do something that he didn't want to do. I have to wonder, if that hadn't have happened, would Gollum have been more accepting of not leading Frodo and Sam where they end up in Return of the King?
I don't know. I did think that the weakest story, and the one that I don't like to watch, is the story with Merry, Pippin, and Treebeard. I like the character of Treebeard, but it doesn't really work for me. It's just so boring, and it's usually cutting away from the more intriguing stories. Less focus on their tale would have worked for me.
In conclusion, overall, The Two Towers is a intriguing follow-up to The Fellowship of the Ring. While I had some issues with Merry and Pippin's storyline, the film itself is a action-packed ride and a great lead- up to the grand finale in The Return of the King.
10/10. Grade: A