Epic proportions

Rating: 7/10 (23 August 2009)

(I watched the extended cut) The middle part of the Lord of the Rings -trilogy, The Two Towers (2002) managed to balance nicely between the intimate character driven moments of the first film and the massive (and long) battle sequences and "epic" atmosphere of the third film. The film also added a well crafted CGI-character to that mix, along with a wonderfully bleak story and a great soundtrack. The result was that Two Towers is somewhat the highlight of the trilogy; not bouncing so much around from scene to scene as the first or the third film and rid of the boring story moments of the The Return of the King (2003).
The fellowship has broken and the film follows the three somewhat separate story lines of the remaining characters of the Fellowship of the Ring (2001), while adding new ones from left and right. Elijah Wood (Frodo) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) are again the strong points of the cast, Bernard Hill (Theoden) also a positive surprise. Andy Serkis does great work along with the effects team at bringing "real" life and emotion to the CGI -character of Gollum.
The action scenes are fun to sit through, the drama keeps you interested and the definite battle scene is well build-up from the first words of warning to the last swings of swords and whatnots – the film's good fantasy entertainment. Like the other films of the trilogy, it lacks the deeper and more"humane" approach of the books the films are based on, concentrating more on the "heavy on drama and action" -scenes but I understand the thought process behind that decision. I'm not so much of a fan of the books, myself so that's not a "big question" for me.
Peter Jackson (the director) managed to keep the multiple and branching story lines well in place, the film also looks great and contains a great otherworldly atmosphere throughout. It has some issues (I didn't find all the story lines interesting enough, the CGI in places is pretty awful in comparison to the best the film can offer, runs for a tad too long) but is a great movie experience to sit through. 3/4