WOW, WHAT PRETTY SCENERY!

Rating: 10/10 (7 January 2003)

I have read several comments on this movie and am very surprised at how many reviewers expected it to be exactly like the book The Two Towers. I have read the books several times myself, and seen dozens of movies based on books I've read, but I never expected this film (or any other) to copy the book to a double T.
This film is ABSOLUTELY one of the BEST I've seen this year, and fits my bill as THE BEST MOVIE of 2002!! It is ALSO an excellent adaptation of the second book, with a few changes made and extras added in, and I didn't mind that Shelob (who features at the end of the book TTT) won't make her appearance until the third movie.
I was a little worried that this film wouldn't meet my (rather high!) expectations (re Star Wars I, II) and the battle scenes would turn out like they did in Star Wars II - but I was pleasantly surprised! You see real warriors (and C.G.I ones of course) in real armor during the huge battle at Helm's Deep. I liked the battle with the Waarg riders, and Gandalf's fight with the Balrog was pretty cool.
Gollum is simply amazing. You forget he's C.G.I and marvel at how hideous and slimy he is. His animation is just about perfect, even better than that boring Final Fantasy flick. His movements were animated over a live actor (who also does his voice) which really added to his realism.
I found TTT to be even better than FotR! Unlike the first movie, which concentrated mostly on character development, TTT now concentrates on moving the story along with the battles, rise of Sauron etc.
MR LUCAS TAKE NOTE!! Watch this film a few times BEFORE you make Star Wars III (after all, we *do* have to wait 3 or 4 years for the third installment, which is *plenty* of time to come up with a *good* movie)

I highly recommend this film to everyone who loves movies!

Congratulations Mr Jackson and crew! 10/10