More Compelling than the Fellowship

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2003)

After viewing the director's cut of the Fellowship of the Ring, I have a much deeper appreciation for this film and lament many of the scenes that were "lost" to meet time constraints.
Having said that, I want to express to any readers of this commentary that the recently released version of The Two Towers is a much more compelling film. It is poignant and more fleshed out on many important "human" levels than was its predecessor, even without the advantage of added character development lost in TFOTR.
While I thoroughly enjoyed TFOTR, at times it suffered from pacing problems brought on by necessary exposition, a lack of energy or glee in Elfkind that was so evident in Tolkien's masterpiece, and even some scenes added to purely show off special effects. The Two Towers has a pace and scope that doesn't allow for any of these worries.
Elves are leaving (not a lot of room for glee), Hobbits are lost (get used to it) and Humans are on the brink (sound familiar?). The action here is tighter and made more meaningful by a truly compelling plot. A king must rise to the occasion for his people, or all may be lost! The scenes we are given in the Rohan capital of Ederas are akin to good Shakespeare.
If I convey only one thing about what I think makes these films truly great, it has to be the impeccable casting. Peter Jackson has shown us that he has the soul of a Hobbit and the eye of an artist, but the decisions on casting are truly awe-inspiring.
Now off to see it for the fourth time....