A fantastic, flawless second act. And maybe slightly better...

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2002)

It isn't easy spending 5+ years of your life making a film version of the most beloved books of the 20th century. Peter Jackson and his team knew this and have shown such a wonderful respect for the material, and turned it into the film events of the century which has just started. Fellowship was an amazing feat, flawless and it warped us into Middle Earth. It was hard waiting for the next part, but it's here and it is amazing as well. I truly admire Peter Jackson for the decision on not connecting the first two films with "rolling text" or what has previously happened. You just continue the story and it is so powerful. It feels like you're home, like you never left. You have Frodo and Sam in one quest, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in another and then a bit of Merry and Pippin. Plus new characters and creatures and the film flows flawlessly. It's a flawless second act, where the only fault is that we have to wait another year for the conclusion. Yes, The Two Towers parts the most from the novels (PJ has himself stated) but it isn't that much. Films will never be as great or the same as the books, it is simply not possible, yet the impossible task is near perfection in PJ's version of the trilogy.
There is a lot more action in The Two Towers, understandably, yet it finds time to develop the depth behind the new characters, enhance the olders ones and make us feel for them all. I felt the ring's influence on Frodo so much, I felt Sam's pain as his best and trusted friend, I felt the change in Merry and Pippin, I felt the transition from the Grey to the White, Aragorn's fighting skills were superb, as were emotional difficulties with his troubled love to Arwen, Gimli as the comic sidekick works perfectly and Legolas is great as always. There are many scenes I could point out, but me and three friends went together and after the film we all sat in awe and questioned each other afterwards: How is this possible??? The battle at Helm's Deep must be and will be considered one of the greatest moments in film history. The tension built up until the moment the first arrow is shot... wow - an amazingly big WOW!! Howard Shore has developed his amazing score further and Emiliana's "Gollum song" is hauntingly good, Lesnie's cinematography is perfect, costumes, make-up and visual effects ... never better! And if you are in doubt, ask Gollum!! A powerful performance by a cgi-character!! (Andy Serkis was magnificent)...
I could count more persons (actors, crew-people) but I'm trying to finish without bursting to tears... yes, I almost cried because I was so heavily influenced. I was in awe! And I still am. This is what cinema is about, pure escapism and more than that... fulfilling it with such a fantastic, flawless second act. PJ: thank you for your brilliant piece. It may be slightly better than the Fellowship, which I didn't think was possible. It only makes me more anxious in seeing Return of the King. This trilogy will go down in history as the greatest trilogy of all time. From the bottom of my heart, I thank everyone involved and responsible for the film, especially the true visionary and greatest director: Peter Jackson.