Well done...

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2002)

Once again we are brought to the realm of middle earth as the fellowship is out to to complete its mission. Sequels are always a double edged sword, they either maintain our interest in the characters we were introduced to in the past, or they seem to re-hash the same thing with little interest. Luckily for us in Tolkiens world, there are still more interesting stories to tell, new people(creatures) to meet, and worlds to explore.
I have never been interested in reading the books, but I will have to admit after seeing the 2nd film that it has really sparked my interest. 2 Towers is a monumental achievement in film-making. Director Peter Jackson manages to create an amazing world out of this novel, and choreograph some amazing battle sequences. The comparisons to Kurosawa's 'Ran' are well justified, but Jackson's vision here is much different and the end result is spectacular.
Much like I had noticed in the first film, what seems to be the key to making this film a winner is how it describes the battle inside ourselves basicaly between light and darkness. I also found more things and issues that this movie brought up than the first such as the dilema between Sam and Frodo over Smeagle which hinted at the arguments for and against capital punishment, then there are things about pacifism, and envriomentalism to some extent, and of course the pure corruption of power. So I got even more out of it than the first.
Certainly one of the best films of the year
Rating 9 out of 10