The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is one of the best movies I have seen since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring!

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2002)

(Possible, minor spoilers ahead)
The Fellowship of the Ring (which was part 1 of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) exceeded every expectation I had. The acting was superb, especially performances by Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood, the music were fantastic, and the special effects were a visual feast. Therefore, I was expecting a lot from The Two Towers. I wanted The Two Towers to capture all the great qualities of the first movie, and if at all possible to exceed the standard of greatness set by the first movie. Did The Two Towers accomplish this task? Of course it did! The Two Towers is an amazing movie!
Now, for those of you who want to go see the Two Towers, but have not yet seen the Fellowship of the Ring, I strongly recommend you do so right away. The Two Towers spends little time re-introducing you to the characters and storyline of this series, and as such will likely confuse any newcomers. Now some people may dislike that fact, but I think it was the right decision, because the movie drops right into the action, which gives the story of The Two Towers more forward momentum than the Fellowship of the Ring.
As in the first movie, the acting in The Two Towers was great, but the stand out actor in this movie was Andy Serkis, who played (and supplied the voice) to the character of Gollum. Gollum is a creature with a duel personality, which is torn between helping the main character, Frodo, on his quest to destroy the One Ring, and taking the ring for himself. Serkis portrays this aspect of Gollum quite well, and I think his performance is worthy of Oscar consideration.
But, the best thing about The Two Towers would have to be the exceptionally well done battle of Helm's Deep. If you like battle scenes such as those seen in movies like Gladiator and Braveheart, prepare to be blown away. The sheer scale of the battle, which features an army of 10,000 orc warriors, is sure to delight and impress anyone who sees it.
Admittedly, the first half of the movie has a few slow spots, but they are quickly forgotten by the end of the movie. Fans of the Fellowship of the Ring will not be disappointed, and even those who did not like the first movie, may change their minds about the series after seeing The Two Towers. It is my favourite movie of the year, and it should be considered a contender for an Oscar. Kudos to director Peter Jackson for another fine movie.
I give The Two Towers 10/10!