Quite an improvement

Rating: 8/10 (8 February 2003)

Actually it was as I expected. I had heard that there would be more action in this movie, so I did believe, that if all was done well, I would enjoy it. If I look at both movies, I notice that there isn't much of a change in the actual movies, but in the action. The Fellowship of the Ring didn't achieve to amaze me. It was poorly made, without any real action, without any real feelings and without any real characters. All that was interesting was the ring, but the ring can't keep on its own the whole movie. Special effects...well, I consider they are quite enchanting, but not as enchanting as they should have been. I'll get back to these a little bit later.

SPOILERS
The Two Towers is the long awaited sequel to the widely praised Fellowship of the Ring. If you read my review to that movie, which is a little bit harsh, then you will know that I did not appreciate the first movie. What makes me like this movie is the action. nothing else. I personally consider it an action movie, with a little bit of adventure. The amazing battles make up for the quite pathetic sentimental scenes. The scenes that ruined the first movie. The actors are incapable to get real feelings into the movie, so I remained kind of cold to all the dead after which they "weeped".

The characters do not change...except Gandalf. I did not totally understand the change that took place in him, but I guess that is because I haven't read the books. Still, this is a minus point. What really makes me laugh...well, this is regarding to the best movies of the year poll. Not the fact that LoTR is at the top. That was what I expected. What I find hilarious is that Liv Tyler actually has a place in th category of supporting actresses. She barely appeared 15 minutes during the whole movie, but still she's there. This is just one of the things which prove to me how superficial such polls are. Not to mention how LoTR appears at sections such as "Best Documentary"...
There is this interesting creature Gollum. Gollum who is the result of what the ring can make of something living. Smeagol is what actually remains of the former self. Smeagol is weak though, and Gollum doesn't have much of a fight to take control. This is how I saw things. There were some who said that Gollum was for LoTR as Dobby was for Harry Potter. I will not deny there aren't any similarities, but I do not think they should be compared. Gollum has a much more important role in LoTR, while Dobby barely appears for some minutes in HP and the Chamber of Secrets. I believe this is a difference which matters. Beside that, the characters definitely aren't the same "inside".
I am quite curious which part of the creature will win: Gollum or Smeagol.
The story itself is about war...and despite what some might be trying to do, I do not think it is really about the losses that a war brings. King Theodon is the one who says he regrets the losses, but I can barely FEEL him saying it. The battles are quite impressive...The special effects now...well, regarding the battle scenes they are very well done. But then, I didn't feel quite at peace while seeing Pippin and Merry on that big tree. They seemed not to belong to that picture. Probably is the result of unsuccessful effects. That's what I believe... The scene which I liked most was when the dam was destroyed and the water destroyed all that came in its way(except the living trees). It was a beautiful scene...as was the scene of the attack of Gandalf and his reinforcements. Unfortunately that was predictable, and it was a kind of traditional opposition.(light-dark)
I guess this movie will get quite a few nominations for the Academy Awards. It is not on my list of possible winners though, despite the fact that I haven't seen movies like "The Pianist", "The Hours" or "About Schmidt" yet. I will say that it is a good movie. Because it is. It is interesting and it keeps you awake, unlike its predecessor. It will take me a lot of time to learn why people loved that movie so much...a lot of time.

As a mark...well, it is quite an improvement. I guess it would deserve an 8/10. Despite the not so impressive acting and the unsuccessful sentimentalist scenes...I'll be fair and I'll say it is worth seeing, if you want to see an action movie. Something that isn't too much of a weight for one's intellect. I say this, because I personally didn't find anything that made a deep impression on me, or that made me ponder on its meanings.