The great second act of the play (review includes SPOILERS)

Rating: 10/10 (23 December 2002)

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Rating: 10/10
Well, yesterday (Sunday, December 22nd) was finally the day I had the chance to see the most anticipated motion picture of the year - The Two Towers. I loved the first part of the play and as I had my fears and doubts before marching into the theaters for The Fellowship of the Ring the first time, this time I didn't have any doubts. Only uncomfortable feeling was because I had read so many negative things from you on these message boards. There are few minor spoilers given below, so if you haven't seen the movie and want to know as little as possible about it, I recommend you stop reading right now.
-----SPOILERS AHEAD-----
The beginning of the movie is just amazing. One funny thing was I had listened the soundtrack all over again multiple times in the past few weeks and had all the songs in clear memory and now I was able to catch those melodies from the movie. Balrog is just one of the most incredible creatures I've ever seen and the fight between Gandalf and Balrog is just --- awesome..
The Plot: There have been huge complaining about the changes made for the movie and I agree that the changes are a venture, indeed. There were almost six chapters left out from the movie including those chapters considering Saruman and the fate of Isengard, but because of fact that the movie tried to tie up the timing, which is very different in the book, I know they had no other choice. Who knows what they are going to put on the extended edition or what they are going to leave for The Return of the King. Anyway, I was a bit frustrated at first because I couldn't get involved from the very beginning --- and the problem was that there was no such a thing. That is why all of it was a bit confusing for me at first, but then it just sucked me into Middle-Earth. Now I am just too eager to just see it few more times in theaters --- I saw the first one five times and I just might break my own personal record with this one...
The Acting/Characters: Well, what can I say. Acting was just superb as it has been in the first movie. New characters were introduced quickly, but they all seemed to have what we call talent and ambition to show us what they've got in a hurry. Especially the performances by Brad Dourif and Miranda Otto were brilliant. One of the characters, who's a part which was changed almost completely, was Faramir. He was presented in the movie as a patriotic hero, which didn't quite work out for me, because it only left with the desire to know and see more of him. I hope they are putting some extra footage of him in the extended edition.
All right, who haven't appeared in my review yet? I must say that Sméagol is one of the most astonishing creations in the history of cinema and the performance of Andy Serkis as a disturbed, schizophrenic mind is just real and emotionally very affective. I felt pity and empathy for it from the first frame I saw it onscreen. One of the things I hated with other people with me that almost the whole audience was laughing during its personal struggle, by myself I just have to say that Serkis' performance was indeed superb and actually delivered very scary moments sometimes.
Complains I've heard about the appearance of Gandalf can be put aside by me; it just as in the book: he returns, he disappears and then he returns for the last time. Sir Ian McKellen is a wonderful actor, especially the moment he revealed himself to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli is one of the most memorable moments in the movie.
Gimli was one of the funniest characters. Yes, sometimes it went over the top, but I actually enjoyed his lines and jokes because it brought to me something that is about all dwarves; it is like these problems aren't still completely theirs and that he is just 'passing by'. That wasn't the best way to put it but I can sense carelessness in his personality and the times such as Aragorn falling off a cliff and their fear of losing Meriadoc and Pippin brought Gimli's emotional side forward.
Treebeard. He was fabulous. One thing I just wanted to see onscreen was his home and more of the Fangorn Forest, let's hope they put up some footage for the extended edition.
Directing: I cannot say that there weren't moments I didn't like as much as I would've liked, but considering the movie as a second act of the play the movie was awesome and Peter Jackson did his job well, bringing Middle-Earth in front of us again with huge threat of war upon them. Solutions he had made for the story, I accepted them because I know (after listening 220 minutes of him watching the commentary track of the extended edition for The Fellowship of the Ring) he knows what he's doing and I know that he will astonish us again, first with the extended edition for The Two Towers and then with the final chapter of the play, The Return of the King.
Music: Howard Shore's score is yet again amazing work and the movie works out well with such a musical extent involved; it tells you how to feel and it moves you emotionally. I was surprised Shore was not nominated for Golden Globe Award for this one, because the movie has although turned to be much darker and the score much different than the first one, brining Shore's talents yet again in front of us. I am just thrilled to find out after one very long year (again) what he does with the finale.
The movie was extremely violent compared to its predecessor, but the movie really is a war movie --- and most important an adaption from the book of J. R. R. Tolkien. At first I had problems with this movie but after all, I loved it. I cannot say if this one is better than the first and there are three major reasons: 1) The visual deluge onscreen was just so huge I have to see it multiple times, as soon as possible, 2) The mood of the film was just so different from the first movie and 3) I still consider them as a one movie cut in three parts.
This is going to be the greatest movie trilogies ever made. Let's just stand for each other to survive through the year 2003 and let's just enjoy the last year we can be together waiting for what's to come.