Beware the Rave Reviews

Rating: 6/10 (16 January 2003)

A surprisingly bland and childish adaptation of Tolkien's legendary epic. I felt I was watching a Disney film. The talents of Lee and McKellen are wasted here. Jackson has already shown with "Fellowship" -- a superior film -- that he understands Tolkien and knows how to translate his works to the big screen. But with "The Two Towers" he takes literary license too far. Skateboarding elves and wisecracking dwarves, is that all it takes to defeat the Uruk-hai? What gives with Aragorn and the pseudo love triangle? These are distractions. Oh, and how about putting some emotional impact back into the story? I want to empathize with the main characters. Still, I'd forgive all its defects in a heartbeat if wasn't so boring. 6/10