Even better then the first (if that's possible)

Rating: 10/10 (24 February 2010)

After the success of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring exceptions were sky-high. Peter Jackson undertook an epic production, shooting all three Lord of the Rings back-to-back and making the most epic trilogy ever. Here Jackson makes an ever more epic film, and make it even better then the first.
After the events of the first film, The Fellowship of the Rings has broken, Boromir (Sean Bean) has been killed by Orcs, Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) has been killed by a Balrog, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) have taken the Ring eastwards, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) had been captured by Saruman's (Christopher Lee) Orcs, and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are on the chase. Things look bad for the free people of Middle-Earth, Saruman and Sauron have formed a powerful alliance, and the King of Rohan, Theoden (Bernard Hill) has fallen under Saruman's spell. The three groups take their own paths in the quest. Frodo and Sam capture Gollum (Andy Serkis), the other creature who craves the ring. He is only creature that could lead Frodo into Mordor, but Sam has an obvious distrust for him. Merry and Pippen end up escaping from the Orcs and hide in the forest of Fangorn. They end up meeting Treebeard (voiced by John Rhys-Davies), an Ent, a peaceful treelike creature. It is up to the hobbits to help inspire the powerful Ents into conflict against Saruman. Aragon and co. end up finding out that Gandalf has been resurrected as an even more powerful wizard. Gandalf leads this part of the Fellowship to save Theoden and to go to war with Saruman's forces.
The Lord of the Rings books are one of the best fantasy books around, with a complex story and a long history. It would have been difficult for another to convert them into films, and many people were attached, from the Beatles in the sixties, to even the great Stanley Kubrick. But Peter Jackson manages it by making 3 long epic films (even better with the extended cuts), with top of the range special effects. He ensures that the films is as loyal as possible, whilst ensure that a wider film audience would enjoy them. The Two Towers follows the premise of book, and there are only a few scenes that are changed. Jackson follows many of the key themes, like Treebeard's resistance to fight, with Treebeard represent nature against the tide of industrialisation of Saruman. They is also Gollum's longing for the ring and how it takes it's toll on Frodo. There is also Gollum's schizophrenia, a brilliant element in both the film and the book. Jackson's direction is excellent, creating a serious tone for the most part, about the darkness that the ring brings, the tough conditions of war and travelling a medieval style world, and the excitement and dangers of adventure. This is a world where people die, a dangerous, dirty world. But Jackson does know when to lighten the mood, with some moments of comment, mainly from Gimli, and have brilliant actions scenes. The Battle of Helms Deep is one of the best battles put to screen. Jackson shows he is one of the best director's around, mixing, action, drama, comedy, and excellent special effects. The costumes are brilliant, and the design of Gollum is fantastic. Despite all this, the film does deviate from the book unnecessarily, like an action sequence when the men of Rohan fight Wang (wolf) riding Orcs, and Aragon disappears because of it. But the main problem is with the characterisation of Faramir (David Wenham). In the book Faramir is depicted as a kind lord, a good leader and a fine warrior: he knows of the corrupting influence of the ring, so doesn't want to know anything about it. In the film he is depicted a much darker light, showing him to be a harsh person, willing to use brutal methods, and tries to claim the ring for himself. This was not needed, and the only real dark spot for the film.
The cast is terrific. Viggo Mortensen is of course a great actor, who plays Aragorn was brilliant, so was Andy Serkis as Gollum. There are obviously talented actors like Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Christopher Lee, Sir Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Liv Tyler, who all do well in their roles. Sean Astin grows, turning Sam turns from a slightly stupid character to someone who becomes more worldly wise. The film also helped kicked-start the careers of Karl Urban and David Wenham.
A brilliant film, the extended cut is a must see.