An exciting middle chapter

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2018)

This review contains spoilers.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the sequel to the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The movie picks up where The Fellowship of the Ring had left off. Frodo and Samwise have split off from the fellowship after Boromir's attempt to retrieve the one ring. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli travel to the land of the Rohirrim to save Merry and Pippin.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has the dubious honor of being the middle chapter of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Two Towers handles this well with having satisfying stories and building the trilogy towards the last and final movie. There are many plot threads in this move that matter.
The Two Towers focuses on the three groups that comprise the Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continue to bear the ring towards Mount Doom. Merry and Pippin are captured by the Uruk-hai to be brought before Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli seek to rescue the pair of hobbits captured by Isengard.
The story with Frodo Baggins and Samwise have the pair traversing the to Mount Doom through both areas controlled by men and monsters. The pair of hobbits encounter Gollum and enlist his aid in guiding them to Mount Doom. This trip takes the trio into beautiful locations and also serves an important purpose in Frodo learning more about the realms of men and Gollum. I enjoyed this plot a lot and seeing both Frodo and Sam persevere is motivating to watch. The encounter with Faramir is also well done.
The story with Merry and Pippin is not the strongest in this movie. Merry and Pippin contribute a fun side plot but do not really undergo an arc like Frodo and Samwise. The pair are simply freed and convince the ents to help defeat Isengard. This arc is visually exciting to watch but is not that exciting narratively.
The story line with Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas do not undergo and character changes. This story-line is the most visually impressive. The trio find a resurrected Gandalf and also help the Kingdom of Rohan. The trio meet King Theoden and worm tongue. These characters are fun to watch. The story-line focuses on the conflict between Rohan and Isengard. This story climaxes at Helm's Deep where an epic battle occurs.
The battle at Helm's Deep is incredibly cool. This battle is a mini-movie with the way it progresses and develops. The attack by the Uruk-hai is both awe-inspiring and suspenseful to watch. This battle is so fun to watch that it is worth the price of admission alone. I highly recommend watching the extended cut of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The extended cut adds more interesting details to the movie.
I highly recommend watching The Lords of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Grade: A