A little from column A, a little from column B

Rating: 5/10 (8 January 2003)

As a movie, this is a brilliant piece of work. It's complex, well-crafted, and painstakingly put together. As an adaptation however, The Two Towers is awful. Perhaps it's just because I'm a Tolkien purist, but I found the missing plot points to be upsetting; not only do I feel that they were co-opted by what seems to be a better version of "The Exorcist-Power-of-Christ-Compels-You" scene(s), but there's probably a whole generation of people out there who're going to accept the movie as truth and not realize how much they're missing. The breaking of Saruman's staff, the loss of the palantir (for those of you who haven't read the books, that's the glowing stone Saruman is so frequently depicted with, holding it under his palm); the actual "arousal" of the Ents, which in the movie came across as sheer bad reverse-psychology (yes, of course, we'll trick the eons-old wise beings, aren't we clever?). And just out of curiousity, when did Faramir become such a putz? What about the death of Theoden? The battle with the Nazgul? Eowyn's sacrifice? And why in the WORLD would Elrond (who is half-Elven and half human) decide that he despises all humans? There's a curious inconsistency, within both the movie's "romance" idea, which is absolutely stupid. It doesn't happen in the book, and it shouldn't be in the movie--it's misleading and quite frankly, destroys the chemistry between two (unnamed) characters.
In all fairness, I have to admit that as a cinematic piece, I found that "The Two Towers" was quite spectacular. While I hesitate to gush and rave as many do, that this is "THE BEST FILM EVER!!!", it must be said that you could certainly do far worse with your money. The acting is excellent; Gollum/Smeagol is characterized in an absolutely fascinating manner, with a wonderful theatrical device; the battle with the Balrog is just phenomenal, and the vistas breathtaking. Again, it has to be said--the movie is terrific; the adaptation leaves much to be desired.