The Two Towers
"The Two Towers" received critical acclaim; film site aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96 percent of critics were positive. CNN film critic Paul Clinton called "The Two Towers" an "utter triumph", and writer Philip French of "The Guardian" noted in a review of the second film that "these Tolkien films have a weight and seriousness that very few sword-and-sorcery pictures of the past 30-odd years have attained." Writing for "Entertainment Weekly", Owen Gleiberman remarked ""The Two Towers" conjures an illusion of the gravity that you want from an emotionally charged storybook epic. Really, though, what it comes down to is superbly staged battle scenes and moral alliances forged in earnest yet purged of the wit and dynamic, bristly ego that define true on-screen personality." The film was also listed on a number of critics' lists; Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics named "The Two Towers" 2002's third best film, while Central Ohio Film Critics named "The Two Towers" that year's fifth best film and Southeastern Film Critics ranked it the eighth.