Anthony's Film Review - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The Two Towers is another exciting entry in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy...

The second part of The Lord of the Rings continues where the first leaves off. There is no backstory to explain the events thus far, so one should watch The Fellowship of the Ring first before this one. Even so, the beginning of The Two Towers replays the scene with Gandalf fighting a creature before being pulled off a rock bridge. However, it continues to show him and the creature falling until they hit a pool of water. At that moment, Frodo wakes up, as if from a dream. When I saw this, I thought it was a creative transition from the first film to this one.

With the splitting of the Fellowship, the film alternates between three sets of characters. We see Frodo and Sam continue their journey towards Mordor. Merry and Pippin are seen with Treebeard. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are in the third group, mainly in the film's battle scenes. Since it's the middle of the story, the end of the film is not the end of the story, but seeing a battle being won as well as Frodo and Sam being closer to Mordor still concluded this entry nicely. The Two Towers is still a very good film, and as the second entry, all it really matters is that the events on screen are as stunning as those in the first film.

The Two Towers introduces Gollum, who had been corrupted by the power of the One Ring. The voice and body motions are portrayed very well by Andy Serkis. I really did wish he could be the first CGI character to win an Academy Award. Gollum is both a likable character and a tragic character. There are two sides to this personality that are in constant conflict with each other. He wants to help Frodo and Sam get to Mordor, but he also covets the Ring itself. There is a funny scene where he is talking to himself, and the shots alternate between his good side and his evil side.

The part that I consider worth the price of admission is the battle at Helm's Deep. The Orcs are marching out towards Helm's Deep, where an army prepares to defend it. At last, the Orcs arrive with Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the rest ready for battle. The Orcs march closer, rain pouring down from above. What follows is a spectacular battle with arrows flying, swords swinging, and ladders raised by the Orcs for them to climb over the wall. The whole sequence is intense, because the Orcs clearly outnumber the defenders of Helm's Deep. There are moments when Theoden appears to give up and wait to be killed in battle.

I like The Two Towers just as much as The Fellowship of the Ring for the same reasons: characters we care about, stunning visuals, and exciting action. This film obviously has much more action with the Helm's Deep battle, but I like the two films just as much. As with the first film, I did not step out of the theater for one moment to use the bathroom, because I went before sitting down and I was very engrossed in the film. I had come into the theater expecting an exciting three hours of my time, and I got it. I looked forward to The Return of the King after leaving the theater. I would not be disappointed a year later.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of the following:

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Hobbit Trilogy