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The Two Towers: My Review (Spoilers)

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The Two Towers: My Review (Spoilers)

Old 12-18-02, 09:38 PM
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The Two Towers: My Review (Spoilers)

Since every Joe-Blow and Jane-Schmoe reviewer is putting their thoughts about TTT. I might as well too. I've read a lot of reviews and most of them seem to have a problem with Tolkien's story in general than the movie itself.

I saw it today at 11 a.m. at the local multi-plex (decent sized screen/Dolby Digital) I will forego reiterating the story of TTT and just give you my thoughts.

TTT is certainly darker in tone to FOTR. The forces of darkness is closing in, the fellowship has split, and much of the movie focuses on the world of men. Where FOTR had varied sceneries (magical places like the Shire, Elfen cities, dwarf mines) TTT action takes place mostly on the harsh plains of Rohan, rocky geography of Mordor, the foreboding forest of Fangorn, and the refuge of Helm's Deep. The LOTR is about the passing of the age of magic and elfs to the "real" and unmagical world of men. And so, many people who were charmed by FOTR will be disappointed by the change in tone and harshness of the settings.

Genocide is not as happy a story as the adventures of a band of merry adventurers but thus is the story of LOTR. They are all here but most are still stinging from the loss of Gandalf and Boromir while Frodo and Sam feel more and more helpless as they get closer to Mordor. Gollum (or Smeagal) is absolutely amazing as a child-like monster character. Incredibly expressive acting with his face and even his whole body and there are moments Gollum looks as real as Sam or Frodo. He does steal the show. In TTT Frodo, Sam, Gollum, and the "Precious" do more traveling along the borders of Mordor looking for a way in. But the interaction between them is the other journey they endure; esp. Frodo between Gollum and the "Precious". I have no idea what other critics are saying. This is still very much Frodo's journey. As for Faramir, I like the fact he is tempted, it makes more sense for the story. Only Aragorn, Samwise, and Tom Bombadil can resist the the ring. Even Gandalf is not immune. Don't worry folks, I have a feeling Faramir will show his true nature in ROTK, if he hasn't already. He is still a man of honor, as was Boromir, with very human natures.

A talking tree is extremely difficult to pull off. While the scenes with him do look the most CGI I was still in awe of this huge talking "tree". I do wish Treebeard explained the way of the Ents so the audience appreciated them better because the audience did seem "hasty" about getting to the other stories. The Wargs were not a slam dunk (CGI-wise) either but the battle between them and the Rohirrim was spectcular. Legolas standing alone firing his bow on top of the hill was a great sight. There is this quiet warrior calm about the way he goes about it. The Nazgul on top of Fell Beasts got great responses from the audience. Even more scary than in FOTR. I also loved the way the besieged people of Rohan were portrayed. I really felt their desperation and their courage in front of death. King Theoden, Eomer, and even Eowyn were exactly as I thought of them from the book. I personally, like the love triangle story between Aragorn, Arwen, and Eowyn. In LOTR love stories are not prominent but for PJ it is and I like the depths it gives the characters. It is also highly appropriate for mythic stories in the vain of The Odyssey.

The Battle of Helm's Deep is indeed spectacular and the Uruk-Hai are even more scary than in FOTR. Massive technology by WETA will certainly be making its way into other movies. Much time is spent on the people of Rohan preparing and ringing their hands at their impending doom. Lesser directors would have spent less time on this but PJ takes time to show the heartbreak of men, women, and children. I won't go into what the battle looks like. It should be experienced on your own. I did miss the Huorns (Ent-like creatures but more treeish) that help the people of Rohan but the calvary charge of thousands of Rohirrim is awe inspiring. But the previous final counter-attack by King Theoden's calvary out of the Burg is much smaller than it should have been. PJ also adds moments of real pathos during the battle. Something thats not convincing in lesser films but not here. The Ents storming of Isengard is equally great. Nature taking its revenge on uncontrolled industry is a great sight and I wish there was more.

And that's the feeling I got. I wanted more. Perhaps the love triangle could have been excised so some of "Flotsam and Jetsam, The Voice of Saruman, The Palantir, Shelob's Lair, and Choices of Master Samwise" could have been included. They are some of the most incredible chapters from TTT so in a way I'm disappointed.

I want more but watching these movies in a theatre is a bit exausting (Or maybe I'm not used to watching a movie in the morning). For casual fans LOTR is more complex than they want it to be but like The Godfather series it rewards you with repeat viewings and delving into the beautiful details. Watching it on the big screen is the way to see it the first (few times ) but watching the Extended Editions of these movies at the comfort of your own home (with bathroom breaks and snacks) in DD/DTS is ideal.

My Rating: I Loved It


God its gonna be ONE LONG YEAR

Last edited by Ian11; 12-18-02 at 09:56 PM.
Old 12-18-02, 09:59 PM
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I gave it 10/10... the fragmented begin was an awesome touch for hopelessness...this is my 2 cents...
Old 12-18-02, 11:53 PM
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saw it tonight at a full house. better than the first. there's only so much that can be put in a 2 1/2 hour movie from the book. jackson gets no faults from me. I sure missed sean bean though, he is a very good under-praised actor.
Old 12-18-02, 11:55 PM
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Just came back from watching this....I must say that I loved it!!! Comparing it to FOTR I like it as much or even more!!! A second viewing is a must
Old 12-19-02, 02:09 AM
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Hard to say how I would rate it. As an action-adventure movie i'd give it a 9/10. As a true representation of Tolkien's story I'd have to give it a 5/10. I also feel FotR was better movie. (but this is how I feel after one viewing of TTT, as compared to 9 viewings of FotR; things might shift a bit)
Old 12-19-02, 10:33 AM
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I loved it as well.

Not sure how I'd compare it to FOTR, or if I'll even bother as it's really all one movie, just as LOTR is all one book.

It's definitely much darker in tone, much more so than I was expecting. And it excells in battles and action, where as the first excelled in great dialog and character development. Not to say there's not good dialog or character development in TTT or no great battles in FOTR, just that the focus has flip-flopped.

Gollum was great. I was worried that a little green CGI thing with a split personality would come across cheesy, but it didn't at all. Jackson did a great job of showing the internal struggle between Smeagol and Gollum.

I was also impressed by the ents. I figured their was no way walking, talking, fighting trees wouldn't be cheesy. But again Jackson pulled it off brilliantly. They looked cool and were bad ass in fighting.

As for the comment about Shelob's lair, Jackson simply decided to put that in ROTK to put more action in that movie.

All in all I'd have to say TTT furthers the story greatly and fits in perfectly with FOTR. I can't wait for the hopefully forth coming Extended DVD release, and really can't wait for ROTK.

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