Rating: 
Summary: Good, but where's the Ring?
Review: Technically, this is a masterpiece. Gandalf's opening duel with the Balrog is the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen on film. The climactic battle sequences are astonishing, and WETA's Golum makes ILM's Jar Jar Binks and digital Yoda even more embarrassing (if that's possible) - Golum isn't a sprite, he's a living, breathing character. But despite the technical brilliance, the whole film left me a little disappointed - and, dare I say it, bored. The problem isn't with Jackson's stunning direction nor WETA's special effects. It's the screenplay. The books are so rich that any adaptation will be necessarily schematic, so it's a matter of choosing carefully what to show. "Fellowship" was easily the best page-to-screen adaptation ever written, but I think the choices made this time were less wise. In their enthusiasm for swash-buckling heroics and pseudo-erotic dream sequences, the writers have lost sight of the Ring. The epic quest is sidelined, and we're left wondering what all the fighting's about. Saving the final sections of the second book for the third film (presumably), doesn't help. I have no objection to this kind of shuffling (using the opening of the second book for the climax of the first film worked brilliantly), but here it fails. The story is deprived of unity and we don't get much sense of what's at stake, what Sauron's or Saruman's plans are, nor any real sense of anticipation about what might happen next. A little recapping and scene-setting at the beginning would have helped, too. More effective use could have been made of voice-over narration from Galadriel, as in "Fellowship" where she deftly summarized "The Hobbit" and the Ring's history in the opening minutes. Here, she's brought in at the 90-minute mark, but it's too little too late. The writers try desperately to reassert an epic tone by putting unreasonably eloquent speeches into Sam's mouth at the end, but it just doesn't play. I still give it 4 stars for technical brilliance, but in terms of story it's not a patch on the first.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie of the Year
Review: I just love this movie; it is a follow-up to the first movie - The Fellowship of The Ring. No matter what others say, The Lord of The Ring Movies are the best movie making in a very long time (next to The Matrix). This even supercede The Star Wars trilogy 100X. I can't wait for next year - the Return of The King - the final trilogy. And best of all, I can't wait for the extended version of the DVD. LORD OF THE RINGS ROCKS!!!
Rating:
Summary: And so it continues...
Review: So it's been a year since the triumphant Fellowship of the Ring. And now the journey continues with The Two Towers. Unlike the episodic Fellowship, The Two Towers is all over the place....literally. Peter Jackson has his back against the wall attempting to cover all the significant events in a very large story. This time, he has three different tales to tell: Sam and Frodo encounter Gollum and Faramir on their journey to Mordor. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas attempt to rally king Theoden to fight Saruman. Marry and Pippen escape Saruman's thugs and encounter Treebeard -- a walking and talking tree. With this wealth of characters and incident, it's amazing that Jackson, along with co-writers Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair and aided by effective editing from Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen, keeps all the plot threads so wonderfully clear and the interrelationships so effectively drawn. Only the ignorant could get lost in this film. The film also triumphs over the many conceptual challenges presented by this tale: Gollum is truly an outstanding achievement. In no time at all, he stops being a digital puppet and emerges as a real character -- perhaps the most effective one in the film. Overall, the CGI is far better realized here than it was in Fellowship, and it never strays from serving the story. The ents, the giant walking and talking trees, are almost haunting. To see them battle Saruman's dark obsidian tower is simply surreal. The acting once again shines through with both Andy (Gollum) Serkis and Bernard Hill as the legendary Theoden being the central new faces. Cult favorite Brad Dourif turns in a memorable performance as Gríma Wormtongue, the vile royal advisor to Theoden. And unlike the first film, The Two Towers has no fantasy glow to it. There is no romance here, only a grim and dark world of war and survival made real by the lush cinematography of Andrew Lesnie. The standout scene in Two Towers would have to the battle of Helm's Deep: an utter nightmare that takes its place along side the greatest battles ever put to film. And yet, through all the violence, Jackson remembers that the small human touches make all the difference so each hero shows glimpses of their humanity: Aragon's counsel to a young boy, Legolas' counting contest, and Gimli's humorous self-deprecating quips about his diminutive size. These things are vital to prevent sensory overload. In the face of doom, Sam and Frodo remind us what it means to be human and remain hopeful. Although their scenes are cut short for pacing purposes, Merry and Pippin both play essential roles, pleading in desperation with Treebeard to join the fight against evil. The Two Towers is not a sequel, but simply the middle part of a single narrative. This explains why the film hits the ground running. Unfortunately, Two Towers has endured the anger from a small but vocal minority of purists. Their version of the film, while far more faithful to the book, would have died on the screen. To see what happens when you are faithful to the source material, go watch Harry Potter. With so many characters, histories, cultures, and backgrounds to explore, there is no way that any director could include enough to satisfy every Ring nut out there without losing most of the theater audience. Imagine trying to cover all the events and important players of World War I in three films. And it isn't just about compression: The characters in the book are two dimensional. They would not have survived a literal depiction. And it is with no small irony that J.R.R Tolkien himself understood this when he sold the film rights in 1958. Tolkien made it clear that there would have to be significant changes to both characters and events in a theatrical adaptation. Indeed, Peter Jackson does really understand the essence of Tolkien's fantasy and is providing us with the finest fantasy films ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: Even though this movie was three hours long, it was worth every minute! The battle at the end was awesome, especially when the elves showed up to offer their help. Legolas was so much more cooler in this movie, I hope he's even better in the third. Merry and Pippen weren't as funny as they were in the first film, but Gimli made up for that. My only dissappointment with this movie was that with the character Eowyn - I hated her! I thought she a weak, pathetic female part. Especially since the movie only has three female characters, you'd think they'd do a really good job. I could go on and on about the Two Towers, good and bad (though there's not much of it), but to truly know how great this movie is, you'll just have to go see it yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Magnificent
Review: I reread the book a few days before seeing the movie so I would know what was in the book and what they had changed. I was surprised to see that they did a wonderful job of moving the book to a movie but of course, I have some picky things. For one, the Ents did not pass my approval. They only seem to be big at the end when they destroy Sauromon's plans, I always imagined that they were tall giants, and compared to Merry and Pippin they really weren't.. Other than the Ents, I was ok with the movie. Not everything is the same, but they did a really good job of it. My favorite part is the Gollum/Smeagol conversation, which made several of us Gollum fans crack up in the theater. I assume that the final movie will show Shelob's lair. But overall, a great movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Towers very dissapointing
Review: I thought Peter Jackson did a phenominal job bringing Fellowship to the screen, but failed with this one.
Gollum was great, and exceeded my expectations. What was up with Faramir? If it was not for the fact that Jackson made him a completely unsympathetic Boramir clone, I would have given this 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: keeps the cycle of awesomeness going
Review: I 1st saw fellowship only a month until this came out. it was awesome. this may be even better, more actioned packed. lots different than the book, but still breath-taking.
Rating:
Summary: "The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin."
Review: Well, after 6 hours, I wish they'd get on with it, already. *The Two Towers* (which I will henceforth refer to as *Hours 4-6*) devotes its last hour to a battle of which we don't see the proper conclusion. Director Peter Jackson has put too many toppings on his pizza. While the siege at Helm's Deep rages, he keeps cutting to another battle raging elsewhere in Middle-earth: a group of walking, talking, really ticked-off trees are busting a dam and flooding Saruman's Tower. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue to clamber over large piles of jagged rocks. When the director cuts back to Big Siege, it's . . . over! This battle must not have been the REAL Battle for Middle-earth, because it seems very inconclusive. (That big Eye is still sizzling, like a fine T-bone on a grill, atop that other Tower somewhere else.) In other words, Jackson & Co. can't tell a story to save their lives. It's an impossible story to tell on-screen, anyway, and the mad dash from spectacle to spectacle unavoidably illustrates this. No narrative flow, no suspense. It's amazing how boring this movie is. Of course, the total lack of a beginning (it just picks up where *Hours 1-3* -- which at least had the virtue of really BEING a beginning -- left off) firmly makes this not really a movie at all: it's merely the middle-stretch of a NINE-HOUR movie. Some good points: Gollum, the Movie Version, continues to be the only interesting character in Tolkien's epic, and -- for once -- I was fully won over by the spectacular job of CGI that brought this character to life. It was nice to see Aragorn start to emerge as something other than the ineffectual hippie that graced the screen in *Hours 1-3*. Orlando Bloom's Legolas is also becoming a rather heroic figure. But another bad point comes to mind, here: without viable WOMEN, heroes just don't seem to have as much to fight for. Spare me your arguments, please: Arwen and Eowyn are not women, they're chaste statues atop pedestals. Tolkien's story is direly lacking in romantic tension. Imagine a world without women . . . never mind, the author has already done that for us. It's a pretty boring world. But there's hope: this "epic" has a natural, non-negotiable ending called *The Return of the King*. This will not be an endless, James Bond-like franchise. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: i was only slightly disappointed after i had seen this movie because of all of the liberties that had been taken. (especially faramir: he acted too much like his brother and acted almost as badly when he wanted to take the Ring to Gondor) since i had read the book a long time before i saw the movie i was a little suprised at what was left out. however....if you forget that it is not EXACTLY like the book it is one of the best movies i have seen since well....The Fellowship of the Ring. i was so absorbed in it that is was a kind of a shock when it was done. i only wish that the return of the kind was coming sooner than next christmas. i cant wait! (the battle scenes were spectacular and so was gollum!)
Rating:
Summary: LOTR : The two towers
Review: The two towers is yet again another 'good' film of the LOTR trilogy, I say 'good' as to really grasp any of the films intricacies you *need* to have seen 'The fellowship of the ring' prior to watching it. Saying that, however, I do not wish to demene the film as a whole, it is a 'good', 'acceptable', *watchable* film, with many twists, a couple turns and a good ol' fight scene. Though, it would be preferable to watch all three at once (imagine it... 3hrs per film, x3 films, you have a whole week-end of fantasy right there), for now just the two, or even just the one will do. But in all honesty, if you havent seen the film yet, dont buy the DVD. You cant simply purchase DVD's / Videos merely on the merit of the reviewers or trailers. If you can, while you can, go to your local cinema and experience LOTR : TTT (yes, three T's!) in full on surround-sound widescreen action. Once you have, you can get yourself the DVD which will (in most likelyness) also give you the oportunity to get the 'cinema feel', but at home (if you have a widescreen tv, and a surround sound system, all the better). Then again, if you've already seen the film then... BUY IT. dont ask why, you know why. -Liquid K9
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