2) The acting was again superb! The director again showed his eye for understanding this Middle Earth.
3) The CGI.. Ahh the CGI.. It was awesome!!! Specially the big battle which is all CGI but, you would swear that it was not.. And then there is Gollum.. Being a CGI creature you would thing that they would not pan to him to much but, instead he is very prolific in this movie and very.. very.. well done..
4) The three subplots will just blow your mind away.. (well there are actually more then three but, you count them..
5) The musical score is just fantastic!!
And there is my list.. If I may say soo this movie was (if possible) better then the first movie! Wonder what they will do in the third and final movie?
Rating:
Summary: Better than "Fellowship"
Review: Like all of us, I've been looking forward to the second installment of Peter Jackson's _Lord of the Rings_ trilogy for a year now. _The Two Towers_ has always been my favourite of the original trilogy. Well, I'm happy to say the _The Two Towers_, the movie met and exceeded my expectations in nearly every respect.
Taking up where FoTR left off, "Towers" follows the now sundered members of the Fellowship on their disparate paths. Frodo and Sam are heading for Mordor, hooking up along the way with Gollum, who agrees to guide them. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli pursue the Orcs who have captured Merry and Pippin, eventually coming to Rohan where they are caught up in that country's struggle against Saruman. Merry and Pippin come through a series of perils to the forest of Fangorn, where they meet Treebeard the Ent. By the end of the movie, everyone will have fought some kind of battle, either personal or monumental, against overwhelming odds.
Overall, _The Two Towers_ is even truer to the original than was FoTR. Jackson takes a lot of time to go through this important part of the trilogy, with the result that he's only about 2/3 of the way through the book by the end. I didn't mind this at all. IN fact, I thought the slower pace was a good juxtaposition with the intensity of many of the events and the transitions seemed much less hectic than they were in FoTR. I enjoyed the added material, particularly the extra Rohan scenes that set up the situation and the characters. Many places in this movie, Jackson shows us things that are only told or alluded to in the book, and it works very well.
Once again the acting was great, both from the old characters and the new. I loved the casting of Miranda Otto as Eowyn. Brad Dourif shone as Grima Wormtongue, a character I always found somewhat flat in the books, and Bernard Hill as Theoden was also great. I can't wait to see more of Eomer -- he ruled every scene he was in.
The CG effects were amazing. I loved the Ents, who were a perfect combination of treeishness and bipedal humanoid. But the real star goes to Gollum, a character so real that I could hardly believe he...uh...wasn't real. The portrayal of his struggle between his "Slinker" and "Stinker" halves was incredibly well done -- at risk of sacrilege I would say even better than in the books. And the way the realtionship and similarities between him and Frodo were played up was a good touch.
There were several departures from the book but only one that really bothered me (and bothered everyone who was at the midnight show I went to): What they did to Faramir was just wrong and annoying. I think maybe I have some idea why they did it, but, well, they just shouldn't have.
Other than that, the only flaw in this movie was that for about the first third of it much of the dialogue was very hard to understand, particularly the growly effects voices. I'll need to see "Towers" again (as if I wouldn't anyway) just to pick up what I missed the first time around.
_The Two Towers_ is quite long -- a little over three hours by my clock -- but it never suffers from drag. I enjoyed every minute (Except the Faramir bits). This is one great movie! I'm counting the minutes until the DVD comes out and the days until _Return of the King_!
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected! Worth the Money. Excellent Movie.
Review: If you didn't like the first movie then don't go, because you won't like this movie.
I was worried because some reviewers were trashing this movie on television. I went with a friend and watched the movie at the Mall of Georgia on Dec. 17 11:59pm. Overall, I thought the movie was really good and actually better than the prequel, in my opinion.
There is a lot of action and really cool battle scenes. They have a lot of humor to relieve some of the tension. This movie is pretty long (3 hours). Typically, I don't get moved (swept up) by the movie. The sound and music in the movie is awesome. The special effects, acting, etc. are excellent. Contrary to rumors, the movie doesn't drag or lag action! The movie has a pretty fast pace. NOTE I'M NOT A FANATIC FOR LOTR SERIES.
Even if you have read the book, the movie will be entertaining and different but still true to books. What more could you ask for? By the way, the books are excellent. Surprise, Surprise! They are well written. The only problem is all the names and etc. can bog you down.
Back to the movie, the only controversial thing will about the trees. I'm nuetral on them. They didn't make or break it, so the movie was still great despite them. It works out better in a book than a movie.
Anyways, it a great movie. It's worth the admission price alone. My friend just watched both of them yesterday, and he said that he like them both and wanted to watch the third installment. Hope that helps.
Rating:
Summary: Pay offs a-plenty
Review: Fun and action packed. True Tolkein fans beware... as with the first movie, several things from the story are excluded (to be expected) however, a few major things are added... curious decicsions on Jackson's part. If one can forgive the liberties taken by the creative team, then you will truly enjoy this movie (some will NOT forgive... to each their own).
Legolas fans will rejoice, however Gimli fans may be disappointed at his "demotion" to comic relief. Fans of the book will know that he is a much more competent warrior than the movie portrays. Still, he does have the best comic lines in the movie. It might have been a good idea to reveal that he actually WINS that little competition he has with Legolas. Again, a little forgiveness on behalf of the audience will prevent this from ruining the movie in a grand sense.
Gollum is well done, as are the Ents. The story of the ring kind of takes a back seat to the battle at Helm's Deep, however that is probably more Tolkein's design.
Lots and lots of stand-up-and-cheer moments... mostly in the later half of the movie. The Eowyn-Aragorn-Arwen triangle adds rich drama on an emotional level, even though the chemistry has been tweaked somewhat.
5 stars for making a fantastic follow-up to a fantastic "Fellowship"
Rating:
Summary: Too big a show for Golumn to steal. A metaphor.
Review: I attended a midnight showing of the Two Towers last night and found that it was worth the night without sleep.
This movie doesn't need a lot of description. Quality is consistant from the last picture, which is to be expected since they were all made at once. The Graphics were very good. The special effects awsome (love those ents) The sound quality in the theater was poor, (of course it could just be that I was tired) but I'll see it again with the kids and judge it properly then.
Golumn does his best to steal the show. The Character is great and is acted well. I say Acted because Andy Serkis voice and movements that the graphics were put over were vital to the character. I tended to feel more and more sorry for the character, particularly since Frodo was moving in the same direction. Great Job by wood.
I think the decision to make Gimli a comic character hurt and I would have liked to see more of the interplay between him and Legolas. (perhaps in the extended version) It was the films only weakness.
Easily the best movie of the year. It is almost high art. The Godfather is high art, Star Wars is not, however this movie moves toward that direction. The final movie will confirm it.
The story is rife with symbols of the modern earth shaking events taking place now. Those who believe in coincidence and who follow current events must be amazed. I don't belive in coincidence so I am not. From the rising of the Ents to the turning of Théoden, (war is upon you if you like it or not)the parallels are astounding. Many will miss it, some will do their best to ignore it but the message of these two (soon to be three) movies at this time, speaks to an age the message it needs to hear. The makers and the actors deny this, but they are ring bearers like it or no.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy of Oscar Consideration
Review: Having just watched Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers, I can say with all candor that the movie is a fine successor to The Fellowship of The Ring. This movie is bigger and bolder, with an emphasis on action. The battle scenes are beautifully filmed, and the special effects remarkable. I would have liked to see some of the characters fleshed out a little more, but overall this is grand entertainment, and well worth the price of admission. Kudos to Peter Jackson and the cast for bringing Tolkien's vision to life on the big screen.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent rendition of an epic tale!
Review: The excitement in the air at 12:01 A.M., December 18, 2002 was rewarded with the best movie I have ever watched. I know that sounds a little far-fetched, but indeed, the movie at hand, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, by far surpassed its predecessor, The Fellowship of the Ring, until this time my favorite movie.
For many reasons was this sequel excellent, but it comes down to three main things:
1) It is based on the excellent work of J.R.R. Tolkien
2) It expresses the themes of the book very well.
3) It is more open, in my opinion, for the public.
1) Being hailed as the best book of the 20th Century, The Lord of the Rings has been often cited as the beginning of modern fantasy. Bringing its readers into a world which is, at the same time, fantastic and realistic, the story expresses themes of hope and faith as well as some really good characters. Thus, since the film is well-adapted to match the book in many ways (making a few adaptations to shorten the length as well as make the story flow better on the screen), it is excellent just as the book itself is excellent.
2) The themes of both hope (and hopelessness at times) are expressed well in this movie. Also, through cunning development of Gollum, the theme that good can prevail within a (seemingly) completely corrupt individual is expressly shown.
3) In my opinion, The Two Towers is more accessible to the public. Once you get past all the names in the movie, the plot is relatively easy to follow even if you have not read the books. However, the thing that lightens the mood, which is often needed for viewers who are not "hard-core" fantasy/Tolkien fans is the comic relief that is often inserted. The movie is often very dark, so the film is at some times extremely dreary. However, throughout the movie, there are other areas of light humor which help lighten the mood which often helps non-fanatics.
So in the end, The Two Towers gets 5 out of 5. I HIGHLY suggest seeing this movie!
Rating:
Summary: I HAVE SEEN IT! I HAVE SEEN IT!
Review: Yes! I have finally seen it and oh my!! It's just what I hoped for and even better than I expected! It's not as "flashy" (in lack of a better word) as fellowship. It's not so much "right in your face cool", but it's more serious. More adult. And that's a good thing. I loved fellowship, gave it 5 stars, and this one is definetly just as good. It's actually hard to say that towers is better than fellowship because it's just a continuing story. We got thrown in to the story like we never left our seats after fellowship. And it's just as long as fellowship! Gollum is wonderful, Treebeard is wonderful, and the battle of Helm's Deep is...well...you know... Arwen and Galadriel have just little cameos. That's a good thing too because I was worried about how much they would change the story just to let those to actresses have bigger parts. We don't see Merry and Pippin much, but Gimli is the comic break this time around. And oh my is he funny!! Call me stupid, you shouldn't laugh when the battle of Helm's Deep is going on, but Gimli made me! See this little movie! NOW!