The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Widescreen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: no problems that i know of
Review: first off i'd like to clear some stuff up

all of the people that are complaining about not seeing shelob's lair in this movie obviously dont know anything about drama. shelobs lair would work a lot better as an opening scene of the third film than the last scene of the second film. i also realize jackson put in a lot of stuff that wasnt in the books. SO WHAT. it may have not done justice for tolkien but they were good enough as they were.

remember these 43 minutes added were intended to be in the theatrical release....but whose gonna sit in a movie theater for 3hours and 42 minutes?

the movie was great......
all the acting performances were outstanding.
the special effects and cinematography were awesome.
but i have to say the movie belongs to andy serkis as Gollum.
that was my favorite thing of the whole movie.

to all of you people on the movie set...
make the third movie as long as needs to be to fit all the book in because EVERYTHING in that book is essential.

cant wait to see the third one and see the extended version of this one.

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe how much they stunk up this movie
Review: Oh boy. I was looking forward to seeing this movie since I read the trilogy (it was my favorite of the three books), and was so let down by Peter Jackson's imitation of what this movie should have been. He focused too much on the battle of Helm's deep, and there were PLENTY of scenes that simply never happened in the book that they just crammed into this movie. Now I know that this makes me sound like a nerd- "stuff that was never in the movie," but it's true- the stuff that Peter Jackson stuffed into this movie not only didn't flow with the context of the movie, but contradicted the entire thing. Frodo NEVER went to Gondor in the Two Towers. They totally left out the part where he and Sam go to Shelob's lair, and, oh man I can't even go on. I urge anybody with a brain to keep this poor interpretation of the Two Towers in Amazon's warehouse.

Rating:
Summary: Just didn't do anything for me
Review: You know, I really loved The Lord of the Rings, and thought the animation and special effects enhanced the storytelling in a truly amazing way. But for me, the special effects, animation, and computer manipulations took center stage to story telling in The Twin Towers and (the retelling of) the story suffered from a lack of imagination. After awhile, it was just one battle scene after another until I really didn't care any more.

Rating:
Summary: another first-rate installment of the LOTR
Review: Without doubt, the Two Towers ranks among the most accomplished epic films ever produced. It is a superb achievement, and watching the DVD is pure enjoyment. Despite the movie's many departures from the book, overall the high quality of the production still does justice to the story. We all know the technical limitations of bringing such a complex and intricate literature to the screen, and a movie is a different medium from a book. The changes highlight the more dramatic parts of the tale, and most can be forgiven (except perhaps a few silly melodramatic moments like the two peasant kids from the Westfold being parted from their mother, that the movie could do better without). The inner details may be changed, but the broad outlines of the painting remain faithful.

Like the Fellowship of the Ring, everything about TTT is first-rate, down to the last detail, with spectacular cinematography and special effects, and great acting. The winning performance, interestingly, is that of Gollum: the CGI is almost perfect, and the facial expressions, voice and acting (by Andy Serkis) impressively portray the creature as the ultimate addict, and his struggle to redeem himself. In contrast, Elijah Wood's performance of Frodo is disappointing: his portrayal of the gradual corruption of Frodo's spirit by the ring is limited to looking stressed-out and rolling his eyes up.

The movie is very fast-paced with three story lines, and unlike the Fellowship, which has more charm, there isn't much opportunity for character development (especially and unfortunately for Faramir). But the focus is no longer on Frodo, thus allowing more chance for the other characters to shine. More speaking parts for Legolas (to the delight of his fans), making him less aloof and more "human" (such as his despair before the battle) hence more intimate. Similarly with Gimly, Merry, and Pippin, we see more of their characters coming out than in the first movie.

The battle scenes are a bit prolonged and may be too violent for younger viewers, but well done. Peter Jackson balanced the intense battle actions with emotionalism, such as the despair of facing impossible odds, in Theoden's monologue and his question, "what can Men do in the face of such reckless hate?" (a question that is all the more present in these days of terrorism). The involvement of the elves is another departure that has often been lamented, but one that is actually not too far from the book: in preparing for the battle at Helm's Deep, Legolas had wished for 100 archers from Mirkwood to help with the defenses. Tolkien meant the war of the rings to be between the race of men and evil forces, without the interference of the elves, who are no longer concerned with the affairs of humans as they're leaving Middle Earth. But there are exceptions, as when Elrond sends his two sons to fight alongside Aragorn in the last battle. The movie version expands on this, with Elrond sending elves to aid in the battle of Helm's Deep. It is a touching addition, but not without a sense of futility. Haldir's death is particularly poignant, as he fell wondering why the sacrifices of so many elves, otherwise free to leave Middle Earth.

The theatrical version of the DVD is certainly worth watching and owning. However, with the upcoming extended version that promises to be richer and more enjoyable, it is a difficult decision whether to suggest purchasing both versions or waiting for the extended version.

Rating:
Summary: I had two bad problems with both of these films
Review: First of all, I will not read over 1100 reviews to see if anybody else mentions these two problems, so I will state them for what they are worth and hope to appeal to those who do not confuse "helpful" with "he agrees with what I think."

I realized half way through the first episode that I could not understand or hear more than half of the dialogue. This recent trend of whispering lines has reached nonsensical proportions in all films today. It was only an hour into Two Towers that I noticed I could bring up English subtitles. Now, that I should need them at all for a film that is supposed to be in English is disgraceful. Perhaps in a theatre, this problem would not be as acute; but a DVD should at least be audible, despite the Director's attempts to make it otherwise. (If an animated character like Gollum is utterly incomprehensible, then that is the fault of the Director also, not of the DVD.)

The second problem is that films like these become a matter of "Look what my computer experts can do!" rather than relying on human actors and ingenious directing. It is all very imposing for a few moments and then you realize how little STORY is being told while long sequences of obviously computer-animated individuals or armies are trying to make you feel you are getting your money's worth.

I know this will interpreted as an attack on beloved child by many readers who have never known what magic films like "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" can accomplish with purely human resources, squares screens and black and white film. They would be wrong. I am only trying to point out how much BETTER these Ring films would be without the concept that More is Better.

Rating:
Summary: The best so far
Review: It is even better than the first one and i promise you will like it.

Rating:
Summary: A decent movie overall but lacking soul & good SFX...
Review: Let me just say that I really enjoyed the first LOTR movie. I read quite a bit of Fellowship of the Ring years ago and knew right from the start that things had been changed for dramatic effect in the movie. Overall though, the first LOTR movie was exactly what was needed in 2001.

Now flash forward to late 2002. You've got a movie that has to live up to all the hype the first LOTR movie made and on top of that, not fall into the pit of "middle-movie syndrome." Plus, we kept hearing promises of "the biggest army battle on screen ever" and the first fully 3D actor (Gollum). This movie had so much to deliver on that it wasn't possible, regardless of who was in charge of it (in such a short amount of time).

As far as the plot goes, The Two Towers tells in greater detail the stories of the 3 main groups of characters (Frodo & Sam, Merry & Pippin, and Gandalf and the other 3). Constantly shifting between 3 separate stories rarely works, and sadly, because each storyline has such a different pace from the others (Merry & Pippin's is the slowest....and worst - Legolas & group have TOO much going on...Frodo & Sam seem to go at a steady rate all the way through), all too often I'm bored....then excited....then content....then excited...then bored, etc. See the problem?

On top of that, the special effects were not up to par in several scenes inlcuding the final big battle....which had "thousands of people fighting" but they were so small, it wasn't impressive. Sometimes, making shots in movies too big (for dramatic effect) can lessen the emotional content. Its hard to get excited when you see ants climbing up a fortress wall. Gollum was pretty good overall, but it'll be a decade or two before CG is good enough to make something not animate so artifically. Finally, the worst SFX were those retarded trees walking with Merry & Pippin. The foreground & background never were in sync (it looked like the trees were moving all over and the background was blurry and slowly moving on a straight path) and these sequences all looked like something out of a 80s sci-fi flick. Barf man.

In the end, I did find Two Towers interesting but not breathtaking...and certainly not worthy of any Oscars besides sound and maybe...just maybe Cinemtagography. The plot wasn't there, the pacing was off, and the special effects weren't all that special. Maybe with the Return of the King, LOTR will return to the quality of the first movie.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Awesome
Review: Despite some people's idealistic views of a detailed, perfect translation of the books (I'm refering to a previous comment), the Two towers is still an awesome movie. The special effects are not at all cheap or low-class, and the actors perform their rolls brilliantly.

The books are just as, or even more amazing than the movie, but it must have been an extremely difficult task to turn such a classic book of over a 1000 pages into a movie, and I think Peter Jackson (the director) did a very, very good job.

This movie is definitely worth seeing/buying.

Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (movie)
Review: All I have to say that this film is a masterpiece !!!!as also the previous one and I am really sorry for ""eldamahj (see more about me) from Sydney, New South Wales Australia"" who made such sour statements...but it is not only about this film. I read several of his reviews and the bla..bla..bla is the same.
Books and films are different, we can never expect to be an exact copy...it is simple like that. So folks never mind the sour bla..bla..,see the movie, buy the DVD or tape. It is really great to forget for 3 hours our corrupted, crazy world and look into a beautiful fantasy very, very,very well made. Hurray for Peter Jackson and all the actors and magicians who made it happen and let as enjoy this visual delight.

Rating:
Summary: not great
Review: I was not all that impressed with this movie...after all the hype I expected more than just a bunch of people either getting ready for a battle, engaging in a battle or talking about what a heck of a big battle was next. I understand having the dwarf make a jerk out of himself for comedic effect was not in the books...(never read them...not my bag...) and that a whole bunch of other stuff was either made up or left out. That seems like a pretty lame way to make a movie of a classic novel...
The beginning part where that guy...Merlin, I think, was falling and killing that thing from Spawn...that was pretty cool...and those trees (though they were kind of an HR Puffinstuf rip off)... three stars for all that and any other part that didn't remind me of Braveheart.