The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Review

Divide and conquer

That's pretty much the best way I would describe this film. Except maybe the conquer part. Not all of them necessarily do that.

The Plot

After a devastating blow that shatters the Fellowship, the splintered groups go off on their own personal journeys. Aragorn (Vigo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) set of an a long foot chase to save Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). But their paths will once again be split as one group shall enter the kingdom of Rohan and the other will becomes guests to the kingdom of Fangorn Forest. Frodo and Sam continue the mission that was given to them as they continue to trek to Mordor. But their journey becomes complicated when the previous owner of the ring, Gollum (Andy Serkis), wants it back.

Review

As a child, this was the first film I asked my parents to see it twice. Because to me, it was just so much better than the first movie. It's been over a decade since I saw it in theaters as well as constant reruns on my DVD player. And now that I have a lot of experience in how a good movie should be, I know that this film really was worth begging my parents to see twice in the theaters.

The film begins with a bang, a continuation of the battle between Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and the gigantic fire demon, Balrog. It was my favorite scene in the previous film and I was so glad we get to see an expansion of that battle. This opening very much hints at Gandalf's return as a White Wizard, and it was just an excellent way of reintroducing Gandalf to the audience or informing those who did not see the first movie as to why it was a big deal for him to be back.

But enough with reintroductions, it is time for introductions. Because if you've read my review of the first film, then you know I believe the main cast is incredible. But now, let's shift the focus to some newcomers by focusing on the kingdom of Rohan. There is King Theoden played by Bernard Hill, Eowyn played by Miranda Otto, Eomer played by Karl Urban and Grima Wormtongue played by Brad Dourif. Hill's Theoden is pretty much the focal point of the main plot of this story as it revolves around his kingdom and their battle against the turncoat wizard, Saruman (Christopher Lee). He knows how to play a king, and displays a regret as to how he can let Saruman control him for so many years. It is a highly underrated performance, but I believe the most important one in the film. 

Miranda Otto's Eowyn is pretty much set up as Aragorn's new potential love interest in a love triangle that is non-existent because he's in love with Arwen (Liv Tyler). But she does offer up a really nuanced female presence that was not that strong from the previous film. Sure, the last film had Tyler's Arwen and Cate Blanchett's Galadriel, but they're more like pivotal roles rather than mainstay characters. Not to knock on them though, as they play them well. But Otto really has a lot of depth to her character, especially given that her character arc begins here and will definitely pay off in the next film. It's too bad that the same can't be said about her brother played Karl Urban or for the lesser antagonist played by Brad Dourif. Both of them are hugely talented and play their parts well. And in the end that's all that really matters for ensembles. Not everyone has to be given room to grow as long as everyone is on the same level in performance and plays critical roles. But that doesn't mean none of them can steal the show, because Andy Serkis did.

This is Serkis's big breakout role and it will also be the role that will define his future career along with redefining special effects. His performance as Gollum, a creature who was once a river hobbit called Smeagol, is this film's standout performance. It is a large testament to the Weta Digital team behind creating the Smeagol character and to have it match with the incredible acting that Serkis unleashes every time he's in front of the camera. Which says a lot because even though we don't see Serkis, we definitely hear him and see his movements telegraphed through this strange CGI achievement. It did not take long for me to buy into this creature existing because of just how good Serkis and Weta were at bringing it to life. He makes the Sam and Frodo story portion of the movie a lot more fascinating because of his strangeness. What would've been a dull stroll to Mordor immediately became one filled with tension and some humor with Serkis in the mix. But he wasn't the only spectacular part of the film.

The third act of the film known as The Battle of Helm's Deep is one of the best battle scenes ever put on film that would not be surpassed until The Return of the King. This battle showcased the intensity of war in a black and white situation, yet there is still heavy drama built around it. This is really Mortensen's chance to shine as the man who will be king, and he proves that he is definitely capable in this climactic battle. Unfortunately this is also the battle that gave Hollywood executives the idea that having large CGI armies clashing is what will bring people to the movie theaters. Thus came films such as Troy, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven just to name a few. This film is also responsible for giving executives and producers the idea that fantasy films need to have a large battle between armies in them at the end of the movie. I speak extensively about this problem in my article, Why Lord of the Rings ruined fairy tale movies, so I will not go into too much detail. But I can't deny that this was one of the most intense fantasy battles ever put on screen at the time.

Final Thoughts

As the second act of the trilogy, The Two Towers delivers in upping the stakes and developing the characters even further. What it also achieves is bringing in new characters ranging from large to vital roles and not having it feel too crowded. This is a true mastery of what an ensemble is and continues to hammer home the notion that a fantasy film could be in the conversation of being an incredible cinematic achievement with drama. What's best of all is that it doesn't feel like a set up for a final film, but a film that has it's own standalone plot that still goes hand in hand with the other films it is bookended by. 

SCORE: 9/10 - An incredible progression of what Peter Jackson started with the first one

For a review of the previous film, CLICK HERE