Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron’s new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

When watching the Lord of the Rings films, one has to keep in mind they were filmed simultaneously. Therefore the good cinematography and groundbreaking visuals are consistent. The same applies to the good performances.

‘The Two Towers’ is my least favorite of the LOTR films for a number of reasons. Firstly, they deviate too much from the original premise. The attention shifts away from Frodo on his quest, and he is absent for large parts of the film. A lot of new characters are introduced, and I felt the cast became somewhat cluttered. With so many new characters and story lines, I found myself easily losing track of the story. One of the new characters is Treebeard – a boring, uninteresting character. Yup, talking and walking trees abound!! (*insert WTF here*!!).

The film revolves mainly around the kingdom of Rohan, under threat from Saruman. But what does this have to do with everything? Why is Rohan so important? They loose focus on the matter at hand; that being Frodo on his mission to Mordor. At least the attack scene on Helm’s Deep in Rohan was exciting!

The black riders are also back, although only for a short while. They no longer ride horses; they now ride on giant birds that look like Pterodactyls – or are they dragons?? Who knows? Unfortunately, as a result, they are no longer creepy. The film’s highlight – by far! – was the Gollum, Smeagol. He is an entirely CGI character, yet unbelievably realistic. And he steals the show!! He is the most interesting character with his split personality, and devious grin.

‘The Two Towers’ is significantly slower paced than ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ and not all that interesting either. There are way too many back stories and characters that the film really has no need for. Unlike ‘Fellowship of the Rings’, ‘The Two Towers’ feels like a 3-hour movie.

‘Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ was once again a huge success, earning $943 million on a $94 million budget. It received 264 award nominations, winning 126 – including 2 Oscars (Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects).

Would I watch it again? Yes, but only because it is part of the series.