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Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Yo! Director Peter Jackson and the crew have returned for the Lord of The Rings trilogy’s second installment. In this sequel, “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” Jackson called upon his inner George Lucas and delivered a film that is nowhere as good as the Empire Strikes Back, but this time, the evil forces in Mordor strike back with full force. The focus leaves the hobbits in punk-ass Frodo and cool as a cucumber Sam and focuses more on Aragorn and his crew as they fight against one of the significant towers to defend a human stronghold. Jackson ramps up the action in this darker toned filmed and finishes it off with an epic battle scene.
The film opens up with a bang, where we see the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog. If you forgot about that creature, it is the one that looks like a demon from hell, and Gandalf yells, “You Shall Not Pass!”. Now the film is split up into three different adventures. Each adventure focuses on a specific segment of characters and their mission in destroying the one ring. Now, I want to state that I think Jackson took the great route of making this film darker. It shows the difference between being a bright and happy movie to showing some despair and challenges that the characters have to go through.
Let’s review the significant part of the movie and adventure. The film primarily focuses on Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli as they try to track down the orcs that took Merry and Pippin. During their quest, they venture into the lands of Rohan, where King Théoden’s mind has been taken over by Saruman, and his kingdom has been left ravaged. This adventure is the best part of the movie because we get to see some serious fighting and Gandalf’s return but not as the grey but as Gandalf the White. Dude’s hair is so silky smooth, straight and white, that I wanted to know what product he was using because his hair was looking fresh! Gandalf comes and releases Théoden from Saruman’s control like a BOSS! After Théoden’s mind is freed, this is where the film picks up significantly.
In this adventure, the CGI and battles are so eye-popping. The first one was when Théoden evacuates his citizens to the fortress of Helm’s Deep. As the refugees are traveling to Helm’s Deep, they are attacked by Saruman’s Warg-riding Orcs. You want to talk about a fantastic scene, this is one of them. To see the CGI used with the war-like dogs is a sight to see, and they are fearsome looking. The second scene where Jackson says we are going all out with CGI, the dark tone of the film and battles was with the final battle at Helms Deep. To see over ten thousand orcs, and the incredible detail to the costumes and CGI that was used is mind-blowing. When they breached the wall, they looked like roaches going in.
Now the second adventure deals with Merry and Pippin. This is where the movie slows down considerably. At first, it is not very interesting and is more like a break from the action on one side and the pain in the ass Frodo on the other. Merry and Pippen are with the orcs that took them from the first movie and somehow survive when the Riders of Rohan attack the orc encampment. They crawl their little hobbit selves into Fangorn Forest, which is said to be the toughest place in the world. Word on the street is that the Forest has been around since day one, and the trees are nothing to mess with. Well, Merry and Pippen meet the Ents, walking treelike people. Actually, they spend most of the film riding on Treebeards’ shoulders. The CGI and special effects do a fantastic job with the appearance of each Ent. I believe each one is actually a different tree in the real world. When they see what Saruman does to the trees, the Ents lose their mind in an epic battle that turns the tide of the war. Note to self, don’t mess with trees, or you will get squashed.
Now, for the third story, and the one that many people might become annoyed with is Frodo and Sam trying to make their way to Mordor. Now the HIGHLIGHT of this whole adventure is the introduction of Gollum. Andy Serkis doesn’t get enough credit for being the undisputed king of motion caption along with the voice of Gollum. The dude is straight-up phenomenal as an actor. To see him have a split personality with the character is unique. Too bad there isn’t an Academy Award for motion caption because Serkis is a beast at his craft.
Sorry, wanted to speak on it but back to the Frodo adventure. To me, this was the Frodo acting like a pain in the ass and thinks he is the best ever. I get that the ring is evil and has a significant influence over the person that holds it, but time and time again, he acted like no one else knew what he was going through. Even though Sam messed up by sliding down the hill, Frodo just complained about everything. It was his dumb ass that fell in the water of the dead when Gollum said don’t get near it. Also, he almost got snatched up and then tried to stab Sam. I can’t stand Frodo. Sam should’ve taken his mighty hobbit hand and slapped the s**t out of Frodo a few times. Out of everything, they still didn’t get to Mordor.
“The Two Towers” is a great sequel that brings a darker tone to the franchise. Sometimes the villains need a little action, and the heroes need to face some adversity. Andy Serkis, as Gollum, is fantastic and needs to be applauded for his performance. The action really brings this film franchise to life. Maybe I should read the book, but for now, you will definitely enjoy this film. Frodo is still a punk a**.
