[ Spoilers! ]
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The Two Towers was, simply, amazing. I have been studying the reviews and responces serious Tolkien-purists have given, and it annoys me to see that their views are filled with negativity. They seemingly can not enjoy the movies due to the changes Peter Jackson has made. Crucial, much-needed changes to be exact. Crucial when it comes to the roots of story-telling on silver-screen.
Imagine a verbally perfect, scene-to-scene Lord of the Rings -movie. It would easily take a dozen hours of screen-time per book. A Television Mini-serie could have given Peter the ability to include every scene, but with cost of visual quality, realism ( in terms of weaponry and costumes ), actors and music. One can not create a visually mesmerizing scene such as the Battle of Helm\'s Deep with a mini-serie budget. PJ\'s decision to make a three-movie trilogy was a good one, in my humble opinion, and I am ready to accept every change he has in mind for the Return of the King.
For example, the changes in Faramir\'s character and storyline disturbed many purists and long-time fans. In their ignorancy they didn\'t take Faramir\'s scenes from audience\'s point-of-view. To a Tolkien-virgin audience, suspence had to be built on Frodo\'s and Sam\'s story as well - for it would have been silly to experience two huge climaxes - Helm\'s Deep and the Drowning of Isengard - if they had been intercut by unexciting, peaceful scenery. One thing bothered me though, and it was Frodo\'s encounter with the Nazgul. Simply put, if the Nazgul now knows Frodo is carrying the One Ring, why won\'t Sauron fix his energy into searching for the Ringbearer? In the book, Sauron thought the Ring had been taken to Gondor, and \'thus unleashed his massive armies. He was rather desperate. I believe PJ has written a solution to this dilemma - but until the Return of the King, it will keep bothering me.
The actors were as amazing as they had been all the time. Yet I think Viggo\'s Aragorn grew into epic proportions, while John Rhys-Davies\' Gimli finally got real, rather comical but justified, depth. Orlando\'s Legolas was as good as ever, while Elijah\'s Frodo and Sean Astin\'s Samwise were mind-bogglingly accurate. Ian McKellen\'s Gandalf was beyond describtion. From the new cast I should point out Miranda Otto\'s Eowyn - a wonderful performance, Brad Dourif\'s Grima Wormtongue - just as I always envisioned him - and Bernard Hill\'s Theoden the King - played out as noble and experienced, wise yet quick-minded - just as he should be. Andy Serkis deserves an Oscar, in my humble opinion - but more of Gollum later.
Howard Shore\'s soundtrack was massive - epic - beautiful. After seeing the midnight-premiere of the Two Towers, I instantly decided to buy the soundtrack as a christmas-present - and so I did. I love it to bits - I adore every second of it. It swept the floor with Fellowship\'s already great soundtrack, and made itself into my top 5 most loved movie-music. I remember doubting Shore\'s capabilities about a year and a half ago, but after these two great soundtracks, I praise Jackson for selecting him. A perfect choice.
The Two Towers was mesmerizing, creating cinematic orgasms one after another. Forth Eorlingas - the last desperate charge out of Helm\'s Deep - was perhaps the most epic scene I have ever seen. My heart pounded like a rabbit on speed. But, in the end, it is the characters this movie is based upon. No matter how visually compelling, the small details decide whether the movie is worth a re-watch. And Two Towers certainly is. I already praised the actors I found worthy of praising with the exception of one - Andy Serkis\' performance as the digitally created Gollum.
Holy God of Film-making I can hardly put my feelings into words when it comes to the brilliance of Gollum. He was the only character the film truly improved. To give you the record, I have read Lord of the Rings 7 times. And every time Gollum has been a controversial character. While I never loathed him, I never cared for him either. I always visioned him as a slimy, dark-skinned, yellow-eyed, evil-looking creature. The film gave him blue eyes and cute, light out-look. I love the new twist of Gollum - for he truly struck my emotions. I nearly cried for him. I wanted his Smeagol side to win - even as I know that Smeagol stands no chance against the power of the Ring. Given that Gollum could\'ve been trashed easily, making him the greatest computer-generated character of all time is not a small achievement. Applauses to Andy and Weta Digital. They created a Gollum we can easily approach.
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To give you my conclusional score, I give it 9.5/10. While it was wonderful, it is still just one part out of three. I will re-score the whole saga once it is completed. Hopefully you had the energy to read this reply through
[sp tags] supplyed by me ooseven.. welcome back old buddy
