Written by: Kevin Berge
The real question to ask yourself when looking at the poster for this film: why is Arwen even in this let alone above almost everyone? She's in the film for a minute. (Image Courtesy of: hbjzds.com)
Quick Take: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers continues the faithful adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels with multiple branching storylines, giant set pieces for large scale conflicts, and commentaries on environmental issues and power struggles. Action and acting are all heightened in a film that does shift a bit too much back and forth between its many plots.
***Everything beyond this point is written with the understanding that the reader has seen The Two Towers Extended Edition. If you have not yet seen the film, you should go watch it now then come back to the review afterward. Also, you should also have the context of the Fellowship of the Ring review I did last week if you have not read it yet.***
I have always been fascinated by the idea of a trilogy. Why does everyone seem so transfixed on telling three stories? In large part, trilogies are an evolution of the three-act structure that finds its origin as far back as the early Greeks and Romans. There are always three parts: the set-up, the confrontation, and the resolution. A trilogy does not always follow this strict boundaries but does use them as a basis.
In modern trilogies, there is a certain order to trilogies. The first introduces the characters and develops them through a minor conflict. The second presents them with a conflict grander than they can possibly hope to face, and they usually lose to that force. The third sees the heroes overcome insurmountable odds to victory.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote with keen awareness of structure where his books were based on old school fantasy as well as being a large foundation for future fantasy structure which makes The Two Towers so unique. The Two Towers is the story that most exemplifies the series, in particular showing J.R.R. Tolkien's vision, by subverting the darker turn of most second parts.
While there are hints of darkness and foreboding, this film and book are not about Mordor's victory. They are about men, elves, ents, and a few hobbits for moral support coming together to defeat Isengard. This story is about how, when all feels lost, there is still hope, and it can rise above all else.
This movie ends with a roaring victory as the Battle of Helm's Deep is won with the return of Gandalf with Eomer and the ents completely destroy Isengard. This is even accentuated in the film by Sam's speech about fighting evil being played over the final fighting and victory.
I have always been fascinated by the idea of a trilogy. Why does everyone seem so transfixed on telling three stories? In large part, trilogies are an evolution of the three-act structure that finds its origin as far back as the early Greeks and Romans. There are always three parts: the set-up, the confrontation, and the resolution. A trilogy does not always follow this strict boundaries but does use them as a basis.
In modern trilogies, there is a certain order to trilogies. The first introduces the characters and develops them through a minor conflict. The second presents them with a conflict grander than they can possibly hope to face, and they usually lose to that force. The third sees the heroes overcome insurmountable odds to victory.
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote with keen awareness of structure where his books were based on old school fantasy as well as being a large foundation for future fantasy structure which makes The Two Towers so unique. The Two Towers is the story that most exemplifies the series, in particular showing J.R.R. Tolkien's vision, by subverting the darker turn of most second parts.
While there are hints of darkness and foreboding, this film and book are not about Mordor's victory. They are about men, elves, ents, and a few hobbits for moral support coming together to defeat Isengard. This story is about how, when all feels lost, there is still hope, and it can rise above all else.
This movie ends with a roaring victory as the Battle of Helm's Deep is won with the return of Gandalf with Eomer and the ents completely destroy Isengard. This is even accentuated in the film by Sam's speech about fighting evil being played over the final fighting and victory.
“It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But, in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” - Sam
In this way, The Two Towers is Tolkien's grand statement: this is the story of light overcoming evil. If there wasn't such a grand vision in place, it might come off as a bit bland, but there are so few true fantasy stories like this now. Everyone wants to wait until the end of the story to give their hero's moments of triumph.
This also gives greater context to just how far the heroes fall in a short time in The Fellowship of The Ring. The Lord of the Rings novels are both the stories that created the formulas we now know so well but also the ones that shaped them in unique ways that so few others rarely even attempt.
This also gives greater context to just how far the heroes fall in a short time in The Fellowship of The Ring. The Lord of the Rings novels are both the stories that created the formulas we now know so well but also the ones that shaped them in unique ways that so few others rarely even attempt.
It wasn't until Eowyn found out that Aragorn was three times older than her that she knew she was in love. (Image courtesy of: agreatmovieblog.wordpress.com)
This is why I've always loved this second film. Of all Peter Jackson's work adapting the books to film, this feels the most pure an experience. It truly carries over all the emotion that I felt originally reading the book. It carries that same heightened fear yet also that sense of impending salvation.
The Battle of Helm's Deep is one of the series' grandest set pieces and certainly the largest scale battle in the first two films showing just how much emotion and detail Jackson can put into each frame of action. There's a great mix of excitement, nervous fear, and quite a bit of humor particularly coming from Legolas' and Gimli's competition for kills.
At the same time, the build up to that battle is also so well done. Everything Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are a part of in this story is the the best part of the film. From the surprise return of Gandalf now back from the dead to their conflicts with Rohan, everyone shines, and the acting is at its best here from Viggo Mortenson, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Ian McKellen.
There are also a plethora of new characters added to the mix that all manage to stand out. Eomer (Karl Urban), Theoden (Bernard Hill), Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and Eowen (Miranda Otto) all stand out with Eowen's story particularly effective as the story's one strong female character, trying to find her own place in the fighting even if her use as a love triangle character for Aragorn has always felt a bit unnecessary.
The rest of the cast suffer a bit in this film though as they are given very little to do. Unlike the first and third films, this does not feel like Frodo's story at all. In fact, it often feels like the story drags when it turns back to him and Sam despite the inclusion of Gollum played so perfectly with motion capture by Andy Serkis.
Most of the story is just the trio walking around with Frodo and Sam arguing over whether to trust Gollum. The solo Gollum are in equal measure unnerving and hilarious as his character speaks with such a limited but memorable vocabulary. Plus the two sides of Gollum are so memorably bizarre.
Pippin and Merry are also a part of the story mainly to get saved and add some light elements to the story. They help introduce the tree people, the ents, as forces for the heroes and are the catalysts for the ents to rise up against Isengard. At no point though does their conflict feel like it carries the same weight as the other stories.
The Battle of Helm's Deep is one of the series' grandest set pieces and certainly the largest scale battle in the first two films showing just how much emotion and detail Jackson can put into each frame of action. There's a great mix of excitement, nervous fear, and quite a bit of humor particularly coming from Legolas' and Gimli's competition for kills.
At the same time, the build up to that battle is also so well done. Everything Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are a part of in this story is the the best part of the film. From the surprise return of Gandalf now back from the dead to their conflicts with Rohan, everyone shines, and the acting is at its best here from Viggo Mortenson, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Ian McKellen.
There are also a plethora of new characters added to the mix that all manage to stand out. Eomer (Karl Urban), Theoden (Bernard Hill), Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and Eowen (Miranda Otto) all stand out with Eowen's story particularly effective as the story's one strong female character, trying to find her own place in the fighting even if her use as a love triangle character for Aragorn has always felt a bit unnecessary.
The rest of the cast suffer a bit in this film though as they are given very little to do. Unlike the first and third films, this does not feel like Frodo's story at all. In fact, it often feels like the story drags when it turns back to him and Sam despite the inclusion of Gollum played so perfectly with motion capture by Andy Serkis.
Most of the story is just the trio walking around with Frodo and Sam arguing over whether to trust Gollum. The solo Gollum are in equal measure unnerving and hilarious as his character speaks with such a limited but memorable vocabulary. Plus the two sides of Gollum are so memorably bizarre.
Pippin and Merry are also a part of the story mainly to get saved and add some light elements to the story. They help introduce the tree people, the ents, as forces for the heroes and are the catalysts for the ents to rise up against Isengard. At no point though does their conflict feel like it carries the same weight as the other stories.
And so we were finally introduced to Andy Serkis who is still the only actor in the business right now that plays creatures and animals as convincingly as an actor playing themselves on camera. (Image courtesy of: youtube.com)
This film in general is the most flawed of the trio. It has some of the best moments, but there's a lot less consistency which seeps into every aspect of the film. This does not make the film bad in any aspect, but it does make it the weakest film from a technical level and makes some of its aspects less memorable than the other two.
The camerawork and effects are not quite as eyecatching this time around as they don't add much in terms of the smaller moments. The action is still tight and driven, never slowing with a lot of memorable moments. Even the fight between Frodo and Sam against Gollum is well done and vicious.
As the story shifts around so much, it can get a bit hard to feel payoff from any particular scenes especially since there is so much character development. This may be why the script sometimes doesn't quite feel as strong as in the other two. Characters like Faramir (David Wenham) feel like they can be so much more.
While Eowyn is one of the series' best secondary characters and has a solid story here, the script doesn't really manage to make her profession of love for Aragorn feel impactful. Eomer feels wildly underused especially with how good Urban is in the role, hurt by the way his character's role changes from the books to film.
The Howard Shore's score is strong in all three films though The Two Towers soundtrack probably has the lowest number of memorable tracks. The Riders of Rohan is one of my favorite tracks in all three films with the theme for Rohan carrying the city's strong sense of honor and endurance in spite of hardship.
Ultimately, The Two Towers is still a set-up chapter for The Lord of the Rings series. With the defeat of Isengard and Saruman, it forces out Sauron and his main army as the biggest threat while moving Frodo and Sam very close to Mordor. It also leads to a final chapter with some of the most incredible action scenes put to film.
The camerawork and effects are not quite as eyecatching this time around as they don't add much in terms of the smaller moments. The action is still tight and driven, never slowing with a lot of memorable moments. Even the fight between Frodo and Sam against Gollum is well done and vicious.
As the story shifts around so much, it can get a bit hard to feel payoff from any particular scenes especially since there is so much character development. This may be why the script sometimes doesn't quite feel as strong as in the other two. Characters like Faramir (David Wenham) feel like they can be so much more.
While Eowyn is one of the series' best secondary characters and has a solid story here, the script doesn't really manage to make her profession of love for Aragorn feel impactful. Eomer feels wildly underused especially with how good Urban is in the role, hurt by the way his character's role changes from the books to film.
The Howard Shore's score is strong in all three films though The Two Towers soundtrack probably has the lowest number of memorable tracks. The Riders of Rohan is one of my favorite tracks in all three films with the theme for Rohan carrying the city's strong sense of honor and endurance in spite of hardship.
Ultimately, The Two Towers is still a set-up chapter for The Lord of the Rings series. With the defeat of Isengard and Saruman, it forces out Sauron and his main army as the biggest threat while moving Frodo and Sam very close to Mordor. It also leads to a final chapter with some of the most incredible action scenes put to film.
Final verdict:
Three Defining Success
***Check back next week for the final edition of this trio of reviews where I gush over my personal favorite of the trilogy, The Return of the King.***
Three Defining Success
- Massive action set pieces with a great mix of drama and humor.
- Rising drama in the script that allows each of the main characters and many of the supporting characters to gain significant, complex character development.
- Once more, the acting is strong this time particularly true for Andy Serkis, Viggo Mortenson, and Orlando Bloom.
- Certain stories resonate stronger than other with each occasionally feeling like it's just happening to remind the audience that those characters are still doing something.
- Alongside the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings movies began Hollywood's larger scale commitment to series including the use of simultaneous movie productions. For better or worse, it had led to many of the big blockbuster series with huge contractual obligations for its actors. The now large scale MCU and the just beginning DCU film series are one major example which might lead to significant genre fatigue sooner rather than later.
***Check back next week for the final edition of this trio of reviews where I gush over my personal favorite of the trilogy, The Return of the King.***