2002’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”, directed by
Peter Jackson.
Starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Christopher Lee, Viggo
Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John
Ryhs-Davies (twice), Andy Serkis, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Hugo Weaving, Dominic
Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Bernard Hill, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Miranda Otto,
David Wenham, and Cate Blanchett.
Winner of an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing (Ethan Van
der Ryn and Mike Hopkins) and Best Visual Effects (Jim Rygiel, Randall William
Cook, Joe Letteri, and Alex Funke).
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Film
Editing (Michael Horton), Best Sound (Chrisopher Boyes, Michael Semanick,
Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek).
After opening the “Lord of the Rings” series with a bang
with “The Fellowship of the Ring”, Jackson had another yeoman’s task: to
continue on from the previous material introduced in the last film, introduce
new characters and dilemmas, and set up suspense for the conclusive third act.
Miraculously, Jackson confidently hits for the cycle, and “2T” is engrossing,
intense, and desperate in many parts. “2T” is likely the most harrowing of the
3 movies, as it’s simply impossible to end on a positive note when the series
isn’t finished yet. To be sure, it has it’s battle victories, but when the
movie ends we know there is a long road ahead in the great war,
with more armies gathering to oppose the fellowship’s quest, with clouds
thundering in the distance, food supplies getting low, and spirits weakening.
We open with a spectacular sequence where we find out what
happened to Gandalf (McKellan) after getting separated from the group while
fighting the fiery Balrog in the mines of Moria. It turns out his journey is
just beginning, and a wizard upgrade could be in the works. Meanwhile, Frodo (Wood)
and Sam (Astin), separated from the group and working their way to the dark
land of Mordor to destroy the ring, find an unlikely guide in the character,
Gollum (Serkis, so wonderful here). Initially, Gollum is only attracted to the
special ring (his self described “precious”) that Frodo carries, however, his
character begins to soften as Frodo treats him as the man that he once was,
before he mutated into a reptilian creature due to the corrosive effects of the
ring. Deepening their confusion, is the complete lack of trust Gollum and Sam
share between each other. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom), and
Gimli (Ryhs-Davies) find themselves in the land of Rohan, still in pursuit of the
evil wizard Sarumon’s Urak-Hai creatures who kidnapped Merry (Monaghan) and
Pippen (Boyd). Along the way, they meet up with King Theoden (Bernard Hill),
and his stalwart children, Eomer (Karl Urban) and Eowyn (Mirando Otto). Unfortunately,
King Theoden is under the spell of Sarumon, with the wicked Wormtongue (Brad
Dourif) there to speak for him. Eventually, trouble in the form of tens of
thousands of Urak-Hai show up to siege Rohan, and the group must retreat to a
last stand, at Helm’s Deep fortress. As this goes on, we meet the race of Ents,
who are prehistoric talking and walking trees, who may take umbrage at some of
the industrial “improvements” that have been made in the name of militaristic
progress. We also see the introduction of flying creatures as transportation for
the ever present and terrifying Nine, the upper minions of Sauron, continuously
searching (and screaming) for the ring. Finally, the deceased Boromir’s
brother, Phoromir (David Wenham), also is introduced, and he has his own plans
for the ring in the fight against Sauron’s forces.
That’s a portion of what happens in the movie, with so many
moving parts and stories. There are many highlights. Brad Dourif’s Wormtongue
character, essentially a serpent disguised as a humanoid looking character, is
absolutely riveting as the parasitic leach who sucks out all the valour and
honesty of a room. The slow moving race of Ents, who really know how to go
green, are a treat. The Helm’s Deep battle sequence, where approximately 25 screen
minutes are dedicated to one of the best filmed battles of all time, is a movie
within a movie that has few equals in film history. Finally, the introduction
of Gollum, is one of the best CGI characters of all time, with Andy Serkis
making the disgusting and compromised Gollum somebody who is tremendously
sympathetic and able to be understood in his twisted motivations. Once you
consider that this is both 2 years before the nightmare of the zombie CGI
characters in “The Polar Express”, AND 3 years after the abomination of Jar-Jar
Binks, it’s easy to declare Gollum a fully embodied character with his fair
share of tics and traits. More importantly, his struggle with his soul is one
that completely embodies the spirit of “LOTR”.
There is much growth here. We witness Aragorn, previously
mysterious and unknown in his motivations in “Fellowship”, struggling through
his relationship with the immortal elf (Tyler), while he works through his self
doubt as a leader of others. We watch other characters, previously timid,
become emboldened, and battle ready. We witness collaboration between races
previously ambivalent to each other. Most importantly, we watch Frodo’s soul,
as it begins to distort and twist to the selfish and demented calls of the ring
that he carries. An excellent metaphor for the fear, spitefulness, and greed of
mankind, weighs on Frodo as he continues his climb towards the volcano of Mount
Dune, in order to destroy the ring. We all have our weaknesses, and while “2T”
is not perfect (purists to the novels will have plenty to kvetch about,
especially some dream sequences), it’s kinetic splendour, spectacular ambition,
and connection to both beginning and end of the story is commendable.
4.5/5
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