Rating- * * * * * (5/5)
It is a well-known fact that very few sequels have been better than their predecessors, especially when the original film is good. The list is a short one: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Godfather, Part II (maybe), and now Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. As you probably have heard by now, the entire Rings trilogy was undertaken as one big film project. All of the footage for all three films was shot at once and, since there is an astronomical amount of CGI in the film, Peter Jackson and his team have been finishing and editing the films between the releases of each of the films. The Rings project has been one of the riskiest and most ambitious undertakings in the history of film, and so far it has paid off. The first film in the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring, received oodles of critical acclaim, kicked some ass at the box office, and picked up more Oscar nominations than any other film last year. If quality is any factor, The Two Towers should surpass its predecessor in every respect. This latest installment follows the further exploits of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), the little hobbit trying to save the world from the power of an evil ring, and Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson) the heir to the thrown of humanity who is trying to save his race and all of Middle-earth from the evil forces of Sarumon. Even if you don’t care about any of that, this is an incredibly engrossing visual masterpiece. Like the great visual-storytelling films of our time (2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars), this movie tells its story not with bland, utilitarian dialogue that is clearly written to be giving us information, but rather with incredible, sweeping visuals. I was lucky enough to see this movie on the new giant screen theater here in Birmingham and there are several shots in this film that simply took my breath away. Jackson has taken full advantage of the technology in creating some of the fantastic locations and creatures in this film, particularly in the character named Gollum. This little slimy, half-naked curmudgeon crawls about wheezing and growling about its “precious” possession, The Ring that Frodo now possesses, and how much he wants it back. Aside from its incredibly realistic facial movements and physical features, Jackson and company have done something truly unprecedented with Gollum in making him a deep, multifaceted character. Unlike Jar-Jar Binks and Yoda, Gollum is a character with deep-rooted emotions and they show in his incredibly expressive acting. The scenes where Gollum is dealing with his multiple personalities are in fact some of the best acting I’ve seen by anything, human or CGI, this year and they prove that Jackson has begun to master his craft. The battle scenes in the film are also very well done, with armies of thousands engaging in combat that looks as real as anything we’ve seen in Braveheart or any other epic war drama. I will grant that Jackson probably had better material to deal with in The Two Towers than he did with the first installment; the storyline in the second installment involves more drama, excitement, and spectacle. Nonetheless, The Two Towers is an incredible cinematic experience and ensures that the Lord of the Rings trilogy will be one of the great cinematic events of all time. There is no one I would not recommend this incredibly engrossing film to so if you are holding back because you think the whole fantasy thing isn’t your bag, put your prejudice aside and give this film a try. I can guarantee that you will come away with a memorable film experience and one of the great stories of our time.