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Title: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Date Viewed: 12/21/02, 12/31/02

Details:

Elijah Wood

Ian McKellen

Viggo Mortensen

Sean Astin

Billy Boyd

Dominic Monaghan

Orlando Bloom

John Rhys-Davies

Liv Tyler

Christopher Lee

Miranda Otto

Brad Dourif

Bernard Hill

Hugo Weaving

David Wenham

Andy Serkis (voice)

Director: Peter Jackson

Music & score: Howard Shore

Score: +

The Review: This is part two of three -- the bridging battles of Helm's Deep and Osgiliath, and the march on Isengard -- in Jackson's retelling of Tolkein's epic Lord of the Rings. (The first part was LoTR: The Fellowship of the Ring.) The two towers of the title refer first to Orthanc, the citadel of the renegade wizard Saruman in the Ring of Isengard, and secondly to Barad Dhur, the wizardly keep of the Dark Lord Sauron. By this point in the story, this pair of protagonists form the evil axis against which the entirety of Middle Earth are (or soon will be) arrayed, not only in the battle for the possession of the One Ring, but as well for the total elimination of the race of men. A brief warning to those who have read Tolkein: the editing and partitioning of this three-part film does not exactly correspond to the similarly named parts of the novel.

This is a worthy successor to Fellowship. If possible, the scenery and cinematography is even more stunning and spectacular, to greater effect and visibility than with the first part. Several long establishing shots are themselves worth the price of admission. The scenery is woven into the plot and makes the land itself into an integral and fully participating character. In addition, individual characterization of the members of the Fellowship is developing finely: Frodo (Wood) continues to be conflicted and stressed in his role as Ring-bearer, with poor Sam (Astin) taking the brunt. The most fascinating new role and portrayal is that of Gollum / Smeagol (voiced by Serkis), who haunts the first part nearly invisibly, but is formally introduced and herewith becomes a major character. Physically repulsive, untrustworthy but persuasive, his schizophrenia is carefully deployed in some of the most interesting and effective scenes in the film. On the other hand, the race of men seem tired and full of ennui -- witness both King Theoden (Hill) and Faramir (Wenham: Boromir's brother) -- making them easy marks for their intended elimination by Sauron. Disappointingly, Eowyn (Otto), as the other "new face," did not have a large part; she shows occasional flashes of strength, but does not yet emerge as a major player.

Several new critters appear on both sides of the conflict, including the giant wargs (that look and behave like vicious, whiny dog-weasel hybrids) ridden by the orcs at the ambush on the way to Helm's Deep (and both, I think, convenient fictions invented just for this film edition), the creepy "inhabitants" of the Dead Marshes, and the Ents. I was looking forward to the Ents as one of my personal favorite and best-remembered races from the novel, and was not disappointed; they were done well, and the Ent-moot was particularly effective.

...and the fighting! Two Towers is filled with battles -- lots of battles -- along with lots of blood of all colors, gore and dismemberment. Not for the squeamish.

The core characters persist as strong, nuanced, interesting individuals -- one of the clear advantages of "character re-use" across a multi-film arc. And even in the midst of running pursuit halfway across Middle Earth or the throes of battle, are now evincing some sense of humor, an attitude whose presence was only barely noted in part one. But even with the familiarity that might come from reading or viewing the first part, this film is still a tough row to hoe for the novice Tolkein non-reader. The personal names, epithets and relationships for new characters fly by very rapidly, usually without clear articulation and seldom repeated, confusing the casual and unenlightened viewer. On the positive side, there is more of a map-like appreciation for the lay of the land of Middle Earth; many times a real physical map is displayed, and this helps with the geography and an appreciation of its scale.

The music was neither as compelling nor chilling as in Fellowship, and the primary (and rousing) theme of the Fellowship is purposely de-emphasized, only recognizable on perhaps two occasions. It's a darker film, and the score is accordingly darker, which sets a mood quite well but doesn't lend itself to distinctive leitmotifs (nor to stirring "road music" on the CD). I was hoping for another song or two by Enya, and was a bit disappointed instead to hear some new, less interesting, voices. Although "Gollum's Song" (by Emiliani Torrini) is spooky and atmospheric, it is wasted over the closing credits.

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