So, now its time for the revisit of my review of the second part of the LOTR trilogy, The Two Towers and here I will do the usual tidying up sections and expanding on them here and there.
So, with that said let's take another look at the 2nd part of this epic trilogy...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So the story begins not long after the events of the Fellowship of the
ring with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continuing their
arduous journey to Mount Doom to destroy the one ring. However during
one night they are attacked by Gollum (Andy Serkis in voice and motion
capture) who was the former owner of the ring but they manage to capture
him. Frodo however feels sympathy for Gollum recognising the burden he
suffered at the hands of carrying the ring and instead offers him to
help as their guide into Mordor, which Gollum accepts although Sam
remains suspicious of Gollum.
In the meantime Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) remain on their mission to rescue Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) from the Uruk-hai who have captured them. However they soon come across an army of Rohan lead by Eomer (Karl Urban) who tells Aragorn that they attacked and killed all the Uruk-hai they encountered but couldn't confirm if the Merry or Pippin were also killed.
Aragorn,
Legolas and Gimli soon arrive to find the smoking remains of the
Uruk-hai and a charred piece of one of the hobbit's belts leading them
to believe they are dead. However Aragorn notices tracks in the grass
that suggest that Merry and Pippin both escaped and decides to keep on
their trail and they follow the Rohan army and meet with them who reveal
that they have been abandoned by their king Theoden (Bernard Hill) who
is being manipulated by Saruman's servant, Girma Wormtongue (Brad
Dourif).
On tracking the hobbits Aragorn and the others go into Fangorn forrest
where they encounter Gandalf (Ian McKellan) who has been resurrected
after perishing in Moria (and is now white haired). And with Gandalf
they return to Rohan where Gandalf releases Theoden from Saruman's power
(which had left him old and ameciated) and Theoden recovers his energy
and has Wormtongue banished.
Theoden learns that Saruman intends to
wipe out Rohan with an army of Uruk-hai so he decides to move his
citizens to the safety of Helms deep (a large valley in Rohan) meanwhile
Gandalf goes off to try and locate the banished the Rohirrim soldiers
lead by Eomer to help with the fight. Aragorn also strikes up a
friendship with Theoden's niece, Eowyn (Miranda Otto) who falls in love
with him (although it remains unrequieted by Aragorn). During their
travels to Helms deep however they are attacked by Orcs riding creatures
named Wargs and during a struggle Aragorn falls off a cliff into a
river but he is later found by his horse and comes to and travels on to
Helms deep but not before he witness the Uruk-hai ten thousand strong
army marching toward the same direction.
Meanwhile Merry and Pippin who managed to escape into the forrest of
Fangorn encounter the Ents, who are a race of tree-like beings lead by
Treebeard (voiced by John-Rhys Davies). Merry and Pippin attend an Ent
council where Treebeard eventually decides that they will not
participate in war, however Merry manages to convince them otherwise by
insisting they travel to the forrests around Isengard to see the
destruction at the hands of Saruman, which enrages Treebeard as they
decide to march to war against the evil wizard. Meanwhile Aragorn
returns to Helms deep where he warns Theoden of the oncoming Uruk-hai
army and they make their preparations as best they can to do battle.
Also going back to Frodo and Sam with Gollum now as their guide they
reach the gates of Mordor however they find it is heavily guarded and
Gollum insists it is too dangerous to try and enter and suggests there
is another way in. However they are later captured by Rangers of
Ithilien led by Faramir (David Wenham) who is the brother of Boromir
(who died in the last film). And when Faramir discovers that Frodo has
the ring he intends to take him to Gondor and he also captures Gollum.
Meanwhile at Helms deep the Elves arrives to help out Aragorn and
Theoden and this soon leads into the film's climactic action sequence as
the large Uruk-hai army arrive and they engage in an intense
battle.......
THOUGHTS
As a follow up to the first film, The Two Towers definitely doesn't
disappoint as it is for the most part a thoroughly gripping and
entertaining film with plenty of exciting action sequences. The tone of the
film is also that bit darker than the first one as the power of the
ring starts to manipulate and torment Frodo's mind and also the film has
imagery and action that is a little bit more gruesome than before (with
the first film being a PG in the UK and the last two being given a 12
rating).
The introduction of Gollum is also great and there is not much
doubt that in terms of CGI that Gollum is one of the best examples of a
computer generated character that you are likely to ever see on
screen. The film also nicely balances the different storylines as well
with the fellowship now ended with Frodo and Sam continuing their
journey, while Aragorn and the others are reunited with Gandalf and
Merry and Pippin find themselves in the forrest with the Ents as well as
Saruman's evil schemes to wipe out Rohan.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
Performance wise again things are excellent again here as the film
features its regular top cast along with some new actors making a strong
impression on the series as well.
Starting with Elijah Wood again here he provides another solid performance as Frodo, who in this film starts to suffer the psychological stress and burden of carrying the ring (Frodo that is!) even more than before.
Wood also has some good moments in
the film and also I will refer to some moments from the extended edition
of the film in this review too for certain scenes. And one such scene
involving Elijah which is good is their introductory scene which is a
contrast in tone to the rest of their scenes as it starts with Frodo and
Sam using some Elvish rope to climb down part of a mountain. And Frodo
says "We can't leave this here for someone to follow us down!" and Sam
protests "Who's going to follow us down here, Mr. Frodo? It's a shame,
really. Lady Galadriel gave me that. Real elvish rope.Well, there's
nothing for it - it's one of my knots. It won't come free in a hurry!".
And Sam proceeds to tug at the rope but it simply falls down from above
and Sam looks sheepishly at Frodo who smiles and says "Real Elvish
rope??".
Then there is the scene where Sam has Gollum on rope and he keeps
yanking the rope roughly which annoys Frodo who says "Why do you do
that?" and Sam asks what and Frodo says "Call him names, run him down
all the time!". And when Sam says all Gollum wants is the ring Frodo
says "You have no idea what it did to him... what it's still doing to
him. I want to help him, Sam" and Sam asks why and Frodo says "Because I
have to believe he can come back!".
Another good scene is actually closer to the start when Frodo is amused at Sam carrying some herbs for seasoning and Frodo asks "What's in this?" and Sam says "Nothin'. Just a bit of seasoning. I thought maybe if we was havin' a roast chicken one night or something...". And Frodo laughs and says "Roast chicken??!" and Sam says embarrassed "You never know" and Frodo laughs again "Oh Sam, my dear Sam!" and opens up the small container looking at the herbs and Sam says "Oh its nothing special". And Frodo sadly says "It is special, its a little bit of home".
Then there is the scene when Faramir
forces Frodo to reveal that Gollum is with him as Faramir has his
archers poised to shoot Gollum below and Frodo says "Stop! This creature
is bound to me and I to him. He is our guide!". And later when Faramir
plans to bring the ring to Gondor along with Frodo, Frodo pleads with
him "The Ring will not save Gondor. It only has the power to destroy.
Please, let me go!".
And last of all there is Frodo and Sam's last scene in the film where
they cheerily resume their journey after all the trials and
triabulations they have been through. And Sam says "I wonder if we'll
ever be put into songs or tales?" (its almost like they knew it!!) and
how "I wonder if people will ever say "Let's hear the one about Frodo
and the ring". And Frodo smiles "You've left out one of the chief
characters - Samwise the brave! I want to hear more about Sam" and he
stops and turns to Sam "Frodo wouldn't have gotten far without Sam".
And Sam bashfully says "Now, Mr Frodo, you shouldn't make fun. I was
being serious" and Frodo sincerely smiles saying "So was I".
Ian McKellan is also great again as Gandalf (dressed all in white), who
returns after being resurrected from his apparent death at the hands of
the Balrog.
McKellan naturally has some great scenes in the film such as his reintroduction as Gandalf in Fangorn forrest where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli encounter him again as he appears in a blinding light. And as Aragorn calls Gandalf by his name, Gandalf says " Gandalf? Yes... that was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Gray. That was my name. I am Gandalf the White. And I come back to you now - at the turn of the tide!".
Then there is the scene where Gandalf arrives at Theoden's castle to find him old and aged and he walks brusquely past Girma Wormtongue " Be silent! Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth! I did not pass through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!". Then he move toward Theoden and says to him "Rise, King Theoden!" and he produces his staff much to Grima's annoyance, who says "The staff! I told you to take the wizard's staff!" and by then Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas start attacking Grima's men. So, Gandalf says to Theoden "Théoden, son of Thengel, too long have you sat in the shadows! Harken to me. I release you from this spell!".
Theoden gives a weak laugh and says "You have no power here, Gandalf the grey!" only for Gandalf to then throw back his grey cloak to reveal his white outfit and blinding light. Gandalf then uses his staff to magically force Saruman's will out of Theoden, who struggle against Gandalf's power and says "If I go...Theoden dies!" but Gandalf remains defiant and says "You did not kill me, you will not kill him!" and Theoden in Saruman's voice says fiercely "Rohan is mine!" and Gandalf makes one last push with his staff and shouts "Be gone!". So, this sends Saruman flying back across his room and we then start to see Theoden released from Saruman's spell and he face becomes more youthful.
And I will keep this short to save some typing (and space!) so last of
for Ian is his last scene after (SPOILER!!) the battle of Helms deep is
over, Gandalf says "Sauron’s wrath will be terrible, his retribution swift. The battle for Helm’s Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin. All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits. Somewhere in the wilderness".
Viggo Mortensen also reprises his role of Aragorn very well as he takes on the role to protect the people of Rohan while they are at Helm's deep.
Viggo also has some great moments in the film such as the scene where Aragorn, Lego and Gimli discover the remains of the slaughtered Uruk-hai at the hands of Eomer's men. And when Aragorn finds the charred remains one of the hobbit's belts he angrily kicks away one of the Uruk-hai soldier's helmets and let's out a cry of dispair and sinks to his knees (and while filming that scene Viggo broke two of his toes after he kicked the helmet!).
Viggo even though his role is primarily serious he does have the odd humourous moment in the film such as the scene where Gimli talks about the sparseness of drawf women "It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men!" and Aragorn quietly says to Eowyn "Its the beards!".
Then there is the scene from the extended edition, where Aragorn tries to pour out the bad tasting stew, Eowyn turns
back and asks him a question "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said
that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather but he must be
mistaken". Aragorn tells her "King Theoden must have a good memory. He
was just a small child at the time" and Eowyn seems amazed and says to
him "Then you must be at least 60" and Aragorn shakes his head a little
embarrassed and Ewoyn asks "70?" and he appears a bit awkward and she
says "But cannot be 80!" and he finally tells her his age "87". Eowyn,
stunned by this revelation says to Aragorn "You are one of the Dunedian.
A descedant of Numenor, blessed with long life" and Aragorn nods and
says to her "There are few of us left. The Northern Kingdom was
destroyed long ago" and Eowyn smiles and says "I'm sorry. Please eat!"
and she stands Aragorn, who is forced to eat the stew!
Another good scene
is when Aragorn makes it back to Rohan having witnessed the Uruk-hai
army marching their way and he says to Theoden "
It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men.
They will be here by nightfall". And in the next scene, as they survery outside the keep, Aragorn tells Theoden "They do not come to destroy Rohan’s crops or villages. They come to destroy its people. Down to the last child" and Theoden grabs Aragorn and pleads with him "What would you have my men do?! Their courage hangs by a thread!" and Aragorn says to him "Gondor will answer".
And then there is the great scene where the battle of Helm's deep is
about to begin as the Uruk-hai army march closer and with the Elvish
army on their side Aragorn instructs them "Show them no mercy... for you
shall receive none!".
And another rare amusing moment from Viggo comes when Gimli quietly asks Aragorn to "Toss me" while they fight the Uruk-hai and Gimli says "I cannae jump the distance! You'll have to toss me!". And Aragorn prepares to grab Gimli who says "Don't tell the elf" and Aragorn quietly says "Not a word!" before he tosses Gimli over to the other side.
And last of all is the scene where Aragorn desparately tries to make a last stand at the Helm's Deep as the Uruk-Hai are on the verge of breaking inside the the keep itself. So, Aragorn tries his best to help barricade the doors as the Uruk-Hai try to batter them down. And Aragorn asks "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out?" and there is no answer and he asks again "Is there no other way?!" and Theoden's man, Gamling says there is a way through the mountains but they would not get far. So, Aragorn then says "Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass and barricade the entrance!". Theoden however is by this point beginning to dispair and says "So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?" and Aragorn tells him "Ride out with me! Ride out to mee them!". And Theoden suddenly brightens and says "For death and glory!" and Aragorn says to him "For Rohan. For your people!".
Sean Astin is also pretty good again as Sam, Frodo's best friend who he
travels with together on their quest into Mordor to destroy the one
ring.
Astin also has some good moments in the film such as the scene
where after Sam and Frodo have found Gollum and started their journey
with him as their guide, Sam makes some food for them using a fire. And
Gollum looks on in disgust at what Sam is cooking and he says "What we
need is a few good taters!" but Gollum doesn't what he means so Sam says
more clearly "Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew...
Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish! Even you
couldn't say no to that!". And Gollum says how he prefers his fish raw
and Sam looks on at Gollum with disdain and says "You're hopeless!".
Then there is the scene where Sam drags Gollum around with a rope around
his neck and Frodo disapproves and asks why he calls him names and runs
him down all the time and Sam says "Because... because that's what he
is, Mr. Frodo. There's naught left in
him but lies and deceit. It's the ring he wants; it's all he cares
about". And as Frodo snaps at him he apologises and says "I'm sorry. I
don't know why I did that" and Sam says "I do. It's the ring. You can't
take your eyes off it; I've seen you.
You're not eating. You barely sleep. It's taken ahold of you, Mr. Frodo.
You have to fight it!".
And then there is the scene where Sam tells Faramir what really happened
to his brother Boromir "You want to know what happened to Boromir? Do
you want to know why your
brother died? He tried to take the Ring from Frodo, after swearing an
oath to protect him! He tried to kill him! The Ring drove your brother
mad!".
And last of all there is Sam's speech to Frodo after Frodo
nearly knives him Sam says "Frodo! Its your Sam!" and Frodo drops the
sword and weakly says "I can't do this Sam". And Sam says "I know. It's
all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like
in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Folk
in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they
didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something".
And Frodo asks "What are we holding onto Sam?" and Sam emotionally says
"That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth
fighting for!".
Of the new cast members Bernard Hill is excellent as King Theoden who
was living under the spell of Saruman, which made him weak and ill but
he is soon saved by Gandalf which restores his health and energy.
And
Hill has some good moments as well but I won't mention too many but I
will mention the scene where Theoden is revived by Gandalf and he turns
to his niece, Eowyn and says "I know your face... Eowyn". And he then angrily turns his attentions to Grima, who has done the bidding of Saruman to keep him weak and he kicks Grima out of his kingdom. So, Theoden angrily says to Grima "Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!".
And then
there is the scene where Aragorn tells Theoden of Saruman's Uruk-hai army that marches to Helm's Deep and Theoden desparately asks what he can do. So, Theoden grabs Aragorn and asks him "What would you have me do? Look at my men. Their courage hangs by a thread! If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance!". Aragorn then tells Theoden "You must call for aid" and Theoden angrily asks "And who will answer?! Elves? Dwarves? We are not so lucky in our friends as you. The old alliances are dead!" and Aragorn says "Gondor will answer". However, Theoden is less convinced and angrily says to Aragorn " Gondor? Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell? Where was Gondor when our enemies closed in around us? Where was Gon..." and he pauses and says "No, my lord Aragorn, we are alone!".
And last of all there is the
scene where Theoden's men are almost overrun and Uruk-hai are about to
breach the deep that he almost out of dispair whispers "Where is the
horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like wind in the meadow. The
days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. How did
it come to this?!".
Then there is of course Andy Serkis who is great as Gollum and his
mixture of voice and physical work for the character are so good it
would be hard to imagine anyone else cast to do the role as well he did
as Serkis really shows Gollum to be both deceitful but pitiful as well
as the effects of the ring have twisted mind over the years.
Serkis has plenty of good moments in the film as Gollum but its hard to pin them all down and give specific examples of too much dialogue so I will make it pretty short. But one of my favourite moments is when Gollum argues with Sam over the merits of good food and how Gollum prefers to eat his food raw as Sam says he couldn't say no to his food and Gollum says "Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish. Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty chips!".
Then there is the scene where Faramir's men capture Gollum and beat him and he lies in the corner sobbing and speaks to himself as both Smeagol (his hobbit name) and Gollum " Cruel men hurts us. Master tricksed us!" and then as Gollum says "Of course he did. I told you he was tricksy. I told you he was false!". And then Gollum says "Filthy little hobbites. They stole it from us!" and Faramir intrigued asks "What did they steal?" and Gollum turns and shouts "Myyyy PRECIOUSSS!!".
WARNING: FAIRLY BIG SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!
And then there is the last scene of the film where Gollum feels betrayed by Frodo after he was captured by Boromir and talks to himself (in his split personality as Gollum and Smeagol) about killing Frodo and Sam in order to get the ring.
So, in the scene Gollum says to himself "Master betrayed us. Wicked. Tricksy, False. We ought to wring his filthy little neck. Kill him! Kill him! Kill them both! And then we take the precious... and we be the master!". And as Smeagol he says "Fat hobbit knows! His eyes are always watching!" and Gollum says "Then we stabs them out. Put out his eyeesses, and make him crawl!" and as Smeagol he says "Yes, yes" and Gollum says "Kill them both!" but as Smeagol he says "No, its too risky!". Gollum then suggests "Would could let HER do it!" referring to the giant spider, the Shelob and Smeagol says "Yes. She could do it!" and Gollum says "Yes, she could precious. And then we takes once they are dead!". And then he comes out of hiding and goes to Frodo and Sam and cheerily says as Smeagol "Come on, Hobbits. Long ways to go yet! Smeagol shall show the way" and then turns away and says slyly as Gollum "Follow me!".
Brad Dourif also does pretty well in his part as Grima Wormtongue,
Saruman's sleazy servant who is later banished from Rohan by the revived
Theoden and then goes to Saruman's tower at Isildur.
And in his most
noteable scene Dourif as Wormtongue says to Saruman "Helm's Deep has one
weakness. It's outer wall is solid rock, but for a
small culvert on its base, which is little more than a drain!". And
Saruman says cooly "If the wall is breached then Helm's deep will fall"
and Wormtongue says "Even if it is breached, it would take a number
beyond reckoning, thousands to storm the keep!" and Saruman says
"Tens of thousands!". And Wormtongue follows Saruman saying "But my
lord there is no such force!" only to walk through to look down below
from Saruman's tower at the sight of tens of thousands of Uruk-hai
soldiers waiting to go to war at Saruman's order and Wormtongue sheds a
tear in horror of what will happen.
Miranda Otto does well with her role as Eowyn, King Theoden's niece, who has a thing for Aragorn (although he isn't interested in her due to his relationship with Liv Tyler's character).
And Miranda has a few good scenes such as the one where she griefs over the death of her brother and Grima enters the room and taunts her as she touches her face, she moves away and says "Leave alone, snake!". And as Grima approaches her again and coldly tells her that how alone she now is and he touches her face gently, Eowyn looks at him angrily and says "You're words are poison!" and she storms out.
Then there is the scene where Aragorn watches her practice with her sword and he says "You have some skill with a blade" and Eowyn says "The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain". And Aragorn asks "And what do you fear my lady?" and Eowyn says "A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them and all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire".
And last of all is the scene, which appears in the extended additon of the film where Eowyn asks Aragorn about his age while giving him so rather bad tasting stew, which he pretends to enjoy. So, Eowyn approaches Aragorn with the stew and says "It is a stew, it isn't much" and he thanks her and takes some, which he clearly doesn't enjoy but is forced to say "Its good" and Eowyn surprised but pleased says "Really?" and she begins to walk away.
However, as Aragorn tries to pour out the bad tasting stew, Eowyn turns back and asks him a question "My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather but he must be mistaken". Aragorn tells her "King Theoden must have a good memory. He was just a small child at the time" and Eowyn seems amazed and says to him "Then you must be at least 60" and Aragorn shakes his head a little embarrassed and Ewoyn asks "70?" and he appears a bit awkward and she says "But cannot be 80!" and he finally tells her his age "87". Eowyn, stunned by this revelation says to Aragorn "You are one of the Dunedian. A descedant of Numenor, blessed with long life" and Aragorn nods and says to her "There are few of us left. The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago" and Eowyn smiles and says "I'm sorry. Please eat!" and she stands Aragorn, who is forced to eat the stew!
David Wenham is also pretty good in his role as Faramir, the brother of the late Boromir who died at the end of the Fellowship of the ring who captures Frodo, Sam and Gollum and briefly succumbs to the ring until Sam tells him the truth about Boromir.
And Wenham has some good moments that include the scene where Faramir finally discovers that Frodo has the ring after he had captured Gollum. And in the scene, Faramir approaches Frodo and says to him "So... this is the answer to all the riddles. Here in the wild I have you. Two halflings and a host of men at my call. The Ring of power within my grasp" and he uses his sword to lift the chain around Frodo's neck to see the ring. And Faramir continues "A chance for the Captain of Gondor to show his quality" but Frodo backs away and shouts "NO!" and Sam explains that they are trying to reach Mordor to destroy the ring but Faramir says "Prepare to leave. The ring will go to Gondor".
And then there is the scene where Faramir shows he has more inner
strength when it comes to resisting the ring as he eventually agrees to
let Frodo and Sam go. And Faramir says to Frodo "I think at last we understand each other, Frodo Baggins" and even though one of his men says to him "If you
release them, your life will be forfeit" Faramir simply says "Then
it is forfeit! Release them".
And lastly of the new cast members Karl Urban makes an early screen
appearance as Rohan warrior, Eomer who lead a band of soldiers exiled
from Rohan but he later makes an appearance in the battle of Helm's
deep.
Urban makes a good impression in the film in the role as the
somewhat arrogant sounding Eomer and he get's some good lines such as
when he first sees Aragorn, Lego and Gimli "What business does an Elf,
Man, and a Dwarf have in the Riddermark? Speak quickly!". And Gimli
sharply says "
Give me your name, horse-master, and I shall give you mine!" and Eomer
warns him "
I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from
the ground!". And as Aragorn asks of Merry and Pippin who were captured by the Uruk-hai party, Eomer grimly tells Aragorn "We left none alive and burnt their corpses. I am sorry".
As for the remaining regulars, John Rhys Davies is great as Gimli and he
provides much of the film's comic relief throughout.
Davies as Gimli has his share of good scenes such as the one near the start where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli run cross country to try and rescue Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai with Gimli clearly exhausted. So, as Legolas says to Gimli, who lags behind "Come, Gimli, we are gaining on them!" Gimli exhausted tells him "I am wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!".
Another amusing scene is where Gimli cheers up Eowyn by telling her about dwarve women and he says to her "It’s true you don’t see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, haha that they’re often mistaken for Dwarf men". And Aragorn whispers to Eowyn "Its the beards" and she smiles and Gimli continues "And this, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women. And that dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground!" and Eowyn bursts out laughing and Gimli says "Which of course is ridiculous!" but then Gimli's horse spurs and charges forward and it sends him flying off it with Eowyn running after him to help him up and Gimli says "Its alright! Its alright! No need to panic. That was deliberate!".
Then there is the scene where the battle of Helm's deep is about to begin as we hear the Uruk-hai footsteps grow louder and louder in the distance and as the camera pans over the faces of the men in the castle turrets we see that Gimli's head is nowhere to be seen. But we hear Gimli groan and say to Legolas "You could have picked a better spot!". And as they continue to wait for the Uruk-hai to come Gimli says to Aragorn "Whatever luck you live by... let's hope it lasts the night!".
And Davies actually has some good rapport in the film with Orland Bloom as Legolas especially when they start killing the Uruk-hai and rack up their body counts. And Gimli says to Legolas "Legolas! Two already!" but Legolas boasts "I've got seventeen!" and Gimli outraged yells "Huh? I'll have no pointy-ear outscoring me!!".
And last of all there is the scene (SPOILER!!!) after
the end of the Helm's deep battle where Gimli sits triumphantly over
the dead body of an Uruk-hai which appears to be twitching and Legolas
says "Final count, 42!" and Gimli says "Forty-two? Oh, that's not bad
for a pointy-eared elvish princeling. Hmph! I myself am sitting pretty
on forty-THREE!". But Legolas takes out his bow and arrow to make sure
and shoots the Uruk-hai in the stomach and he says "43!" but Gimli
protests "He was already dead!" and Legolas says "He was twitching!" and
Gimili finishes by saying "He was TWITCHING because he's got my axe
EMBEDDED IN HIS NERVOUS SYSTEM!".
Which brings me quickly onto Orland Bloom who despite being not the best
actor ever still does pretty well in his role as Legolas and its one he
is well suited to.
Bloom also enjoys a good bit of chemistry with Davies in the film as Legolas and Gimli start to bond as good friends in the film after their bickering in the first.
Bloom also has some good moments in the film such as the one where Legolas dispairs to Aragorn about their lack of men against the oncoming Uruk-hai force who march toward Helm's deep.
So, in the scene Legolas says to Aragorn about how ill-equipped their men are and that they are using even young boys to fight as well as farmers, who have no experience in battle. And Aragorn says "These are no soldiers" and Legolas frustrated says to him "They're frightened. Look at them! I can see it in their eyes". Legolas then speaks in Elvish to Aragorn and says "And so they should be! Three hundred against ten thousand!" and Aragorn says in Elvish "They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras". However Legolas again in Elvish insists "Aragon we are warriors. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!" and Aragorn shouts back in English "Then I shall dies as one of them!".
And then there is the scene where just before the
battle of Helm's deep begins and the Uruk-hai start their war cry,
Gimli who can't see what's going hops up and down saying "What's
happening out there?!" and Legolas says to him "Shall I describe it to
you? Or would you like me to find you a box?" which provokes a hearty
laugh from Gimli.
Christopher Lee also continues to play the part of Saruman very well in
this film as well as he was no stranger to playing villains and he
certainly embodies the role of an evil loathsome old bugger here pretty well!
Lee of course has some good scenes such as the one where see Saruman prepare his new Uruk-hai army and we hear his voice over say "The old world will burn in the fires of industry. The forests will fall. A new order will rise. We will drive the machine of war with the sword and the spear and the iron fists of the Orc. We have only to remove those who oppose us!". Then after that, he stands among a group of enemies known as Dunlanders and gives them a speech "The horsemen took your land. They drove your people into the hills to scratch a living off rocks! Take back the lands they stole from you! Burn every village!" and the Dunlanders cheer loudly and they stomp off to destroy the villages.
And lastly there is the scene when Saruman shows Wormtongue his vast army of Uruk-hai as they are about to set off for Helm's Deep. And in the scene, Grima tells Saruman that Helm's Deep has a weakness, which is a small culet that acts as a drain. So, Saruman says "If the wall is breached. Helm's Deep will fall" but Grima says "But even if it were breached, it would take a number beyond reckoning, thousands" and Saruman says to him "Tens of thousands!" and Grima says "My Lord, there isn o such force!". However, Saruman leads him toward the balcony of his tower and below we see tens of thousands of Uruk-hai and he addresses them "A
new power is rising. Its victory is at hand. This night the land will
be stained with the blood of Rohan. March to Helm's Deep. Leave none
alive. To war!!". And as the Uruk-hai start their march Saruman coldly
says "There will be no dawn...for men!" and we see even Grima is horrified as he sheds a tear for his former people.
And last of all Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan reprise their roles well
as the other hobbit duo Pippin and Merry who end up stuck out in
Fangorn forrest with the tree like race, the Ents.
And Boyd and Monaghan have a good scene where Merry tries to persuade the Ents to help fight against the Uruk-Hai at Helm's Deep but the Ent leader, Treebeard refuses to do so. So, in the scene Treebeard says to Merry "The Ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done" but Merry angrily asks him "How can that be your decision?" and Treebeard says "This is not our war" and Merry defiantly says "But you're part of this world! Aren't you?!" and the Ents all look at each other "You must help! Please!". However, after a pause, Treebeard says "You are brave, young Master Merry but you're part in this tale is over".
So, in the next scene, Merry looks frustrated and Pippin tries to reasurre him "Maybe Treebeard’s right. We don’t belong here, Merry. It's too big for us. What can we do in the end? We've got the Shire. Maybe we should go home". However Merry says to him "The fires of Isengard will spread, and the forests of Tuckborough and Buckland will burn. And all that was once great and good in this world will be gone. There won't be a Shire, Pippin!".
And last of all is the scene where Merry and Pippin are sat on Treebeard who says he will drop them off nearby a place where they can make their journey back home, however Pippin has another idea that will help convince the Ents to fight but he keeps it secret from them for now.
So, in the scene, Pippin says to Treebeard "Wait! Stop! Stop! Turn around! Take us south!" and Treebeard asks "South? But that will you lead you past Isengard. And Pippin says "Yes. Exactly. If we go south we can slip past Saruman unnoticed. The closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm. It’s the last thing he’ll expect!". Treebeard ponders for a moment and says "That doesn't make much sense to me" but he agrees to do it and he changes direction. Merry however is annoyed at Pippin and asks him "Are you mad?! We'll get caught!" but Pippin clearly has a plan and says "No, we won't. Not this time!".
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
Soooooo after that exhaust-athon I finally get onto the director and
music section of the review (which is always considerably shorter!) and
Peter Jackson (or Jeckson as Peter might pronounce it! ;-)) once again
does a great job here with LOTR TTT.
And Jackson once again displays
his adeptness at dealing with J.R. Tolkein's work and translating it to
the big screen in a thrilling fashion. Jackson also produces some
incredible set pieces in the film and the main one that stands out of
course is that amazing battle at Helm's deep which is pretty much
riveting from start to finish. And Jackson throughout that scene builds
up the suspense brilliantly as it starts with the distance noise of the
Uruk-hai's feet stamping as they walk toward the fortress to them
arriving and starting their deafening war cry. Jackson also again makes
a cameo appearance as a soldier during the Helm's deep battle sequence
where we see him throw a spear at the Uruk-hai so obviously still can't
resist getting involved!
As for the music again we are treated to another great score from Howard
Shore who builds on the themes of his previous score in TFOTR and
produces another classic with some great tracks and some memorable
moments. One of my favourites in the film is the music used for the
Helm's deep sequence which is terrific and its perfect example of
Shore's use of suspense and drama in his music also his theme for Gollum
is great as it has a mysterious and sinsiter tone to it and even
reflects the split personality of Gollum himself. So again overall its a
great score.
FLAWS
As for The Two Towers flaws....well OK it does have some issues.
For
starters the film again is guilty of being a bit overlong even though I
appreciate it is an epic there are are some scenes that kind of bog it
down a bit in terms of pace. And the scenes that primarily cause this
lapse in pace are the ones with the Ents and Treebeard who Merry and
Pippin encounter in Fangorn forrest as they are pretty slow moving and
drawn out. Treebeard (voiced by John Rhys Davies) even acknowledges in
the film that it takes Ents a long time to make decisions and it right
enough it sure does as they spend forever debating if they should go to
war or not! Just make a decision already!! They also even take ages to
decide that Merry and Pippin aren't Orcs but you only have to look at
them to know that!! I mean do they even remotely resemble orcs?! They
happens to be very small with big feet! I think that would make them
hobbits and not orcs!
Another issue I have with the film is just how did Gandalf come back to
life in the manner that he does as Gandalf the White??? His
ressurection is vaguely explained by Gandalf himself and he says that he
was revived until his task to bring down Sauron is complete but it
seems a bit bizarre that Gandalf would be ressurected with brilliant
white hair, fancy new white cloak not to mention a pretty cool white
staff to go with it! But we just accept it anyway even if it doesn't
quite make alot of sense.
Then there is Grima Wormtongue, Saruman's weasly servant who Theoden
actually let's go and let him ride back to Saruman where he can give the
evil wizard the skinny on everything he mght need to know to break down
Theoden's forces. And this begs the question: if that was the case why
didn't they just kill him then anyway! Grima also later seems to fail
to notice that Saruman had even put together such a massive Uruk-hai
army yet he has been his loyal servant presumably on a daily basis so
how would he have NOT seen this army in preparation or even just hanging
about?! It must mean that Uruk-hai must hang about underground or in
the caves or perhaps Grima just isn't that observant!
Also Grima mentions how Helm's deep has one weakness which is that the
fortress has a culvert (arc shaped) drain which could be used to enter
it. And this weakness pretty much highlights the one flaw which is very
similar to the one used in Star Wars with the Death Star which has that
one small exhaust port which could be used to destroy it! However to
be fair the fortress would probably need to have a drain to filter out human waste (so to speak!) that might be thrown down it so it would need to drain
out somewhere! However it still remains a flaw because it ultimately
allows the Uruk-hai to easily enter the fortress.
And lastly I just think it seems daft that both Legolas and Gimli would
have such modest body counts after their battle at Helm's deep as they
both announce they're kill counts were in the low 40s! Now these guys
have been slaying bad guys all night so surely their body count should
be much higher than that! I would have to imagine it would be somewhere
in the region of 100 at least given that vast amount of Uruk-hai there
were! Tens of thousands of them and both men were knee deep in killing
them so a very modest body count of 42 (for Legolas) and 43 for Gimli
after a full night's battle doesn't add up especially as Legolas not
long after the battle has started said he is already "on 17!". And
that's about five minutes into the battle! So that would mean Legolas
must have slowed down quite a bit overnight (maybe to let Gimli catch
up???) which again does not make sense!
Anyway that's it for my grumbles about the film.
SUM UP
So, after that rather EPIC look at The Two Towers I can sum up and say it is an
excellent second edition to the trilogy and it often makes for thrilling
and exciting viewing as well as being very entertaining. The film's
cast are also on top form and the music again by Howard Shore is great
and even though the film feels pretty long for the most part it works
pretty well and its great to see the high quality of the first film was
carried over with great confidence into its follow up.
And I would have to say that its my second favourite film in the trilogy, so with in mind I will give this film a rating of...
9.5 out of 10
OK, that's it for now and I will be back fairly soon with my look at the final film in the trilogy, The Return of the King.
Till, then bye for now!
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