OK so I thought its time to get on with my look at the Lord of the Rings trilogy with part two (or the second book if you like) The Two Towers. So let's gives this ones a looksee and what preciousss things lie aheads..... (sorry for Golluming!). And yes this will be another GIANT post!
And yep the usual applies....SPOILERS WILL BE 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 which will most likely leave the hairs standing on viewer's necks. 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
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". Another good scene is 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 ressurected 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!". 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 "The battle of Helm's Deep is over; the battle for Middle-earth is about to begin!".
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!". 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 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.
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 then there is the scene during the battle at Helm's deep that Theoden looks down with contempt at the Uruk-hai's charges and he says "Is this it?! Is this all you can conjure, Saruman?!". 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!!".
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 while she isn't given a great deal to do in the film other then flex her sword now and then and act as a romantic foil for Aragorn, which goes nowhere since he has no interest in her at all, she still does well with her role as Eowyn. And Miranda's most noteworthy scene is when 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".
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. However Faramir has more inner strength when it comes to resisting the ring as he eventually agrees to let Frodo and Sam go even though one of his men says to him "If you release them, your life will be forfeit". And 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!".
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 also get's some of the film's best lines such as 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 and his best line comes at the scene 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 darn well! Lee's best scene comes when Saruman shows Wormtongue his vast Uruk-hai army ready to march to war. And Saruman 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 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 so they aren't given a whole lot to do in the film this time round. For once I haven't got a line for Boyd but Monaghan has a good one as Merry as he responds to Pippin when he says they should just go home. And 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!".
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 and 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 the piss and shit 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
Soooooo that's FINALLY it for my look at The Two Towers which 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 that's it for now (God that took ages! Three nights in fact!) and I will be back again soon with my final post for the LOTR trilogy which is of course on The Return of the King.
Until then my preciousssesss its bye for now!
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