Lord of the Rings---The Two Towers

Rating = B+

I really liked this movie. While there was much (perhaps much more) battle in this episode, it didn't seem as bloody to me. Also, this time I felt it was much less a battle between good and evil (almost a religious campaign) and much more a battle between the heroes and their enemies. The first few minutes of the movie, involving Gandalf in a one-on-one battle, are thrilling. Gollum is a wonderfully life-like character, and I didn't have a problem (as some of the critics have) about the director being too proud of Gollum and showing him too much. There are a couple of slow parts of the movie: the parts involving dreams or whatever of Liv Tyler and Cate Blanchette, and (of course) the parts involving the ents (however, the final ent scene where they attack a city was pretty neat). Despite its hour length, the siege and defense of Helm's Deep is the most exciting castle siege and defense I have ever seen in movies.

[2003-01-06]