News
Books
Writing
Hobbies
Gallery
Links
Email Brian
Email Kerri
Unless otherwise noted,
all material on Heromaker.net
is written by Brian Murphy
© 2006.
Review Archive
FILMS
The Lord of the RingsThe Two Towers (2002)
When I fall in love with a movie I tend to cringe and emotionally hesitate before getting excited about its sequel. I try my best to reserve judgement because, like any love, you leave yourself vulnerable to hurt. (Much like with the Star Wars prequels.) Let it be known that The Fellowship of the Ring might very well have been my favorite movie of all time. That is, until I saw The Two Towers.
Yes, yes, I'm sure you can hear it now—in the comic-book store owner voice from The Simpsons—best movie EVAR. It's funny to mock, but it's true. Director Peter Jackson has realized everything it is that I love about reading the fantasy genre and put it on the silver screen. But more importantly, he did it in such a way as to make people take it seriously. These are Good Movies with Good Stories. They're about Real People Whose Problems Matter.
"It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo," Sam says. "The ones that really mattered."
Warning, dear readers! Spoilers ahead! I will henceforth be speaking about the plot and details therein. If you do not want this film spoiled then make thee haste to some other website!
Every love and relationship has its difficulties and problems. So let's get those out of the way first....
I thought they whored Faramir. If I recall the book correctly, Faramir released Frodo while still in the wild. Faramir was stronger willed than his brother Boromir, and found wisdom in letting the hobbit go his own way. In the book Faramir resisted the lure of the One Ring's power. Please let it be noted that I've only read the books twice—most recently over a year ago—so I could be wrong on this point. It is only my recollection that Faramir in the book was a more stand-up guy. Cinematically speaking, though, I can understand why Peter Jackson felt it necessary for Faramir to haul Sam and Frodo back to Osgiliath.
And I continually dislike the use of Gimli as nothing other than comic relief. The "dwarf tossing" joke in the first film and the "cross country" running gag in the second film aren't terribly funny. I did, however, find myself laughing at the conversation Gimli has with Eowyn regarding female dwarves. Again, this use of Gimli is, at worst, the most minor of nuisances—easily ignored by the rest of the film. I only spend time to point it out here because if I didn't, well, this review would sound rather fanboyish. Lathered and geeky and smelling of basement B.O. There are flaws in The Two Towers but I find them easily overlooked. Now, to the good stuff....
From the get-go: Gandalf's standoff against the Balrog in the Fellowship gave me goosebumps. The Two Towers uses this scene as a launchpad for the movie. Goosebumps again. But this time we see how Gandalf's situation plays out. He chases the Balrog in a freefall, grabbing his dropped sword, and fights—in mid-air!—with the Balrog. And still kicks the fiery beast's ass! What a scene. Even now, sitting here, writing these words, there's a little part of my mind that is remembering the scene—and it's cheering, "Go Gandalf, go!" And then later, when he returns as Gandalf the White...wow. When I read the book I got the distinct feeling that a transformation had taken place. He has become something different, something bigger and more important and powerful. It may not be in the text, but I also felt that there was something a little less human about him after his death. This was all pulled off wonderfully by Ian McKellen.
Legolas isn't too much of a badass, is he? It's a real toss-up for his best scene. Do we vote for the fight against the wargs? He's lauching arrows at the oncoming orc-mounted wargs when Gimli comes up behind him on horseback. Everything's in slow-motion, mind you, and Legolas mounts the horse on the right side from the left, by swinging in front of the horse. Or do we vote for the fight at Helm's Deep? He throws a shield on the ground and uses it to slide down the stairs while taking out uruk-hai left and right? It's an argument for the academics to decide because ultimately he's a complete and total badass.
The Ents going to war was always one of my favorite parts of the book. I loved the scenes describing the Ents picking up huge boulders and throwing them toward Isengard. The best way to describe it is a fast-slow destruction. I liked how they smashed and bashed and tromped and in all other ways handed Saruman's ass back to him. When reading the books I knew the Ents were "treelike" but I never had a really solid vision in my mind what they looked like. Whether it's a lack of description by Tolkien or a lack of imagination on my part I'm not sure. In any case, Peter Jackson took care of the miscommunication and recreated them perfectly.
The battle at Helm's Deep is the best battle scene I've ever seen—outdoing those in Braveheart for sheer scope and intensity. Every time you think it's over, it's not. The allies defending Helm's Deep keep retreating and retreating. I cheered when the elves arrived. Their crisp but fluid marching and movements made me feel as if the rag-tag group of defenders actually had a chance. It also important, plotwise, because it's the moment where Elrond and Galadriel step up by sending reinforcements. I can also start to see the kingliness in Aragorn. He's a leader of men. He's even a leader of other kings, as he inspires King Theodon to carry on when all hope is lost.
Gandalf's arrival near the end of the battle felt real and, even though he said he'd be back, it was somewhat of a nice surprise for me. I think he'd been gone so long from the film, that I forgot how long he'd been gone...and I kind of forgot about him. Again, he gets the Goosebump Award. When I saw him all shiny and bright and at the head of a column of hundreds of Rohan horsemen, I cheered. It wasn't loud, but I did cheer.
And then we come to one of the best parts of the movie: Gollum. He was absolutely incredible. The man who played him, Andy Serkis, should be given an award. Or a whole pile of them. And after that, the animation crew who helped bring Gollum to life should be given percentages of the gross movie profits—they're geniuses. Many times while watching a CGI character, I'll sit there during the movie and remark to myself, "Wow! Look how real they look!." But in doing this, I'm still pointing out that they look real, but knowing that they aren't, and in doing so, I'm focusing on what they are, not what they're doing or how they're behaving. Does that make any sense? I guess more simply put, all CGI characters are miracles of technology and I find myself distracted by the marvel of the technology. No so with Gollum. I found myself forgetting that he was CGI. It wasn't so much that the CGI was seemless (though it was pretty darn close) but rather I found the character of Gollum so incredibly intriging. His dialogue and torment transcended the CGI. I found myself pitying Gollum. As Gandalf said in the first film, "Pity stayed Bilbo's hand." Gollum is a miserable creature but he has a few shining moments when he's happy that makes him all the more tragic.
It's a testament to Peter Jackson's work that, when leaving the theater my wife says to me, "I don't like the way they pushed Gollum around. I felt bad for him." And the look on her face was genuine and sincere.
Congrats and full marks go to Peter Jackson and the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for raising the benchmark in both the fantasy genre and the film industry.
|