The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Review

                    'It is an army bred for a single purpose: to destroy the world of men.'

We're time travelling back to 2002 today and reviewing the second instalment in the epic fantasy film series - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Directed by Peter Jackson and based on the series of books (second volume) by J.R.R Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers follows the continued journey of Frodo the hobbit and his pals to try and destroy the one ring of power that for some reason no one else can destroy. I mean really, there's no-one else? 

The second film picks up where the first left off: after Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) sacrificed himself to the Balrog in order to give the Fellowship of the Ring enough time to escape the Mines of Moria. Subsequently, the film follows the remaining members of the fellowship – Frodo, (Elijah Wood) Sam, (Sean Astin) Merry (Dominic Monaghan) & Pippin, (Billy Boyd) Aragorn, (Viggo Mortensen) Legolas, (Orlando Bloom) Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the newly reincarnated Gandalf the White (McKellen) in their quest to destroy the one ring of power - in the hope of eradicating Sauron. Additionally, the fellowship aims to stop those who Sauron manages to ensnare with promises of power - such as Saruman the White (Christopher Lee), a dark wizard.

All of the actors give masterful performances as their respective characters. Ian McKellan is able to convey the lighter and cheekier side of Gandalf the White; the sprightly winks and facial expressions he gives to the rest of the characters are truly indicative of the wizard character. However, McKellan is able to still maintain the stronger core of the character, on which most of the other members of the fellowship rely heavily on. McKellan manages to emulate this powerful centre to the character through his ability to add a bellowing and grand tone to his voice, which is effective when combined with his obvious overbearing statuesque figure in comparison to the 'hobbits.' The playful jesting between Legolas, an elf, and Gimli, a dwarf, is as comical as ever, and it's truly a delight to see them battle amongst each other. Bloom and Rhys-Davies are able to display a brother-in-arms type of relationship for their characters; two people who naturally playfully compete with one another, but have a bond, similar to that of brothers. Furthermore, Tyler and Mortensen display the strained relationship between Arwen, (the elven princess and daughter of Elrond) and Aragorn (the mortal and exiled heir of Gondor) beautifully and complexly.

There are many humorous moments in the film to counter act with the obvious devastation that surrounds the individuals in the piece; none more so than the scenes in which the demented but nonetheless entertaining Gollum appears. Possibly one of the most eerily memorable and overall disturbing yet amusing moments, is when the character Gollum, a wretched hobbit-like creature (created by using a mixture of voice and motion capture) portrayed by Andy Serkis enters a conversation with himself (his two alter ego’s Sméagol/Gollum) where one ‘side’ of him begins to berate and insult the other. This is undeniably entertaining to watch; the CGI of the character and the effort that has gone into capturing the motions and emotions of Serkis and generating them into the character of Gollum is captivating and enlightening. Serkis is able to distort and shift elements of his voice and physicality to create the multiple personas of the character that were required, and the result is magnificent. Serkis and Jackson manage to create sympathy for a character that is very unlikeable on the whole, given his deceitful and twisted nature, yet somehow we are left pitying the ‘original side – Sméagol’ and his constant battle with the darker side that has been corrupted by the ring.

As usual, the aesthetics are superbly envisioned, epitomizing the world of Middle Earth as written by Tolkien, with dramatic flair and adherence to detail. Jackson manages to create a world that the audience can once again get lost in, offering a sense of escapism to those who have the time to spare and want to be thoroughly entertained. The Battle of Helm’s deep is displayed celestially through Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography and the explosive special effects that add to the epic structure of the film, but do not hinder, as can be in some cases with high scale film productions (the visual effects do not take away from the narrative of the story). Overall, the battles are of justly epic proportion. Additionally, the colors and tone are bewitchingly appropriate for the premise of the film; they have a sense of allure and magic which are achieved in some scenes due to the soft definition between the tone of the colors and the use of the lighting in the elf village Rivendell, and are truly spectacular. Visually, it is hard for the audience to leave the film feeling unsatisfied.

Once again, reprising his role as the musical composer for the score is Howard Shore, who manages to create alluring and angelic tones to his music, by using wind instruments (such as the score ‘Evenstar’) for the more heartfelt moments. Shore still manages to achieve highly dramatic and brash scores for the more fierce, intense scenes, which he accomplishes by using loud, thunderous drums and other percussive instruments. On a whole, the film's soundtrack is breath-taking and in my opinion, should have been nominated for an Oscar like it's predecessor and successor film.

This film is one of few franchises (such as Harry Potter) that encompass everything epic fantasy series (that are based on literature) should be: true to their original form but adding to their own medium with visual elegance that can only be achieved through cinematic adaptation.

Anyone who is skeptical at watching such large scale productions, for fears that the story may be too reliant on the special effects allowed to them by their high end budgets, should take a leap of faith and allow themselves time to sit down and watch this film. I assure you it will astound you with it's tales of mystical lands, bewildering characters and creatures, and heartfelt tales of triumph and adventure. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers offers a suitably pleasurable and satisfyingly thrilling second instalment to the epic trilogy that we all know of.

4.5/5 stars

Reviewed by Mel.