THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Sometimes, it can be set in paper that something is bound to be great. When the Lord of the Rings trilogy first came to life with The Fellowship of the Ring, we just knew the rest would be history. It would only make us all glad to be proven right with The Two Towers.
PLOT
The 2002 film follows the fellowship separated, yet do their best continuing their quest to destroy the One Ring forged by the Dark Lord Sauron. The ring bearer Frodo Baggins and his friend Samwise Gamgee find themselves lost in the hills of Emyn Muil and gain unexpected company. They encounter Gollum, formerly known as Sméagol, who held the ring for decades before losing it. He tries to take it from both hobbits, but they quickly overpower him. Sam considers leaving him, but Frodo allows to let him guide them to the Black Gate of Mordor out of pity. After passing through the Dead Marshes wetlands and avoiding being spotted by Wraiths riding Fell beasts, they reach the gate as they hoped. The hobbits consider entering through the front, but Gollum considers another route, aware they’d be caught if they tried. When taking the route to the land of Ithilien, they witness rangers ambush Saruman’s reinforcements of men from Haradrim. Those same rangers would capture the hobbits while Gollum sneaks away. Their leader reveals to be Faramir, brother of the late Boromir. Frodo & Sam would not realize of losing a member of the fellowship until the ranger says so. He would then find Gollum alone, having Frodo admit they’re bound to each other. When the latter is captured as well, he feels betrayed and admits they have the ring at their possession. When Faramir sees it for himself, Sam explains they’re on the quest to destroy it. However, the Ranger considers taking them to Minas Tirith to prove his worth to his father, Lord Denethor. As they reach the besieged city of Osgiliath, Sam clarifies that Boromir tried to take the ring for himself, proving that having it doesn’t benefit anyone that isn’t Sauron. As he says this, the rangers get ambushed by wraiths which they survive. One almost captures Frodo due to briefly falling under the ring’s power, but Sam is able to save him, reminding him that Middle Earth is still worth saving. Impressed of their will, Faramir lets go of the hobbits & Gollum, allowing them to continue their quest. Still feeling betrayed, the latter plans to return the favor as they head towards Cirith Ungol, a mountain near Mordor. As they go through this adventure, the rest of the fellowship have a different one of their own. The trio of Aragorn (Isildur’s heir), Legolas & Gimli pursue the orcs that captured Peregrine Took & Meriadoc Brandybuck. In their rescue mission, they encounter a group of soldiers of Rohan who’ve been recently exiled by King Theoden whose under the control of Saruman and servant Grima Wormtongue. Aragorn asks if they’ve seen the other hobbits, but Theoden’s nephew Éomer recalls not after wiping out the orcs that captured them. When Aragorn looks at the burnt remains with Legolas & Gimli, he follows their footprints to confirm they’re still alive but went through the forest of Fangorn, containing live trees known as ents. Merry & Pippin were able to gain protection from an ent named Treebeard who is unsure if they’re friend or foe. He does share council with other ents from Middle Earth, coming to an agreement that they’re harmless but aren’t interested in getting involved in the fight against Saruman. As Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli explore Fangorn, they encounter none other than Gandalf the White, a reincarnation of Gandalf the Grey. The wizard confirms that the other hobbits are safe, before explaining his resurrection came about after defeating the Balrog. He takes them to Rohan’s capital Edoras where he uses his power to free Theoden from Saruman’s control. With an instant success, the king proves his regained will by banishing Grima for taking advantage of him. Shortly after learning the passing of his only son Theodred, word gets out that Saruman is sending an Uruk-Hai army to attack Rohan. Wanting to protect his people, he orders the citizens to evacuate, in which he leads them to refuge of Helm’s Deep. Gandalf separates with the hopes to find Éomer and his followers to rejoin the king in time. During the trip, Aragorn would befriend the king’s niece, Éowyn who not only aspires to fight alongside the men but quickly becomes infatuated with him. The trip would not be perfect however when they get attacked by orcs riding wargs. Aragorn would be presumed dead when falling off a cliff, losing his necklace given to him by his love Arwen (Liv Tyler). As he recovers from the fall, she is convinced by her father Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving) to leave Rivendell and depart for Valinor, believing she won’t be outliving someone she loves. Once she does, Lady Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) convinces him to honor the alliance of men by dispatching a company of elves to Helm’s Deep. As Aragorn makes his way to Helm’s Deep, he passes by the Uruk-Hai army that have an estimated 10,000 of them on the way. He shares his discovery to the king, but the latter still insists to prepare for battle despite being outnumbered. He does gain confidence with the Elves’ company, led by commander Haldir (Craig Parker), arriving before the enemy. However, the battle would be overwhelming as the opposing threat are able to breach the outer wall and wipe out the entire command of elves (minus Legolas). The protagonists would briefly retreat into the keep before having a rally at dawn. Thankfully, Gandalf and Éomer arrive in time to turn the tide. As this happens, Merry & Pippin convince Treebeard and the ents to attack Isengard and trap Saruman in his tower after discovering his act of deforestation (The extended cut would show the trees wipe out the remaining Uruk Hai that intended to flee). The film would end with Gandalf declaring that Sauron will retaliate, sparking the official Battle for Middle Earth.
THOUGHTS
After enjoying Fellowship, I knew the rest of the trilogy wouldn't disappoint. It only gladdens me on how right I was by the time I got to see this shortly after. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens & Stephen Sinclair succeed in crafting another special chapter to an epic adventure. Everything that was done before had the chance to improve. This one arguably had my favorite score from Howard Shore because the music had us aware of where we would be, apart from having an idea of what to feel. The production design made the fictional landscape realer than before and the combo of makeup & costume design enhanced how distinguishable the characters were from each other. The visual effects still hold up as you'd be quite impressed on creatures like the majestic ents or the vicious wargs. This one holds up well with the rest of the trilogy because it keeps the ball rolling with the theme to keep going with the journey you choose to take in your life. It will be worth it if you reach the end, but it won't be if you choose to stop before it's over. With the mix of returning and new characters, the message is very align. Elijah Wood still has us invested with Frodo because we understand the conflict he's feeling. The urge he has with the ring is slowly changing him but nevertheless, he still has a strong will at this point to keep moving forward. And lucky for him, he still has a great friend by his side to ensure doing the necessary. Sean Astin has us love Sam more than before because he's more seasoned on becoming focused with the stakes, taking it upon himself to be on top of Frodo to keep the said focus. His ending speech about how their journey will be worth it is still mesmerizing to this day because everything he says. And in these days, it is important to have friends that can speak such truth. Unfortunately, they have to put up with a side bump that become more of a leech to them. Andy Serkis becomes the true scene stealer in this film for instantly becoming Gollum in his incredible motion capture performance. From the get go, we catch on to how conflicted he is due to how mentally broken his obsession caused him. Seeing him talk to himself at every given chance proves just so. The ring is all he wants, but he still wants to live without shame. He wants to think the latter is what he wants, but the ring is far superior to his mind. Frodo wants to give him a chance because he knows it's not his fault to feel the way he has. Little would he accept that he created his own worst enemy. Had Baggins took Sam's advice, they would have been in less danger. And if it wasn't so surprising, each member of the fellowship had their own roadblock to ensure their journey progresses. Dominic Monaghan & Billy Boyd quickly show a lot of growth for Merry & Pippin because they break away from the charm & clumsiness to put their focus on the greater good. They never thought they'd encounter creatures like ents, but once they knew how powerful they were, they knew they needed the best help possible. That only makes it a relief that they convinced them to rally against Isengard in spectacular fashion. Seeing them pull that off comes to show you never know what your brain can come up with until it does. Viggo Mortensen has us enhance our respect towards Aragorn because he is boosting his confidence and has to do this knowing not many will be willing to follow unless he does something about it. He's not gonna stand by and die without effort and for that you can't help admiring. Noticing that mindset makes you wish you were on the battlefield with him. Lucky for him, he had great allies by his side. Legolas may be statistical, but Orlando Bloom will remind us he's loyal to his brethren. John Rhys Davies caught our eyes big time because apart from voicing the thoughtful Treebeard, he still had us respect the fierce Gimli. The man has nothing left to lose and with that kind of perspective, you know holding back is nonexistent for him; thus making him quite the ally. If you didn't see the trailer in advance, you knew it was a big surprise for the return of Gandalf. It was the surprise you didn't think you needed until it happened which makes it better. Ian McKellen brings a whole new flavor because as the White, he's now calmer than before and accesses the wisdom he was missing. And for that, makes him the most reliable of allies. To me, he proved so when getting Éomer back to the fold. Speaking of which, the leaders of Rohan definitely made a bigger impact than expected because every time they were onscreen, you wanted more of them. Bernard Hill has our attention as Theoden because he's someone whose regained his will and has to act with the most caution possible for his people's sake, not wanting his kingdom to go any more downhill. While he's the most cautious character outside the fellowship, that doesn't mean he's not a fighter which he does on cue. Because of his nobility, there is no doubt he raised a strong family that was visible towards his niece and nephew. While Karl Urban showed Éomer to be his own kind of loyal of a man, Miranda Otto struck my eye when embracing Éowyn as one whose soulful enough to make her will stronger. She may have not shown her skills here, but it only made us eager to see it later which we were grateful enough to see during Return of the King. Since it was still a bummer to deal with Boromir's passing, the last thing that came to mind would be encountering his family. That feeling only made us more surprised when being introduced to his brother Faramir. David Wenham makes him stand out in comparison for approaching him as one who has a chip on his shoulder, wanting to satisfy his over bearing father, but still has better intentions compared to him. He did the right thing letting go of Frodo's group because he knew better than anyone no one deserved the Ring of Power, thus having us appreciate the wisdom Isildur lacked before. Sauron's spirit may still be looming through the tower of Mordor, but he is still not the only enemy out there. While Brad Dourif gets under our skin as the cunning Grima Wormtongue, Christopher Lee is in high command whenever onscreen as Saurman. Like Sauron, he's mad with power and it only makes him more of a commanding force than before when ordering his army where to shed blood. Lucky for us, his reign of terror is destroyed before it could get any worse. This film indeed holds up with the rest of the trilogy, but even great stuff like this had some questionable moments. Going from the top, why the hell would Gollum speak so loud when trying to sneak up on the hobbits? Whether or not they were actually sleeping, he was screwed. I give Legolas mad respect for having Gimli's back when Eomer threatens him, but even he should know the numbers were not at his favor. And I can't be the only one who believes Grima is pretty dumb. Not only did he take so long to notice Gandalf kept his staff, but didn't notice the Uruk Hai army until Saruman mentions the amount at his favor. That was weirder than Theoden letting him go. Other than that, you're still in for an incredible experience. In conclusion, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is an incredible sequel for raising every bar possible to continue great storytelling. If you loved Fellowship, I won't doubt you'll love this as well.
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