*WARNING: If You haven't seen the original film, you will find spoilers for it within this review. Read
at your own peril!
The Two Towers continues the seperate quests of the original movie's "Fellowship": Frodo and Sam, along with
unexpected companion Gollum (or Smeagol...whatever) continue on to Mordor and are hampered in their quest, among other things, by Gondorians, Ringwraiths, and the schizophrenic Smeagol)--Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli still search for Merry and Pippin, and
then help defend the humans against the onslaught of Eisengard's Uruk-Hai at Helm's Deep Fortress--and Merry and Pippin are
rescued from a disgruntled "Ent" (a sentient tree) by the most unexpected of people...I don't think it will spoil much of
anything to say that it is the newly-dubbed Gandalf "the White" (he "leveled-up" in wizarding layman's terms after defeating
the Balrog--just go watch it, it will all make sense).
This movie is abso-fucking-lutely mindblowing. Only The Godfather Part II is the greater sequel, and it is
definitely better than Fellowship of the Ring. The battle of Helm's Deep alone is worth the price of admission, but
you also have scores of other things thrown into the mix here for good measure. One of the things I liked the best is the
coherence and fittingness of the side-stories (Merry and Pippin w/the Ents, Frodo and Sam w/the Gondorians and
Smeagol/Gollum, and everyone else and the defense of the humans at Rohan and Helm's Deep).
Merry, Pippin, Smeagol, and Gimli really shine in their roles this time around, we see a more agressive side of
Legolas, we are given a better insight into what makes Aragorn tick (we also get to see hints of his leadership abilities),
and everyone else is just as equally recipient of their own character expositions. The most underexposed are, of course,
Arwen and Elrond, but that's understandable this time around because they aren't as integral to the story (except in a few
parts where Arwen is kinda crucial, but I won't spoil them). Please, for the love of all that is sacred to you in
this world, get out and watch this cinematic masterpiece. If you're disappointed by it, then I'd personally love to kiss
your ass. |
