The Two Towers

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Two Towers is the second of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film was the second highest grossing of the trilogy at the domestic box office. The film continues where the Fellowship of the Ring left off with Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee continuing on their journey to destroy the one ring in Mordor. The film also centers on the members of the fellowship that are preparing to face off against the forces of Mordor.

The film starts off strong with a battle between Gandalf and the Balrog of Moria that wasn’t seen in the first movie. It’s an amazing set piece. Peter Jackson nailed it. Gandalf and the Balrog are falling through the mountain and are fighting each other at the same time with a nice wide shot right when they are about to hit the subterranean lake at the base of the mountain. The scene really does set the tone for the entire film. The film also has some other great set pieces with great shots of mountains, gorges, and valleys when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are looking for Merry and Pippin. Peter Jackson’s decision to shoot the film in his native New Zealand was a great idea.

The lighting in the film was spot on when Gandalf arrives with the cavalry there is a ray of light coming from behind him signifying that the reinforcements of the army of good have arrived in stark contrast to when the Isengard armies arrived, all they brought was darkness and rain. The cinematography in the film was very well executed as well with close shots when Frodo is being controlled by the one ring and nearly gives to ring to the enemy.

The film's climax is the Battle of Helms Deep. The people of Rohan a human kingdom go to an ancient stronghold to protect themselves when the armies of Isengard attack. It is a great battle scene in the rain with a great soundtrack and action. This is where Aragorn starts to become the leader that he was born to be. When the king is injured he rallies his men to charge at the enemies that have broken through. It is a great moment Aragorn is the first to charge through the lines signifying his bravery in battle. In the third movie the king even states that he wasn’t the cause for them winning the battle.

Another good conflict of the story is the conflict within Frodo the ring bearer. He soon starts to realize that he will most likely die in his quest and he also starts to lose faith in what he is fighting for. The only thing that brings him back is a speech by his companion Sam and he states that there are some things that are just worth fighting for renewing his resolve. In my honest opinion I believe that Sam is the star of the entire trilogy.

The film has very few faults. The first is the length of the film as are the other two films of the trilogy. The second is the storyline of Merry and Pippin, there storyline only gets interesting towards the end of the film when they finally accomplish something great. All in all “The Two Towers” is a master piece and will go down as one of the best fantasy films of all time. I would rate the Two Towers a 9.5/10. 

O.S