#17: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Release Date: December 18th, 2002

Format: Streaming (Max)

Written by: Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh

Directed by: Peter Jackson

3 Stars

It’s tough to review this as a stand alone movie. I feel like the narrative arc of a story - in this case the entirety of all three LotR films - needs the second act to service the plot and the characters. What I mean is, The Two Towers needs to move the characters along both literally and figuratively on their journey. So, am I reviewing this as a movie? If I am, it’s okay (2.5 stars). Am I reviewing this as the rising action-bridge of the entire epic? Then I would say that it’s better than okay (3.5 stars). I guess I’ll split my rating down the middle. It is part of what I think is the best film series ever (more on that in my review of Return of the King). 

I’m always fascinated with how movies age, and now that Two Towers is over twenty years old, I was curious to see it again. I would say that it is aging pretty well. The effects never wholly take you out of the moment. The blending of set design and CGI is strong, although the full green screen shots lack realistic physics and weight that still plague movies today. I’m not sure they will ever figure that out.

I’d love to get feedback on the pacing from a younger person. Would a teenager tolerate a 2.5-hour second act in what is an 8-hour film overall? I’m not sure. The pace is methodical, but you have hobbits covering hundreds of miles on foot - or carried by Ents - so it’s not mis-paced. 

I have more to say about the writing and characters, but it’s nothing specific to Two Towers, so I’ll save it for my Return of the King review coming up next.