Commencing right where the prequel, "The Fellowship of the
Ring", left off, THE TWO TOWERS opens with Frodo (Elijah
Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) heading east to the fiery pit of Morodor
in their quest to destroy the ring once and for all. Along the
way the covetous schizophrenic other-ling Golum (Andy Serkis)
will soon become their tour guide, leading them through precarious
swamps, caverns, and other treacherous landscapes en route to
the black gate of Morodor.
Meanwhile Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) have
been taken captive by the Uruk-hai (at the conclusion of the last
film) and march obediently along the terrain in captive of their
grotesque guides. It appears the Uruk-hai are on their way to
the white wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) who is currently manufacturing
an immense army of unthinkable number and force in a plan to wage
war against Middle Earth. At the expense of local forests Saruman
gives rise to metal and industry, obliterating all adjacent life
in the process; birthing, instead, diabolical, formidable Ork
and other fantastically grotesque war-wrought creatures.
While Pippin and Merry do their best to get free from the deadly
Ork, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), and Gimli
(John Rhys-Davies) fight their way across the plains of Middle
Earth in search of their hobbit friends. Encountering riders of
Rohan, lead by King Théoden’s loyal, albeit exiled nephew, Eomer
(Karl Urban), Aragorn discovers that his neighboring kingdom,
Rohan has been taken by the wizardry of the evil Saruman who has
overtaken Théoden (Bernard Hill) with magical spells that paralyzes
him into an aging, immobile, mute shell.
After the exile of her brother and the death of her nephew, Théoden's
son, Eowyn (Miranda Otto) despairs in the dark halls of Rohan
under the watchful, albeit slimy and diabolical eye of Théoden’s
ambivalent consul, Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif). Sure that he
is in ill-favor of the king he serves, Eowyn does her best to
avoid his approach until help reaches Rohan. As such, help appears
in the form of Aragorn’s trio, via an escort, the great Gandalf
the Grey (Ian McKellen); once dead now brought back to life as
Gandalf the White for a periodic time to help the fellowship in
their quest.
With his magical staff in hand, Gandalf exercises Saruman from
Théoden; releasing Théoden from Saruman’s paralytic spells and
restoring him to good health. Once restored however, Théoden has
many painful lessons to learn: in his state he suffered the loss
of much of his kingdom, many men, the exile of his nephew, and
the death of his son. Forewarned by Aragorn that impending open-war
is approaching in the form of a formidable army raised by Saruman,
Théoden hesitates to join the attack. Instead of confronting the
Isengard warriors Théoden requires that the citizens of Rohan
retreat to Helms Deep (Rohan’s mountain-bound fortress).
Though Aragorn is sure it is a trap and that all will meet their
death at Helm's Deep, all the same, he, Legolas, and Gimli follow
Théoden and his people to ensure their safe arrival at Helm's
Deep. Of course a few good fight scenes with Ork will have to
take place; one possibly suggesting the end for Aragorn who has
fallen off a cliff and disappeared.
Meanwhile the now exiled Grima runs to Saruman with details of
Théoden’s plan and assists in helping Saramun calculate an offensive
against the men of Middle Earth. All the while Merry and Pippin
have escaped from the Ork and have been taken captive by the Endi
(old, living trees of the forest), namely the shepherd of the
forest, Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies; voice) who, together with
the rest of the Endi, wage war against Saruman’s tower after discovering
his forbidden annihilation of the Endi-wrought forest. While Treebeard,
Merry, Pippin, and the Endi annihilate Saruman’s headquarters,
on the other side of Middle Earth things aren’t looking so good
for either Frodo and Sam, nor Aragorn and the Rohanans.
With Frodo and Sam skeptical to trust Golum it seems that at
times their adventures become unnecessarily dangerous. Still,
until their capture by Gondor representative Faramir (David Wenham),
fallen fellowship member Boromir’s brother, it seems Golum has
been true to his word. All the same, a covetous Faramir complicates
Frodo’s plans to destroy the ring. While Faramir prepares to snag
the ring to restore order to Gondor's obliterated lands (annihilated
by Saruman’s army), Frodo grows more and more weak, giving in
to the power of the “precious”. So too is Sméagol beginning to
battle his evil “other” that is the nefarious Golum.
Still, with war on the horizon Aragorn returns to Helms Deep
just in time to help lead the 300 man/child Rohanan army into
battle against the 10,000+ force of Saruman’s army. With things
looking unprofitable for both Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the
Rohanans, and Sam and Frodo, it seems its only a matter of time,
and a third and final film, before the fate of the fellowship’s
quest is revealed.
Whereas "The Fellowship of the Ring" is the classic
epic journey, and "The Return of the King" marks its
conventions as that of the timeless tale of kin and friendship
bonds (also epic in scope) arguably, “The Two Towers”, though
also undeniably epic in much the same respects, shifts its focus
to the more violent theme of the three films: war. This film is
steeped in archetypal and symbolic tradition of literary and cinematic
war epic. From the classic “arming of the warrior” scenes (which
occurred for both Théoden and Aragorn, and again with Gimli for
comic relief) to the lengthy intermittent “mini-battles”, with
“The Two Towers” all perspective of hope is challenged against
the interminable approach of darker days, possibly the end of
days for Middle Earth and Man. As one critic notes, “Two Towers
is an unadulterated war movie of heroic proportions.”
In contrast to the other films, here the dialogue seems far more
archaic and poetic, true to its epic and dated genre. Likewise,
in additional to the formal structure of narrative, here we get
the opportunity to view sweeping panoramas of Middle Earth's lesser
known regions (the comforts of the shire and Rivendale are completely
absent) in the midst of war-wrought scenes. Everywhere abounds
carnage, death, destruction, and multiple diatribes on the impending
evil of the "rise of industrialism and modernism" (think
Saruman and Treebeard's contrasting speeches about the death of
trees for steel and machine). Ironically despite its anti-modernism
monologues, the film also shifts the metaphor to function as a
patriotically isolationist and Western perspective; arguing that
our world is still one "with some good in it" and that
we need to fight for it… all is not yet lost. Other commentary
supporting the defense of "westernism" appears in quotes
like "the sun has gone down in the West", which parallels
notions of “there won’t be a shire anymore Pippin". Here
the medium of cinema is an artistic vehicle to unveil the impending
crises of conflicting perspectives of contemporary socio-political
issues.
Still, with all the various distinct perspectives of each film,
from their focus on character and plot development, etc., THE
TWO TOWERS reserves a niche for itself as the darkest of the three;
though there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. Here we
are swept away from the fancy of the fantastic and steeped in
the impending psychological crises of the death of a “golden age”
and the formidable threat of the dawn of a new, albeit unwanted
era. With impeccable cinematography, soundtrack, costumes, set
direction, dialogue, and performances to back the vision, THE
TWO TOWERS is a success as much in its own right as it is as a
member of one of this century’s most prolific cinematic trilogies.
J.R.R. Tolkien would be proud I think.
That said, as usual, one enjoys watching the 7 main characters
grow and develop in complexity and scope. Unforgettable of course,
is the continued competitive streak between Legolas and Gimli
which serves as a much needed albeit disarming comic relief to
the impending doom of their ill-fated situation at Helm’s Deep.
Likewise mini-narratives such as Liv Tyler’s memorable role as
Aragorn’s guardian angel, and the plight of Eowyn, etc. also produce
memorable characters who deliver solid performances. So too does
Cate Blanchett return to narrate the impending fate of Middle
Earth in an unnerving manner. Though Wenham’s Faramir was underdeveloped,
Karl Urban’s Eomer on the other hand, was not. Likewise, another
pleasantly new addition was the increased perspective on Golum
whose conflicted character is truly the hallmark depiction of
an prototypical “tragic character; he makes Hamlet look like a
one-dimensional character, even if only momentarily.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" won 2 Oscars
(2003): Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. It was also
nominated for 4 other Academy Awards: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration,
Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Picture. Additionally THE TWO
TOWERS received another 55 critical film awards, including a Grammy
for Best Score (Howard Shore) and received another 67 nominations.
Main Characters:
Elijah Wood plays Frodo Baggins, the "chosen one" of
the fellowship who protects the ring on its journey to Morodor.
Sean Astin plays Sam "Samweis", a hobbit fellowship
member and, specifically, Frodo's sworn protector and best friend.
Orlando Bloom plays Legolas, the fellowship's elfin archer.
Billy Boyd plays Pippin, another hobbit in the fellowship.
Viggo Mortenson plays Aragorn, the notorious mortal warrior in
the fellowship.
Dominic Monaghan plays Merry, the fellowship's fourth hobbit.
Miranda Otto plays Eowyn, King Théoden's loyal niece.
Bernard Hill plays Théoden, King of Rohan.
Liv Tyler plays Arwen, Aragorn’s immortal elfin love.
Hugo Weaving plays Elrond, Arwen’s father and leader of the elfin
nation.
Karl Urban plays Eomer, Théoden's loyal nephew. Andy Serkis plays
Gollum/Sméagol, the nefarious "other-ling" obsessed
with "my precious".
David Wenham plays Faramir, Borimir’s brother, heir to Gondor.
Christopher Lee plays Saruman the White, the nefarious "white
wizard" who wages war to control Middle Earth with Samon.
Ian McKellen plays Gandalf the Grey/the White, the fellowship's
benevolent wizard.
Brad Dourif plays Grima Wormtongue, King Théoden's personal consul.
John Rhys-Davies plays Gimli "Treebeard" (voice)
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Lord
of the Rings-the Two Towers ... THE ACTION REVIEW 
