|
|
|
The Lord of the Rings: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
hen last we left the splintered Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) had set off into the rocky hills of Emyn Muil, seeking a path to the Black Gates of Mordor. Gandalf (McKellen) had fallen into the abyss of Moria, caught in mortal combat with the fiery balrog. Aragorn (Mortensen), Gimli the dwarf (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas the elf archer (Orlando Bloom) had set off in pursuit of the Uruk-hai who are in possession of the hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd).
Hopelessly lost, Frodo and Sam are attacked by Gollum (Serkis), a miserable wraith-like creature whom they recognize as the pathetic being from whom Bilbo stole the One Ring of Power. Subduing him, Frodo takes pity on the whining creature, offering to spare him in exchange for his services as a guide to Mordor. Sam protests, distrusting the simpering Gollum.
Orcs and Uruk-hai, meanwhile, have been dispatched by the corrupt wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee)—at the behest of the Dark Lord Sauron—to lay waste to the lands of men. They attack the outlying villages of Rohan, home to a race of horsemen. Rohan's King Theoden (Hill) has been seduced and incapacitated by his oily advisor, Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), working surreptitiously with the Wizard of the White Hand.
Theoden's son is gravely ill, but at the behest of Grima, Theoden exiles his strongest retainer, his nephew Eomer (Karl Urban). That leaves only Eomer's strong-willed sister, Éowyn (Otto), to argue for Theoden's support to mount a war against the orc hordes.
Tracking the missing hobbits, Aragorn and company stumble across a surprising and familiar face, who urges them on to Edoras, Rohan's capital, to aid the embattled horsemen. Merry and Pippin, meanwhile, make the acquaintance of an ancient caretaker of the Fangorn Forest. All the while, the One Ring becomes an ever heavier burden for Frodo as he trudges inevitably toward the fires of Mount Doom.
A second verse as strong as the first
The Two Towers picks up Jackson's epic film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Rings books where it left off in last year's megahit Fellowship of the Ring, and it's as if no time has passed. The initial exposition laid out, Two Towers kicks the story into full gallop in terms of action, character and mythology. This second Rings movie powers through its nearly three hours with relentless momentum, starting with a breathtaking plunge into the abyss with Gandalf and the balrog.
The great success of the Two Towers proves that Jackson's feat in Fellowship was no fluke. Like the book on which it is based, The Two Towers deepens Tolkien's rich story, delving heavily into the author's themes of nature versus industry, heroism, hope and destiny. Jackson maintains drive by splitting the story up into three narratives that interweave like silver in an elvish crown: Frodo, Sam and Gollum; Aragorn and Rohan; and the hobbits with the ents. The film builds like the pounding of a war drum to a climax that amplifies the book's Battle of Helm's Deep into one of the best combat sequences ever filmed. Jackson has also wisely rearranged story points from the book—such as the ent siege of Isengard—to give the movie a satisfying climax. A nice trick for a movie that essentially has no beginning and no end.
Two Towers also allows Jackson to pull out even more of Middle-earth's wonders than glimpsed in the homely first segment. Key among these is Gollum, a magical creation combining WETA Digital's groundbreaking computer animation with Serkis' subtle and courageous characterization. And Jackson has ingeniously chosen to portray Gollum's torment by splitting his characterization in two, giving the creature an opportunity to play against himself. WETA is also responsible for other fantastical creatures, particularly the ent Treebeard (voiced by Rhys-Davies) and the flying Ringwraiths.
Two Towers also treats the viewer to more remarkable performances, particularly Otto as Éowyn, who is steel wrapped in fur. Hill captures Theoden's inner turmoil as perhaps the last monarch of his line. The estimable Dourif hisses like Iago in his brief but brilliant turn as Grima.
My only quibble was using Rhys-Davies' Gimli as comic relief a little too broadly. But Jackson wisely opts to imply rather than exploit the rumored romantic entanglements among Aragorn, Éowyn and Arwen (Liv Tyler). And he has given The Two Towers the same look and feel of genuine history as the first movie, especially in the design of Edoras, the Norse-like home of the Riders of Rohan. "It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo," Sam says. "The ones that really mattered." — Patrick
Also in this issue: The X-Files Season Six DVD Collection
|
 |
|
| Home |
Copyright © 1998-2006, Science Fiction Weekly (TM). All rights reserved. Reproduction in any medium strictly prohibited. Maintained by scifiweekly@scifi.com. |
