The Two Towers!

[Brandon Jones]

What do all of you think? Post your "official" comments here. I saw the first show at noon today and I must say, I did enjoy it. Despite the fact that Mr. Lee's scenes were kept to a minimal I thought the film flowed very well. I could've done without so much Gollum and Treebeard. Saruman and Gandalf should have been more prominent. Overall I did like it though, and plan on seeing it at least once or twice more.

Oh, and go to the QUIZ center to take my Two Towers quiz. I hope you guys enjoy it! I saw that Alfonso only got a 3, so it must be a doozy.

[Michelle77]

Went to watch it last night.
Even though I had to wait over an hour and a half in the dark, on a freezing cold platform to get home for 11.30 - it was worth it!

On the whole it was great, better than the first, probably because there is more action. The battle sequences were fantastic. I do agree that some scenes went on too long, the Treebeard sequences had me going "get a move on!" but I think that was the whole point? As for Gollum, I didn't mind his scenes, I just couldn't believe that he wasn't real!

Of course I think that Saruman should have had more scenes (I don't think anyone else on here will disagree!) and I was disappointed that the scene of the staff breaking and the casting down of the palantír will have to wait for ROTK (I mean having to wait a WHOLE YEAR for a scene that I hope will be WOW!) It's just not fair!!

I also got annoyed slightly by the love triangle thing. I mean, did the film really need it? I think not.

Anyway, I'm still going to have to go and watch it again over Christmas. I always think you can watch a film better the second time...

[Chaos Mage]

My favorite part of the movie was when Saruman was showing Grima his massive armies, and Grima shed a tear because he was so impressed with the power and might of Saruman.

[Michelle77]

My favorite part of the movie was when Saruman was showing Grima his massive armies, and Grima shed a tear because he was so impressed with the power and might of Saruman.

I liked that scene too, with Saruman surveying the army from the balcony...

[Brandon Jones]

My favorite scene with Saruman was the part where Gandalf was freeing King Theoden from Saruman's "possession." Gandalf throws back his cloak and then it quickly cuts to Saruman's tower and Saruman is thrown back on the floor! It was really awesome. I did also love the part where Saruman addressed his army.

[Brandon Jones]

And despite the fact that Grima is nothing more than a snake, I think he has a little emotion in there. I think his shedding the tear was because of fear, not from being impressed with Saruman's might.

[Chaos Mage]

And despite the fact that Grima is nothing more than a snake, I think he has a little emotion in there.  I think his shedding the tear was because of fear, not from being impressed with Saruman's might.

Oh! I interpreted it all wrong then! I just assumed that Grima was so moved by witnessing the might of his master that he thought the display of power was beautiful. I guess it could have been a tear of fear though. I hadn't considered that.

[Michelle77]

Oh!  I interpreted it all wrong then!  I just assumed that Grima was so moved by witnessing the might of his master that he thought the display of power was beautiful.  I guess it could have been a tear of fear though.  I hadn't considered that.

I interpreted it that way too Chaos Mage. I don't think there is a right and wrong way to interpret such a thing. Seeing as Wormtongue is a corrupt and evil being, I naturally assumed that he would be amazed at the sight of the army which were, after all, on the side he had chosen to be on.

[Josslyn]

I went to see it Wednesday at 11 AM with a group of coworkers. Luckily, my bladdar made it through the entire film and the 25 minutes of previews and commercials. Just barely though. We had rotten previews, by the way.
The film was excellent. The Two Towers was my favorite book in the trilogy so I had very high hopes. I thought the changes made were all good ones (like moving Shelob to the third film and hopefully the meeting with Saruman). I had a bone to pick with the Ents and Theoden but other than that (and not enough scenes with Mr. Lee, of course) I had no complaints.
Gollum was well done. The Ents did look good. The digital scenes were great.
I love Brad Dourif's films so I was thrilled at his portrayal of Wormtongue. He was even better than I had expected. I intupreted the tear as a possible sense of regret. Rohan had been his home. He had pined for Eowyn. Now both were about to be destroyed (for all he knew) and it was in no small part due to his own devices. However much he hated it, he had been a part of it all his life. That's how I saw it.
Anyway, my favorite scene had to be with Saruman and Wormtongue and the "gunpowder-like" substance.

[Luke Farookhi]

The parts with my ents were my favourite. I really liked the scene where Isengard was flooded. I really want to see ROTK; it wil finally show how Saruman dies (I hear there's no scouring of the shire) and of course the eagerly anticipated Shelob.

[David Vasser]

What do I think? Ok you did ask.

LOTR is the best film series ever made!

Peter Jackson is the greatest director alive! (Possibly the greatest ever.)

TTT is a far more complex film than Fellowship.

The impact of Saruman in this film with the limited screentime is another remarkable achievement for Christopher Lee. It was as if his and Sauron's presence were looming over the entire film like a mist permeating every tiny crack. You always knew WHY what was happening...was happening.

The spirit of Dr. Tolkien's work remains intact and I hope it stays that way through ROTK.

Gollum WILL win an Oscar. (A special technical achievement Oscar.) Shakespeare could not have written a better soliloquy than the one crafted for Gollum. That scene alone deserves the Screenplay Oscar and was truly facinating to watch. This is the true promise of CGI's potential, to believably create things that could not possibly exist. CGI should not be used to recreate things that once were.

The Helms Deep battle was awesome in every sense of the word. Sometimes we need to be reminded that war really IS hell. There was no mistaking that fact at Helms Deep.

Bernard Hill was VERY good as Theoden. Gimli should have been a stand up comic. Miranda Otto doesn't need a sword because she is drop dead gorgeous.

I suggest holding a gathering of Ents in Hollywood, just outside the Kodak Theatre, from January through about March 16th.

Finally, I'm thinking Viggo Mortenson for President in 2004.

[Juan Aneiros]

BrotherDave, Jesus Christ:D

I used to think that my brother Oscar was the king of hype, that is until I read your review. The difference perhaphs is that he exagerates on purpose but I think you actually mean it.

To be honest, I wish I went to see the film and saw and felt all the things you did. I already multiplied my feelings by 10 so you can imagine that I really did not enjoy the film as much as I wanted to.

Next year, when the final film comes out, if I don't like it so much, I think I will let you write my review. After all, I should be the one hypeing it up big time and so far I am the only one with mixed feelings. Must be something to do with living in the UK, I've become a boring git and lost any taste for exciting films.

Glad you enjoyed it so much, as Mr Lee always says "it's the public that count"

[Dave Hutchens]

Juan, I have to say I'm starting to wonder if you saw the same film the rest of us did! :D

I'd go so far as to call TTT the greatest work of fantasy ever made. It's an absolute masterpiece.

Yes, Peter Jackson is a true genius. It's going to be such a long year waiting for ROTK.

Hell, it's gonna be a long half-year waiting for the TTT DVD!!

[Juan Aneiros]

Juan, I have to say I'm starting to wonder if you saw the same film the rest of us did!

Yes, I am starting to wonder that too. Then again, if you look at most of the reviews from the British press, they are mixed. It must be the weather or maybe I am becoming a British snob.:P I knew I should have sent Oscar to see it instead. The LA times was the only US paper that I can think of, that didn't find it so good. So I guess it's no Baftas this year but possibly Oscars.

But at the end of the day, it is what the public thinks that matters, everyone loves it and I'm happy with that.

The Independent went bonkers and called it "Fraud of the Rings"

The Guardian expressed a distinctly lukewarm opinion of the film. It asked if it had to be quite so boring? The acting is "earnestly, effortfully bland", the plotlines confused and not enough of Sir Ian McKellen-character Gandalf on the screen. "It's been a very watchable, distinctive, if over-extended FX spectacular. Nothing more."

The Sunday Times calls it a triumph of spectacle over storytelling. The reason why Fellowship is better, is that Towers is a "bit too much like a conventional blockbuster; it's action, rather than character-driven, and relies heavily on big set pieces and special effects to wow us".

The Times concluded that the film fails to live up to the "eye-boggling standards" of Fellowship. Its sprawling battle scenes "feel like a giant game of toy soldiers". "What we don't get is close and consistent tension. Like most trilogies, The Lord of the Rings sags in the middle."

Likewise the Los Angeles Times says that the story bogs down in Rohan, "a dreary stopover" that fails to capture the imagination; unlike the Shire or Elvish lands. "If the second film never reaches the highs of the first it is because we have met the players before and there are no new worlds of wonder; it nonetheless invests moviegoing with a sense of adventure."

[Old Soul]

I will be going tonight to see the movie, but correct me if I am wrong, In the books, isn