January 12, 2003

TTT Review (Spoliers)
Mr. Underhill

So I saw The Two Towers on Saturday and I was treated to an awesome movie. TTT has a few flaws, (actually a few major flaws,) but they do not wreck the overall effect.

Well let's get to the reviewing.

GANDALF VS. BALROG

Really an exciting scene. The effects are amazing. The part when Gandalf puts on an extra burst of speed to grab Glamdring was simply awesome.

FRODO
I don't really know about Frodo. I definitely didn't like him as much as I did in FOTR. Yet the same went when I was reading the books too. They definitely stayed pretty true to the books with his character. (except for the part when he's about to give the ring to the Nazgul) You can clearly tell that the ring is having an effect on him, and that he is struggling.

SAM
Perfect, Wonderful. Sturdy Sam. From his insults of Gollum to his stewing rabbits, to his wowing at the Oliphants, Sam was perfect.

GOLLUM
Unbelievable. The CG on him was simply awesome. Andy Serkis did an excellent job portraying him. Those scenes when he's having the slinker/stinker debates are terrific.

THE THREE HUNTERS
Aragorn was simply magnificent. I was totally pleased with Viggo's performance.
Legolas was just as good or better than he was in film 1 (which by the way was pretty good.
Gimli was the best character in the film. He was funny but he was still one heck of a fighter.

MERRY & PIPPIN
A bit disappointing. They were good. And I loved their scenes, but they weren't in it enough. I needed more Ents, and I needed Pippin to do more. He was almost non-existant.

GANDALF THE WHITE
It was good to see Gandalf again. He was just as I expected him to be. Although I would have liked to see him in the movie a bit more.

ARWEN,GALADRIEL, & ELROND
Did they have to even be in the movie at all? Yeesh. PJ gave them unnecessary film time that could have gone to the Ents, or Shelob.

THEODEN
Very good. Though a little pessimistic.

EOMER
Perfect. Just as I had imagined him. He too could have been in the movie more though.

EOWYN
Excellent. She was perfect. One of my favorite characters. Can't wait until Dernhelm shows up.

TREEBEARD & the ENTS
Wonderful. The only disappointment was Entmoot. I wish Treebeard had more screen time though.

WORMTONGUE
Slimy, Gross, Disgusting... Perfect

FARAMIR
well... With 7 new major characters, I guess PJ can be forgiven for messing 1 up (6/7 ain't bad.) Faramir just wasn't the same. He was gruff, mean, and even a little stupid sorry to say. I did like him at the end though and maybe he'll be better in film 3

HELM'S DEEP
Wow! Awesome! The Special Effects were amazing. Gimli's and Legolas' counting of orcs was perfect. The whole battle was an absolutely stunning scene

Well that's it. I rate the movie a 8.5 out of 10. Lack of some Ent scenes and lack of the true Faramir bring it down. But it is still an awesome movie and if you haven't seen it yet. Go see it!