One question is: how do you write a review of a film of Lord of the Rings? Which of course begs an even greater question: how the hell do you MAKE a film of Lord of the Rings? Without becoming an immediate death-threat target for Tolkien fans worldwide, anyway. Well, somehow Peter Jackson has done it and as far as I�m concerned, this was the ONLY film released in 2002. I saw it three times (although this might have something to do with my current love for Legolas. Long blond hair and pointy ears never did it for me before, but it�s just one of those inexplicable sex appeal things, just look at Princess Leia).
The Two Towers has the advantage over The Fellowship of the Ring by having a more conventional narrative structure; Fellowship was really just a series of events whose denouement, taken in isolation from the rest of the series, wouldn�t have made a very satisfying film.
The film opens with a recounting of what happened to Gandalf after the Fellowship gave him up for dead; and this section alone is visually amazing with Gandalf and the fiery beast fighting in freefall. Then we find Frodo and Sam lost on their way to Mordor and it is only when they make an uneasy pact with the hideous Gollum that they begin to make some headway (Gollum is breathtakingly, flawlessly created, I�ve heard rumours of an Oscar just for that�). The Ring is weighing heavily on Frodo as he feels his own resolve begin to sap the closer he gets to Mordor, something Elijah Wood portrays very well by rolling his eyes a lot.
The plot is given pace by switching back and forth between three or four of the characters in their various situations; by turns we find out about how Merry and Pippin are faring in the hands of the Orcs, how Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are doing in finding them, and a new element is introduced by showing us the situation of King Th�oden, who has fallen under Saruman�s spell thanks to the slimy influence of Grima Wormtongue. It takes Gandalf�s return to exorcise Saruman from the King and only then can the Fellowship begin to make plans for thw wizard's impending attack. The King will neither meet Saruman�s forces head on, nor will he send out for the forces of his estranged nephew �omer.
So much else is caught up on, you realise what a task Jackson has had managing this mammoth text. We are introduced to �owyn, who looks as though she�s going to form a bit of a love triangle between herself, Aragorn and the elf-princess Arwen. We meet the Ents, we see Gollum�s partial return to sanity, we meet Faramir, the brother of the dead Fellowship member Boromir, and the Riders of Rohan� all of this is handled so deftly in the film that it�s only in the writing of this review do I realise quite how complicated a story it is to tell.
Tolkien purists will disapprove of a few liberties; Gimli has been reduced to a stooge, Faramir�s lack of respect for the Ring is a fabrication to add suspense, Gollum is a little too cute, and why aren�t the women given swords in Helm�s Deep, as they�re supposed to be skilled warriors? And for reasons stated above, we�ll forgive my gorgeous Legolas for his Hollywood-cheese stunt of sliding down a staircase on a shield, firing arrows as he goes. However, all these things are the most minor of complaints; a book this big has to capitulate to mass appeal and a time limit of three hours at some point.
As with the first film, the sense of the weight of their duty is palpable and as it builds up to the battle at Helms Deep the sense of duty turns into a sense of doom. The view of the enemy, brandishing torches in the rain, is endless. Heartstrings are plucked as little round-eyed children-extras are hugged (one or two of whom I swear I recognise as ex-Hobbits� hmm�) while twelve-year-old boys are given dented swords to brandish in the absence of a proper defensive army.
There�s no point in telling what happens in battle as it�ll spoil it for you. The rest of the film defies my powers of description without repetitive use of words like: big, vast, fantastical, beautiful, awesome� you get the idea. Go and see this now on the biggest screen you possibly can � you�ll kick yourself if you wait for the video release. |
