632. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen

Director: Peter Jackson

Running Time: 179 mins

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers is an American film and the sequel to The Fellowship Of The Ring. As Frodo and Sam near Mordor, an epic battle further back begins against the forces of Saruman, with the lives and freedom of all those in Middle-earth at stake.

(See my Fellowship Of The Ring review before you read this…)

Well, I thought that the first film was boring, but this went quite a bit further. Although it had some elements which were in fact more interesting than the first film, on the whole, it was difficult to get interested in, and because of that, I was unable to enjoy this film at all.

So, while boring is a simplified description of this film, it has many different layers and stories that contribute to this. However, that was one thing that I felt was more interesting than the first film, the fact that there were multiple stories to think about, rather than what was just a few people trudging across Middle-earth before.

Despite that, however, none of the stories were particularly intriguing. One involves Frodo and Sam allegedly nearing Mordor, however they end up going back and forth numerous, times, a simple waste of time, while another just details Merry and Pippin sitting on a tree for three hours, having no impact on the overall plot whatsoever.

However, the main story in this film is about the defence of Rohan. This is a more battle-oriented plot, and it’s filled with a lot of action, that you would assume makes it all a lot more exciting. It’s got twists and deaths and romance and all sorts, but the sheer overload of different aspects in the battle, coupled with the fact that it uses up over an hour’s screen time, makes it ultimately tedious to watch.

New characters are introduced, but frankly, the story could have done without quite a few of them, as they either have no necessary impact on the plot, or if they do, are just annoying and weak all the same.

This film, again, does deserve credit for its acting, directing and special effects, as it is a multi-film production with the last one, so that was still at its best.

However, this film, while just a bridge between films 1 and 3, has little big change in relation to the characters or overall situation, meaning it feels like nothing happens, especially seeing as it’s so excessively long, so a lot needs to come from the final film, but in the meantime, this gets a 6.1.