The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Date: 11/07/2010. 11 Days out til Inception. Possibly the most boring Sunday of my life. Watched this before getting my weekly fix of True Blood repeats (which are on so late at night it's almost not funny).

Ahhhh, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Another reason for Americans to get more major landscape envy because New Zealand is just so damn beautiful in this movie. Oh, and did I mention that Peter Jackson is a great director? From New Zealand, too. For once, I can be proud of something that New Zealand has done in the film industry. If only we could do more of this kind of stuff.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their journey to destroy the One Ring they have in their possession. They meet a creature who once had the Ring, Gollum (Andy Serkis), who they trust to lead them the right way. The people they left behind are now launching an attack on Isengard, making the battle for the Ring bigger and worse than they had expected.

I liked The Two Towers a bit better than The Fellowship of the Ring because this one has a higher entertainment factor. I think this was probably because of the character Gollum, who we see a lot more of and turns out to be quite a mysterious character; albeit an ugly and crazy one. What I like about it is that it is crammed full with characters, but it doesn't turn into a usual mishmash of people because the depth and characteristics of them are evident, even if they have some pretty short scenes (like Cate Blanchett as Galadriel).

Again, what can I say? I know it. Everybody with half a brain knows it. The Lord of the Rings films are masterpieces. And just because I can, I'm gonna say this is the best thing New Zealand has ever done. The Two Towers is a fantastic second installment, if only other sequels could be as good as this. I look forward to the last one.

Another thrilling chapter to The Lord of the Rings, better than the first, but only by a whisker.

8/10