The Two Towers – Film Review | DauntlessMedia.net

The Two Towers – Film Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

Overview

The Two Towers is a grittier film than its predecessor. But like its main characters it’s also fraught with flaws which, despite the best of intentions, leads it astray. That doesn’t mean that The Two Towers isn’t an incredible film – by all rights it’s far superior to many films. But when compared to The Fellowship of the Ring, and even Return of the King, it is clearly the weakest of the three. While the acting, visuals and music all continue at an exceptionally high level, the writing and, in particular the pacing, weight down the film through its middle sections. The rest of the film, however, is still extraordinarily beautiful, powerful, and profound.

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Review & Analysis

In fact, the film is bookended with two exceptional sequences – Gandalf’s violent confrontation with the Balrog and the Battle of Helm’s Deep, which includes Samwise Gamgee’s speech about the “Tales That Really Matter.” Each is gripping and compelling. There is a great deal of fantastic work in between – most notably from Gollum. But it is Sam’s speech which elevates the film to excellence. It is within ac

“By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.”

“What are we holding on to, Sam?”

“That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.”

From the rocky labyrinth of Emyn Muil to the plains of Rohan, from the Black Gate of Mordor to the forest of Fangorn, from the shores of Osgiliath to the fortress of Helm’s deep – and everything in between – there is an incredible diversity of characters, locations, conflicts and stories to be told. But they all echo Sam’s speech – they all speak to people who make the most out of the time they have been given to save their world from shadow. And they all acknowledge the price to be paid for such a victory. Even when the shadow passes, the world, necessarily, will not be the same.

But even so, for those who do survive and endure, the dawn is filled with the freshness of promise and possibility to remake the world anew. It’s an important point to make in a movie filled with darkness and despair – with crumbling nations and characters. The lessons are clear: even in the darkest of moments, there is a strength which can all choose to call upon. But it is, perhaps obviously, a matter of the decisions we make. Where The Two Towers gains its greatest prominence is in how well it shows the audience the importance of choice.

And nowhere is this most explicitly demonstrated than in the character of Gollum – whose choices have turned him into a twisted mongrel of a creature whose self-loathing only reinforces the theme. Gollum has allowed his decisions to be influenced by the lure of the Ring. But as Frodo, Sam, and even Aragorn and Gandalf have demonstrated, one does not have to succumb to the temptation of the Ring. And so we, too, do not have to succumb to our worst vices.

But once again, that is a matter of choice.

As Samwise says in his speech, “Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. They kept going.” It is the decision to keep pressing forward on the journey, regardless of how difficult it can be, that defines who we are. And only a few find the strength to carry on.

Overall Grade: A-

The biggest detriment to The Two Towers comes from the middle sections of the film. Everything from the melodramatic scene of Aragorn falling off a cliff to the horrendously slow-paced scenes in Rivendell brings the film to a crashing halt. These are really the only gaffes of the entire Lord of the Rings production, but considering that they run nearly back-to-back, they are all the more noticeable. Fortunately for this movie, and the saga as a whole, the story quickly recovers and ends with such a powerful force that it’s almost possible to completely look past these faults.

Rohan (8:17):

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