Must-See May Day #15: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

There are those moments when you watch a piece of entertainment and once it ends you just can't quite believe what you've seen. It doesn't happen often, but there are certain movies that just feel perfect, as if everything about it just works. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) is one of those movies, and I am in awe of the movie I just watched. This is a masterpiece. Nothing more can be said. Starring Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins, Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White, Billy Boyd as Peregrin "Pippin" Took, Dominic Monaghan as Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck, John Rhys-Davies as Gimli and Treebeard, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Christopher Lee as Saruman the White and Andy Serkis as Smeagol/Gollum.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Everything that made the first Lord of the Rings film so great is back in full force here. The cinematography is once again flawless. The large tracking shots of New Zealand are a glory to take in, especially when there are thousands upon thousands of characters on screen at once. The lighting is divine, and it goes beyond just making sure everyone's faces can be seen, as the way certain scenes are lit can almost tell a story of their own. Basically, every single frame of this film appears to have been painstakingly handcrafted to be as gorgeous as possible, it's that good. The music is also wonderful. Something that certainly made me very happy is that I've started to recognise a few recurring motifs, which you know I love in my soundtracks. As if I needed another reason to download the soundtrack to these movies; I could listen to these orchestral delights forever. They're like butter on my ears.

The Eye of Sauron

One of my complaints with the last movie is that it took me a while to learn the names of everyone and everywhere. Somehow, I didn't have that much of a problem with that here. It seemed a lot easier to keep track of who everyone was and where they were going, and not just because we've already spent a whole movie getting to know them. Even the new characters and locations felt a lot more memorable, and if I didn't know a certain character's name by the end of the movie, I at least knew them and their motivations, which was good enough in this instance. I also feel like I finally got my first taste of a proper Lord of the Rings battle, as the siege of Helm's Deep was simply perfection. It was perfectly paced, it had a few nice moments of levity, some badass moments, basically everything you could want in a battle. I'm ready for more, and based on what I've heard about the next movie, I'm sure I'm going to get it.

Sean Astin as Samwise Gamgee and Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

The cast is once again spectacular. Elijah Wood is fantastic as Frodo, and he's now gotten to show off his range a bit more as the Ring starts to overpower him. Sean Astin is still brilliant as Sam, and whilst Ian McKellan wasn't in the film as much as the previous, he's still the perfect Gandalf. I was able to differentiate Pippin and Merry, so I found them a lot better in this film as well. John Rhys-Davies was great for some comic relief, and Orlando Bloom continues to be very strong as Legolas. I think the best returning cast member was Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, and I'm just loving all I can get of his character. He has a really interesting back-story with Liv Tyler's character, and even her arc, brief as it was, was really intense and emotional. The newcomers all do a fantastic job also, particularly Miranda Otto and Bernard Hill.

Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn

The other major criticism I had with the previous Lord of the Rings film was that I felt the CGI was a little ambitious and didn't always impress me. Here, whilst the CGI was still ambitious, I was completely blown away. The Ents all looked remarkable, and I loved how they were all completely different, since it would have been very easy to go for a more cookie-cutter approach. Sauron also looks amazing, but come on. You all know who the star of the CGI show is: Gollum. This thing looks f***ing incredible. I can't believe this was 16 years ago, Gollum looks like he was made last year. The subtle inflections in his expressions as he talks to himself are all just so awe-inspiring. And while we're at it, I gotta praise the hell out of Andy Serkis for this incredible performance. Holy crap, Andy Serkis might just be the best thing in this movie for reasons that I really shouldn't have to explain at this point. Give him an Oscar already. I knew it was coming, as well. I already knew he got so much acclaim for this role; I was expecting it. And he still thoroughly stunned me. Outstanding.

Andy Serkis as Gollum

And, that's what this is. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) is outstanding. No other words can describe it. It's another perfect movie. I gotta say, the bar's been set pretty high for the final film in the trilogy. I hope it doesn't drop the ball, because after this movie I cannot wait for what comes next. 10/10.

Tomorrow: it's Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.