the two towers movie review

Cafe Society
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Peter Jackson used the broad cinematic strokes to adeptly cover the theme of the book.

My opinions:

I didn’t mind Haldir showing up as much as I thought. I liked Haldir’s skateboarding trick down the steps. To be dropped from behind, that’s kinda lacky. Also, Gimli is enamoured with Galadriel, and there’s a scene in the books where Eomer makes a remark about the ‘Sorceress of the Golden Wood’ and Gimli whips his axe out, ready to take on Eomer right there. I doubt Eomer will have any disparaging comments now. Heck - it’s something for Sauron to consider. Also Morian Orcs do scramble around Lorien after the Balrog falls. I suppose that’s not a major threat so Lorien can afford to send their top security Elf and some of their best archers for some Good Will.

Faramir was okay. I’m concerned with a Nazgul hovering a few feet before Frodo. Sauron knows The Ring is found. He knows it’s on the move. He expects it will be wielded by some mover of Middle Earth. He cannot conceive of any quest to destroy it. I assume that works out okay - as Sauron will be bought and sold with Aragorn’s mastery a-la Palantir (I’m the heir of Elendil, I’ve got his sword - reforged, I’ve got The Ring of Barahir. And I’ve got The One Ring!")

I didn’t like how Treebeard had to be ‘tricked’ into realizing Saruman’s impact on Fangorn Forest.

I too await RotK. :smiley:

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Just left the theater an hour ago. What a cool movie! In spite of all the Wrong Things they did to it, it was still an incredibly cool movie.

Very Wrong Things:

  1. Elrond. In the book, Elrond was very reluctantly resigned to letting her marry him if Aragorn could regain the kingship. Book Elrond is more-or-less friendly toward Men, and he loves Aragorn like a son. Movie Elrond is just a jerk.

  2. Faramir. How could they screw up the second-best* character in the book? And the changes didn’t even make any sense plotwise.

  3. Entmoot. The ents made the wrong decision? Huh? And then suddenly changed their minds? What’s up with that?

Moderately Wrong Things:

  1. IIRC, Aragorn says at one point that he thinks Arwen is going to leave with Elrond. It is absolutely impossible that he would say that. But I can see why they made the change – it adds to the “love triangle” aspect of the story if the audience can think that Eowyn might have a chance.

  2. Gimli as comic relief is good (he is one of the funniest characters in the book), but they went too far, made him look undignified.

  3. Elves at Helm’s Deep. Bad, but forgiveable because it creates an excuse for Aragorn to go around shouting commands in elvish, which is Cool.

  4. Not the fault of the moviemakers, I guess, but I was really annoyed by people laughing at poor Gollum at inappropriate moments.

Good Stuff:
Everything else.

Eowyn. Rohan. Helm’s Deep. Ithilien. Flying nazgul. Gollum! How did they get inside my head and know what things should look like? Even the ents were great, and I was really expecting them to look bad.

*(Sam is the best character. Faramir and Aragorn are in close competition for 2nd. Mmmmmm, Aragorn.)

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c_carol, you might be amused to know that you’re not alone in your assessment of Sam. Orson Scott Card said that he believes that Sam is the real hero of the story.

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I too was very impressed with the Ents.
The Ents did not suck.

And the Balrog most definitely had wings. :smiley:

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Yeah, laughing at Smeagol’s soliloquie (sp?) was really tacky. I really felt for him in the film in a way that I never did from the books; not as an adolescent when I first read them, or a few months ago when I re-read them after FotR.

Anybody else notice how Gollum’s pupils were constricted & Smeagol’s were dilated? Kinda cool.

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Laughing was not tacky. I laughed when Smeagol told Gollum that he wasn’t needed anymore, and Gollum said, “What did you say?” Hey, it was funny. And it was clear that Smeagol was giddy because he realized there was an opportunity to cast off his evil side. And I was giddy too. Really neat moment.

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Smeagol gathering up a couple of coneys (rabbits), offering them to Frodo and Sam (who promptly pulled out his cookware - last seen smashing an orc’s face in Moria) - and Smeagol absolutely flipping out at the site of cooking them got the biggest laugh.

Don’t follow the lights!

Tolkien did the Smeagol/Gollum soliloquy in the books. PJ and Andy Serkis nailed that character.

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He wasn’t originally possessed by Saruman, only when Gandalf revealed his presence and tried to lift the Leechcraft spell from Theoden did Saruman (briefly) inhabit Theoden’s body, in order to fend off the weaker wizard (or so he thought). Since it’s fairly obvious that Saruman didn’t have him possessed earlier, one could assume that Saruman would only be able to do it for a very brief period of time.

[James Lipton] This movie was so great, there is no word to describe it, thus I will make up a new word…This movie was scrumtrulecent! [/Lipton]

Seriously, this was a great movie. My only gripe was the detour to Osgiliath, which seemed to drag the story. Yes, it was necessary to show more of Faramir, yes it was necessary to have more than just a passing reference to the Nazgul in the movie, but the whole thing seemed…lacking. But it was still awesomely outrageous. I too found it bad that people were laughing through most of Gollum’s soliliquy, as I could see that there was genuine emotion and drama there, not just comic relief. If one actually listens to what he’s saying, it makes him, well, pitiable.

Great movie. Can’t wait for RotK.

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I’m no expert on Polynesian languages, but I’m 99% certain that the dedication was in the language of the native New Zealand Maori.

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And I have no idea what it means.

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Things I really loved:

[ul]
[li]Opening sequence with Gandalf and the Balrog.[/li][li]The animation/whatever on both Gollum and the Ents[/li][li]Helm’s Deep itself, and the ensuing battle.[/li][li]Excellent acting by both Grima and Theoden.[/li][li]The actress playing Eowyn was visually perfect for the role.[/li][li]The flag of the Rohirrim falling at the feet of Aragorn & Co. I felt like the state of disrepair and depressed resignation was carried across beautifully by that.[/li][li]The Ents storming Isengard.[/li][li]The incrediably beautiful scene while Elrond is explaining to the audience (well, to Arwen, but she knows this already) about the sadness of being immortal in a world of decay. One of the more moving themes in the books, and this was the only part in the movie that had me in tears. Loved it.[/li][li]Oliphants.[/li][/ul]

Things that I really didn’t like:

[ul]
[li]The close-up shots of Merry and Pipin riding on Fangorn. It just reminded me of old TV shows where people bounced around in front of a stationary backdrop to make it look like they’re driving a car.[/li][li]Theoden actually being posessed by Saruman. Also, I wish his physical condition hadn’t been so pathetic. It made the whole thing seem much more “magic spell” oriented and less of a simple yet profound letting in of light on a man who’s been led to believe he and his line are finished, and that there is nothing to do but wait for the end.[/li][li]The Ents refusing to help. And then in an instant changing their minds. The whole “Ents aren’t hasty creatures” thing should have been left out if they were going to immediately war with Isengard with no discussion. Also, it just struck me that there is no mention of what Gandalf may have said or not said when he found Merry and Pipin in the woods. He obviously wasn’t recruiting the Ents to help at Helm’s Deep, so what gives?[/li][li]Faramir. I don’t think I need to say more, but I will. Where is the man in whom the Blood of Numenor still runs? He’s just a rogue-ish character, who lacks contrast with Boramir. I am thoroughly disapointed in how non-noble Faramir is. And, his sudden change of heart regarding letting Frodo go made little to no sense.[/li][li]Aragorn’s death. Stupid, stupid, stupid. We already had one character come back to life in this movie by grace of Illuvitar, I don’t see how another resurrection helped anything at all. Also, I’m assuming that Aragorn will not be taking the paths of the dead, and so we will not see his glorious and unlooked-for return in the final film.[/li][li]Sam’s speach. Sucked. One of the more moving themes of the Lord of the Rings for me is the idea of the story with no ending. “The road goes ever on/from the door where it began” (probably not an exact quote there) and so forth. So, Sam’s whole speach about “not turning back” and “finishing the story” and “the winners are the ones who see it through to the end” and blah blah blah just seemed so contrary to that theme. This really bugged me.[/li][/ul]

Things that reminded me of movies Harrison Ford has been in:

[ul]
[li]When Aragorn fell off the cliff, I kept waiting for him to climb back up unseen, and go lean over the edge with everyone else who thinks he’s dead, until they turn around and see him.[/li][li]The Ents seemed to move like AT-ST walkers. I wanted Chewy to pop out of the top of Treebeard’s head and roar.[/li][li]Grima’s face reminded me of The Emperor’s many many times.[/li][/ul]

And I’m confused about something that maybe someone could help me with. Does Arwen hop a boat to the Undying Lands in this movie? It seemed like she did, and it seems like Aragorn thinks she has, so I’m a little confused.

But, I think maybe she didn’t, and I’d like to hear what people think of this idea. I’ll put it in spoiler tags 'cause it reveals a bit about what may or may not happen in the final movie:

When we see Arwen leaving Rivendell, we are sort of led to believe (at the time) she is heading for the Undying Lands. However, I think that those elves were on their way to Helm’s Deep, and are the very elves that arive led by Haldir. Arwen is one of these elves, unknown to anyone. Now (and this is where I may be out on a limb) I seem to remember last year people mentioning that P. Jackson was not planning on having Eowyn kill the Nazgul King. My theory is that having elves at Helm’s Deep is a device to get Arwen onto the Pelenor, so that she can be the one to reveal herself and kill the Nazgul. Whaddya think?

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I seem to remember last year people mentioning that P. Jackson was not planning on having Eowyn kill the Nazgul King. My theory is that having elves at Helm’s Deep is a device to get Arwen onto the Pelenor, so that she can be the one to reveal herself and kill the Nazgul. Whaddya think?

I think everyone will suddenly forget when Greedo shot.

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When Arwen looked back at her father, he did not look like a man that had “won” the arguement. He looked a tad upset to me.

I think that Arwen’s group went to Lothlorien and with them were the Shards of Narsil, which will be reforged by the elves there and Arwen will then take it to Aragorn. A good chunk of my justification of that comes from the fact that I have seen some screen captures that are supposed to be from ROTK and Arwen is with Galadrial near the mirror. Although I have also seen a couple that are supposed to be from TTT and are Arwen supposedly in Helm’s Deep, which I am not really buying at this point for any number of reasons.

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dammit

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Jackson better not mess too much with Eowyn’s story line. I’m willing to buy Arwen’s increased role, as it does ring somewhat true with JRRT’s other writings on Arwen and Aragorn, but there better not be any usurping!

BTW, anybody note the looks of dread the rohirrim gave Aragorn when he told them to have women and children take the path thru the mountains from within the glittering caves of Aglarond? How much ya wanna bet the paths of the dead start in Helm’s Deep in Jackson’s next flick?

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Duh! Perhaps it’s a compliment to both languages.

Thank you jsc1953. Your post gave me enough information to do a search. Here’s the Maori from the credits:

“He mihi nui hoki ki nga tangata whenua o Aotearoa. Ma rangi raua ko papa tatou e manaaki, e tiaki hei nga tau e tu mai nei.”

According to the LOTR site (theonering.net) this translates (not word for word–but the essence):

“We would like to acknowledge the people of New Zealand. May God from above care for you in the New Year.”

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There were many, innumerable, things I Really Liked about the movie. However, there were also far more mistakes than in FOTR, and in addition, it was more “dark” vs “beautiful”, and even though that was due to the plot and not the rendering thereof, I still think I will, in the final analysis, like FOTR better. But I havent made my mind up yet.

Even though it was, without a doubt, the best action movie ever made.

And now, the one thing that most exceeded my expectations:

Fangorn Forest. It was absolutely, positively, the best “spooky old forest” i have EVER seen in a movie. His execution of this, however, sort of makes me wish they HAD included the Tom Bombadil parts from FOTR, for that aspect of them.

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The Maori’s not spoken is it? It’s just in the credits?

I’m sure I would have noticed spoken Maori as it would stick out like dog’s balls. Tangata Whenua BTW is not generally translated as the people of NZ but usually refers to the People of the Land, the Maori.

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Did anyone else spot Jackson’s kids in TTT? – they were a couple of the children at Helm’s Deep.

In FOTR they were part of the group of children listening to Bilbo’s story about the trolls.

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And I should add, this is really important to the plot, and should have been made explicitly clear in the movie. Aragorn is probably not extremely ambitious by nature; I suspect that Elrond’s condition on the engagement is often the only thing that keeps him pursuing the kingship. Aragorn’s not always sure that he can do it, but he’s always been sure that he has to try; the movies make him much too ambivalent about the whole thing.