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Here it is, the second chapter of the Extended Lord of the Rings trilogy. As I said in my review for the first, I haven't seen the original in years, and so have seen the extended editions so many times that I can't remember all of the scenes that were absent in the original version. But I do know that this was my favorite of the original versions because he rushed time was less apparent. Now does that hold up in the extended edition?
Continuing from the battle at the end of the first movie, Frodo has left the fellowship to journey to Mordor alone to destroy the One RIng, but Sam follows him. Along the way, they meet Gollum, a creature who was mutated by the One Ring for five-hundred years, and has been made a servant of Frodo by the force of an oath. While Sam doesn't trust Gollum, Frodo warms up to him as he slowly begins to succumb to the ring's powers of temptation are tire. Meanwhile, our trio of Aragorn of Gondor, Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf travel to the kingdom of Rohan to find Frodo's ho9bbit friends Merry and Pippin, who have been kidnapped by orcs to be questioned by Saruman. But they escape in the dreaded Fangorn Forest where the trees come to life and hate orcs. With Merry and Pippin safe, the three discover that Gandalf is alive again and more powerful. With his powers, he lifts Gandalf's evil spell from the king of Rohan, Theodin, who plans to protect his people from the forces of both Sauron and Saruman by travelling to Helm's Deep. But Saruman's army is massive, and they may not survive the night. And as Frodo is interrogated by the late Boromir's brother, it's looking like the Ring may find its way back to Sauron.
The epic adventure vibes are just as strong as in the first film, if not more so. And it's not just through a bunch of sword violence. Even our comedic relief pair have adventures of their own with the trees, and their experiences with the Ent leader Treebeard are charming, humorous and welcomed in this epic four-hour film. Speaking of characters bouncing off of each other, Gollum's dual personality as a result from the ring, mirroring the temptation of a man by a demon in religious context, adds a grotesque mystique to a film about the friendship between Frodo and Sam, and upgrades the pain and suffering that Frodo is going through. Elijah Wood must've been training for a year to nail the weakness and slow-growing insanity that brought him to this role. But Sean Astin's Samwise is at peak relevance, as he's able to match Wood and Serkis' acting with that good ol' Sam wisdom, charisma and independence, as well as his friendly behavior.
Even the minor characters bring an incredible presence to the screen. Miranda Otto's Eowyn is just as good as Liv Tyler's Arwen, but her presence as an independent woman gives her more character than Little Lady Whisperpants, whose character arc remains minimal despite being so important to Aragorn's character. And the character of Faramir is played perfectly by David Wenham, who brings out the struggles in Faramir without even trying. Changing his character arc a little more to mirror Boromir's struggles, as opposed to the man who already decided he never wanted a ring, this allows multiple layers of the character and the actor to be brought out. And don't even get me started on Brad Dourif (Chucky) playing Grima Wormtongue. He's good enough as the original Chucky, and his appearance on X-Files was phenomenal. But this was flawless. People really underappreciate Dourif's ability to mimic strong accents, and he always has the right face on.
Aside from the usual compliments of score, direction and cinematography, there is a pretty big criticism I have: there are a few continuity errors. For example, as Gandalf is walking through Theodin's hall, you see the way Gandalf holds his staff alternating between shots. And then there's where Pippin's hands are tied in one shot, but they're untied when he's almost stepped on by a horse, and he rolls out of the way and his hands are tied again.
And this is my review for the extended LOTR 2. It's still an incredible experience that shows Peter Jackson at some of his most creative, but there are revealing mistakes. Nevertheless, despite being the worst of the trilogy, this is still a wild ride that is perfect and more in all other ways.
= 96/100.
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition)
(2002) - Directed by Peter Jackson
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High Fantasy / Adventure / Sword and Sorcery / Epic
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"You will lead us to the black gate."
(2002) - Directed by Peter Jackson
-----------------------------------------------------
High Fantasy / Adventure / Sword and Sorcery / Epic
-----------------------------------------------------
"You will lead us to the black gate."
Here it is, the second chapter of the Extended Lord of the Rings trilogy. As I said in my review for the first, I haven't seen the original in years, and so have seen the extended editions so many times that I can't remember all of the scenes that were absent in the original version. But I do know that this was my favorite of the original versions because he rushed time was less apparent. Now does that hold up in the extended edition?
Continuing from the battle at the end of the first movie, Frodo has left the fellowship to journey to Mordor alone to destroy the One RIng, but Sam follows him. Along the way, they meet Gollum, a creature who was mutated by the One Ring for five-hundred years, and has been made a servant of Frodo by the force of an oath. While Sam doesn't trust Gollum, Frodo warms up to him as he slowly begins to succumb to the ring's powers of temptation are tire. Meanwhile, our trio of Aragorn of Gondor, Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf travel to the kingdom of Rohan to find Frodo's ho9bbit friends Merry and Pippin, who have been kidnapped by orcs to be questioned by Saruman. But they escape in the dreaded Fangorn Forest where the trees come to life and hate orcs. With Merry and Pippin safe, the three discover that Gandalf is alive again and more powerful. With his powers, he lifts Gandalf's evil spell from the king of Rohan, Theodin, who plans to protect his people from the forces of both Sauron and Saruman by travelling to Helm's Deep. But Saruman's army is massive, and they may not survive the night. And as Frodo is interrogated by the late Boromir's brother, it's looking like the Ring may find its way back to Sauron.
The epic adventure vibes are just as strong as in the first film, if not more so. And it's not just through a bunch of sword violence. Even our comedic relief pair have adventures of their own with the trees, and their experiences with the Ent leader Treebeard are charming, humorous and welcomed in this epic four-hour film. Speaking of characters bouncing off of each other, Gollum's dual personality as a result from the ring, mirroring the temptation of a man by a demon in religious context, adds a grotesque mystique to a film about the friendship between Frodo and Sam, and upgrades the pain and suffering that Frodo is going through. Elijah Wood must've been training for a year to nail the weakness and slow-growing insanity that brought him to this role. But Sean Astin's Samwise is at peak relevance, as he's able to match Wood and Serkis' acting with that good ol' Sam wisdom, charisma and independence, as well as his friendly behavior.
Even the minor characters bring an incredible presence to the screen. Miranda Otto's Eowyn is just as good as Liv Tyler's Arwen, but her presence as an independent woman gives her more character than Little Lady Whisperpants, whose character arc remains minimal despite being so important to Aragorn's character. And the character of Faramir is played perfectly by David Wenham, who brings out the struggles in Faramir without even trying. Changing his character arc a little more to mirror Boromir's struggles, as opposed to the man who already decided he never wanted a ring, this allows multiple layers of the character and the actor to be brought out. And don't even get me started on Brad Dourif (Chucky) playing Grima Wormtongue. He's good enough as the original Chucky, and his appearance on X-Files was phenomenal. But this was flawless. People really underappreciate Dourif's ability to mimic strong accents, and he always has the right face on.
Aside from the usual compliments of score, direction and cinematography, there is a pretty big criticism I have: there are a few continuity errors. For example, as Gandalf is walking through Theodin's hall, you see the way Gandalf holds his staff alternating between shots. And then there's where Pippin's hands are tied in one shot, but they're untied when he's almost stepped on by a horse, and he rolls out of the way and his hands are tied again.
And this is my review for the extended LOTR 2. It's still an incredible experience that shows Peter Jackson at some of his most creative, but there are revealing mistakes. Nevertheless, despite being the worst of the trilogy, this is still a wild ride that is perfect and more in all other ways.
= 96/100.