Sunday, October 16, 2011

#416: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Directed by: PETER JACKSON
2002, TSPDT Rank #951

The Two Towers is, in essence, another in a very long line of overblown, bloated epics that Hollywood has been cranking out quite consistently in the past 100 years. These films piss me off, because the production values are so grand, and the premise so ambitious that these films never cease to win loads of awards and top every best of list the modern film geek can come up with, even though they aren't that interesting. The Lord of the Rings films are so beloved and sacred in pop culture because .... I actually have no idea why. I thought Fellowship of the Ring was quite good when I reviewed it probably about a year ago, but I found The Two Towers to be dull, empty, and frankly, quite a waste of three hours of film (or more if you watch the extended version, which I happily did not). There were some very beautiful shots scattered throughout the film, and those I really liked. And giving credit where credit is due, the battle scenes are quite visceral and well-done. But the film consists basically of either battle scenes, discussion of impending battles, or scenes involving some fantastic creatures (during which the talents of the CGI department are well displayed, as usual). I know this is meant to be entertainment, but whoever this entertainment is geared toward, I am not that person. As far I'm concerned, despite a climactic battle in which the stakes are supposedly the fate of mankind, the film ends up not in that different of a place than it was at the beginning. Maybe it's tough being the middle film in a trilogy about an epic journey, but either way, I did not enjoy this film. Which reminds me - coming soon is The Return of the King. I have that to look forward to.

(Rating: 4/10)

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