LOTR:TT - A Review

[The Guardian]

After seeing this movie four times, I thought I would write a fairly detailed review of it. A friend of mine (a real JRR geek) has been there twice with me. I will be reasonably detailed, so if you do not want it spoiled, do NOT read this..

Soundtrack: If there is any justice at the Oscars, Howard Shore takes home another one. It is every bit as good as LOTR:FOTR. It is heroic, bold and brassy when heroic deeds are being done and creeping evil when the bad guys are creeping about.

Synopsis: My first advice is that you MUST see this movie in the theaters. For the simple reason that many of the epic scenes just will not play as well in a home environment, even with a widescreen. Particularly the battles at Helm's Deep.

The movie opens with a bang that many other directors would have saved for an ending; we are transported back to Moria and Gandalf's fight with the Balrog, except that we see far more of this battle and Gandalf's fall thru the deep. However it is nothing more than a dream, which jumps us to Frodo and Sam, wandering in the hills near the swamp, trying to get to Mordor.

Frodo's role in this movie has evolved. Here Woods plays the part of a man carrying a burden that is just almost too heavy for him. Frodo is very convincing and there is very little of the wide-eyed innocence seen in FOTR. Samwise's character probably ought to be mentioned for Oscar consideration. In some ways, he makes the perfect "Sam". Loyal, strong, and brave. He has some of the most significant lines of the film at the scenes in Gondor near the end.

Also introduced is Gollum. And this is absolutely positively worthy of an Oscar. Your forget very quickly that he is nothing but CGI. And the characterization done by Andy Serkis is absolutely superb.

From here we jump back to the Merry & Pippin being carried away by the orcs and their pursuit by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. Several good comedic moments here, particularly by Gimli. (There are a few bits of "Dwarf Humor" in the film that are quite hilarious.)

We also get introduced to Rohan and its king that has been taken over by Sauroman. Notably here is the character Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif I think..) that literally slimes across the screen. More on Bernard Hill's King Theoden later. Also Eowen of Rohan is introduced here as well.

Eventually Merry & Pippin's band of orcs ends up camped near Fangorn Forrest (home of the Ents) and is attacked at night by the Riders of Rohan. Merry and Pippin escape into the forrest and are captured by an Ent (Treebeard). Who then takes them to "The White Wizard" to find out if they are not "little orcs".

Meanwhile, Aragorn's band meets up with the Riders of Rohan and finds out that the King is possesed by Sauroman. Also that the orc band was attacked and slaughtered. They go to investigate, the end result being they follow the tracks into Fangorn Forrest and meet up with "The White Wizard"; aka Gandalf resurrected. Gandalf also tells more of the battle with the Balrog and what happened to him.

This band then heads off to Rohan to rouse the kingdom against Sauroman. Gandalf has a brief wizard battle with the evil holding the king and of course casts it out. The transformation here as the evil leaves is a wonder of Sfx and acting. I personally liked the King Theoden character; some reviewers have not. But I thought he was nearly perfect in the role. Very convincing. My favorite line in the movie (and how it was delivered) is his during the battle of Helm's Deep: "Let the horn of Helm Hammerhand sound in the deep..one..last..time".

Meanwhile; Frodo, Sam, and Gollum reach the Black Gate of Mordor after traversing the Swamp of the Dead. (Impressive - Nazgul show up again. Nasty nasty!) They can not get in and Gollum is leading them on a different direction. Gollum's scene where he "casts out" the bad Gollum is absolutely wonderful. This group is captured by Captain Fairimir of Gondor (Boromir's brother) and are heading towards Gondor. The implication later in this scene is that Gondor will "take" the ring of power.

Back at Rohan, the king decides to not face "open war" (bad choice!) and evacuates to Helm's Deep. Enroute they are attacked by some gawdawful ugly looking orcs riding even uglier and meaner looking bear-type things that are FAST. The men battle these attackers while Eowen leads the refugees to safety at Helm's Deep.

..to be continued..

[The Guardian]

..continued..

Also enroute to Helm's Deep, there are several "dream scenes" with Aragorn and Arwen as well as Elrond and Gladriel. This does forsee how the "love triangle" will work itself out.

During the battle with the riders, Aragorn goes over a cliff and is persumed lost. The survivors make for Helm's Deep and get there.

In the meantime, Merry & Pippin meet up with a gathering of Ents, who determine that they are "not orcs". Pippin is still the innocent who thinks the shire will survive all this, Merry has realized that if they do not stop Sauroman now, there "won't be a Shire, Pippen" (to quote the movie). The Ents initially decide not to help and are taking them past Izengard. I believe it was Pippin that convinces Treebeard to take them past Izengard, thus seeing the devastation that Sauroman has wrought. Needless to say, he is PISSED! End result, the Ents join the battle and thus begins the "Last March of the Ents".

Aragorn survives his plunge and is making his way back to Helm's Deep when he stumbles across the army that has been unleashed from Izengard. (That scene is straight out of WWII and Hitler on the balcony of the Reich Chancellory!) He rides to raise the alarm and Helm's Deep forts up to withstand the seige.

The elves show up and Helm's Deep too. The march of the "elf archers" is quite impressive and you can visibly see the emotions of the defenders change. (From basically no hope to hope.)

Which brings us to the battle at Helm's Deep. NOTHING and I do mean NOTHING has been seen on the screen like this one before. Very realistic, but not gory. There is a little humor relief from time to time where Gimli and Legolas are "keeping score" about numbers killed; Gimli deadpanning ("you could have picked a better spot") when behind the wall and all you see is the very top of his helment. Also bear in mind this is heroic fantasy at its best; our good guys are able to be supermen without any loss of reality.

Also intercut in these scenes are the women and children huddling in the caves in fear as the army of Izengard approaches; the old men and young boys being armed for a desparate fight; this pulls the emotional strings big-time.

In the battle scenes, watch for Peter Jackson. He is one of the men throwing rocks at attackers when they are attacking the gate of Helm's Deep. His kids are also in this movie, they play some of the Rohan Refugee children. (I think the two principle ones.)

This fight is very realistic and is clearly a last ditch desparation defense against a foe that is better armed, technology-wise. Also a foe that has a huge numbers advantage. A classic line here is King Theoden as he is asking "is that all you can do, Sauroman" and everyone in the audience is going "BAD QUESTION!!". Which is about the time Sauroman's bombs show up and blow a hole in the wall, making a very bad situation much much worse.

As everyone knows, this fight goes badly against Rohan, the defenders are pressed into the last bastion of the keep and all seems lost. But its the morning of the 5th day, sunrise, and Gandalf promised aid at that time. So our heroes ride out to face the enemy (my favorite line time!) and Gandalf arrives with the exiled Riders of Rohan to essentially save the day. Orcs, while numerous, are not very smart and tend to not be horribly brave.

In the meantime, the Ents have attack Izengard and basically have destroyed it by unleashing the river. Again, impressively done.

Frodo, Sam, and Gollum are in Gondor which is under attack by orcs and Nazgul. Frodo has a confrontation with a black rider and a.l.m.o.s.t. gives the rider the ring, but Sam intervenes. Fairimir shots the beast the black rider is riding. This leds to Sam's very significant lines in the story and Fairimir letting them go; even at the potential cost of his own neck.

Sam, Frodo, and Gollum are heading towards Mordor; and Gollum reverts back to "evil Gollum" and decides that "she can kill them" and is leading the Hobbits to a trap.

END OF MOVIE!

..to be continued..

[The Guardian]

..the last, I promise..

Overall, the acting is absolutely excellent without any really weak character anywhere. Gandalf has transformed from a patriarchial figure into a commanding general.

King Theoden handles his role well. The scene where he is grieving his son's death is moving as well as the battle scenes. His line near the end is my favorite.

Aragorn is growing into the king he will become in the next movie. Excellent character.

Unfortunately, Christopher Lee (Sauroman) does not have too many scenes in this movie; but when he is on-screen, he is the essence of corrupted good gone to evil.

Some have criticized the Ents. I think they were well done for this movie; believable and well integrated into the tale.

All in all, this movie is incredible. It blows you away, transports you to another world that is incredibly rich, detailed, and believable. And isn't that what a movie is supposed to do?

I'll shut up now.. ;)

Four times!! The only movies I've ever seen four times are "Unforgiven" and "Heartbreak Ridge." Wait. And "Liang Shan Po, Yi Tsu Ying Tai," of course. I saw that one ten times, twice without the subtitles.

[The Guardian]

Its pretty much a given I will see it at least twice more. The first with the couple we were supposed to go with on the very first time, but Kim got sick. So we ended up taking our yougest daughter instead.

The other time will be to take my parents. Mom is a scifi/fantasy geek like me; dad will like the battle scenes.

I would also wager there is at least another time on a "whim" later in the spring. So figure 7. I ended up seeing FOTR 8 times last year. ;D

Its pretty much a given I will see it at least twice more. The first with the couple we were supposed to go with on the very first time, but Kim got sick. So we ended up taking our yougest daughter instead.

The other time will be to take my parents. Mom is a scifi/fantasy geek like me; dad will like the battle scenes.

I would also wager there is at least another time on a "whim" later in the spring. So figure 7. I ended up seeing FOTR 8 times last year. ;D


Um...why don't you just go once, pay attention and remember it in your mind? I think my "boredom factor" would kick in about 30 minutes into viewing number 2.

[The Guardian]

Badnews: Anyone who knows the story knows EXACTLY how it is going to turn out. There is no suspense, other than execution of the movie.

That is the magic of these movies. They work very well in completely immersing you in Middle Earth that boredom is the last thing you feel.

[nickg]

i think it's time for "triumph the insult comic" dog to make another appearance.

he can ask these LOTR pee-pee pullers why they don't have a life.

it's a f**king movie people, not a cure for cancer.

to walk around with a perpetual boner over a frikkin' movie boggles the mind.

Badnews: Anyone who knows the story knows EXACTLY how it is going to turn out. There is no suspense, other than execution of the movie.

That is the magic of these movies. They work very well in completely immersing you in Middle Earth that boredom is the last thing you feel.


Well, I read the story, and I know how it's going to turn out. I guess I'm not one of those people that gets overly excited riding the same scary ride over and over again.

I was a boring child. After I rode all the rides on Disneyland (once), I had no intention to go back on them...except "It's A Small World." I love that song. :)

Sky's fav, I believe.

[kathleen]

Lance, I didn't read your review because I hope to see the movie myself while it is still in the theatres (working nights suck in a lot of respects - I'm usually sleeping or getting ready for work on the times it is playing).

I kind of agree with Bad on one point - I rarely watch a movie more than once (and for some movies, once is one too many times). ;D

Books are a different matter - I reread good books all the time. I think I might reread LOTR during the winter. By reading the story, one is able to use their imagination to draw the characters, scenery, situations in their own mind. In watching a movie, the director does all the imagining for you. Rarely does a hollywood "vision" deserve more than one screening. But that's just me. :)

[stealthy]

When I wanted to rent FOTR my ol man said I should read it first, so I went to the site for the library, put a hold on the books, they call and you go pick them up at the drive through window (I love that) I can't imagine how you could make any sense of the movie if you hadn't read the books.
I thought the first movie was so awesome, I decided I was going to see this one in the theater. I kinda wish I hadn't. I went to the 4 o' clock showing, it was almost sold out. Lots of kids. I had to sit between 2 punks on the 4th row. The screen was so big and I was so close I couldn't "see" the whole picture. (I went by myself) I had to look up as well as from side to side. To top it off, I loathe the smell of popcorn. Not a happy camper. ;)

So I'm withholding judgement till I can watch it again. I do think they did a great job with gollum. The Ents looked like they'd been pruned by city utilities.

[Satan]

Another (quite different) review (http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1202/twotowers.html)


Pastor Deacon Fred went on to note that although the violence in The Two Towers film is some of the best he's ever seen outside of the Holy Bible, that the hidden sexual agenda in the movie makes it unwatchable to anyone other than a qualified minister of God.

Pastors who were allowed to see the first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, remember that toward the end, one of the male hobbits (which is slang for "homo boy with a little bitty hanging between his legs") fell so much in love with the main character, Frodo (another male hobbit), that he committed the ultimate homosexual sacrifice by ruining his hairdo and nearly drowning himself to prove his loyalty. Although sodomy is now suggested in nearly every scene where the two creatures appear together, thankfully, the producers leave the disgusting homosexuality (which was so much a part of the novels) off camera. There are some scenes where the hobbits appear together in one sleeping bag and a lewd discussion about what sinful act led to both their palms and feet becoming so hairy, but that's about it. “By moving dozens of deviant sex scenes between those hairy little perverts off screen, the producers were able to achieve a PG13 rating," says Pastor Deacon Fred. "And make no mistake, my dear friends; here at Landover Baptist, PG means 'pretty gay.'"

[i]<snip>

The very title of the film, The Two Towers, should raise suspicion among True Christians®. Secular humanists and Atheists always chide us for seeing sex where their foolish, ignorant minds cannot. But alas, it is there, raising its malignant form as usual. It's Satan's way of being childish, and it's our job to call him on it. This time around, you don't have to be a Bible Scholar or a Creation Scientist to see that The Two Towers are giant structures built to glorify and honor the aroused genitalia of two of the most powerful evil beings in the movie. The imagery is kept discrete only by the merciful fact that both creatures are uncircumcised – otherwise the shape of two enormous, throbbing purple penis heads would have been staring every moviegoer in the face! The citizens of Middle Earth pick which penis they like best and head toward it. The Two Towers are merely there to show what the macabre genitalia of each Dark Lord looks like from great distances. And as anyone who has been in a men's locker room can attest, it is only the dark ones you can see from clear across the room. Well, Satan, we're not laughing! You are sick, and your perverted, disgusting sense of humor has gone too far this time. True Christians® are not going to stand still and let you tempt us by appealing to our natural love of Godly, Bible-based human carnage only to sucker us into seeing a film that is nothing more than a vehicle to promote your twisted sexual agenda! And I stand here firm before you to say: we will not allow you to wag ungodly enormous penises in the face of our women!

http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news1202/twotowers.html

8)

[The Guardian]

When I wanted to rent FOTR my ol man said I should read it first, so I went to the site for the library, put a hold on the books, they call and you go pick them up at the drive through window (I love that) I can't imagine how you could make any sense of the movie if you hadn't read the books.
I thought the first movie was so awesome, I decided I was going to see this one in the theater. I kinda wish I hadn't. I went to the 4 o' clock showing, it was almost sold out. Lots of kids. I had to sit between 2 punks on the 4th row. The screen was so big and I was so close I couldn't "see" the whole picture. (I went by myself) I had to look up as well as from side to side. To top it off, I loathe the smell of popcorn. Not a happy camper. ;)

So I'm withholding judgement till I can watch it again. I do think they did a great job with gollum. The Ents looked like they'd been pruned by city utilities.

stealthy: I can DEFINITELY relate. The first time we saw FOTR we were on the VERY FRONT ROW of the theater and off to the side. All four of us left with cricks and other unnatural things in our necks in trying to watch it. Not to mention a horrible headache.

Its much much better from further back. Gollum is probably the most amazing CGI yet created. I also have no doubt they will surpass this effort shortly.

[wendy]

Ok Lance, I FINALLY saw the movie this afternoon.

I liked the Ents...Treebeard looked just like I'd imagined.

Gollum was fantastic. I liked the part of the movie where Smeagol and gollum were having their internal battle to see who would win out. Unfortunately, there were several people in the theater who'd never read the book and thought it was supposed to be funny. ::)

The battle for Helm's Deep was incredible. The scenes from the cellar with the sounds of the marching Uruk-hai reverberating really geared you up for a major ass-kicking. Imagine my surprise when the elves showed up. ;) hey...I thought it was supposed to be rangers. ;D

I'll have to see it once again. There's just too damned much going on to catch it all the first time.

[Observer]

Merry Pippins?

[BrandonL]

To top it off, I loathe the smell of popcorn.

I think you are the only human on the planet that does not like the smell of popcorn. :o

[Satan]

I liked the Ents...Treebeard looked just like I'd imagined.


<Hoom!>, OK, Hm. I'm going to have to...well,<hom> see it now. <Hrum...>

[The Guardian]

Wendy: Yep, there is just so much going on that even multiple viewings catch it all. I honestly do not know what I would pick as my favorite part out of the movie. I suppose it would be one of these:

1. Gollum/Smeagol - just incredible and you quickly forget the little guy is nothing more than CGI. The producers are pushing the actor who voiced/characterized gollum for an Oscar, and I think it is warranted. Now whether or not the Academy buys it or not is a whole different subject.

2. The battle at Helms Deep. The whole thing was just well done, particularly the cuts to the folks in the caves and the old men and children being armed for the battle. This whole sequence makes the battles in the Clone Wars look like a tea party. George Lucas, take that!

3. The start of the movie with the Balrog. Talk about an entrance.. ;D

As a side note, I really love the soundtrack to this one. Particularly track 12, which is the Helm's Deep piece. Marvelous!

[The Guardian]

Sky: Do see it in the theater. There is just NO WAY a home rig does this movie any justice, unless you happen to own a theater or have the most hellacious home theater known to mankind.

[wendy]

Merry Pippins?


That was baaaad.

[wendy]

I liked the Ents...Treebeard looked just like I'd imagined.


<Hoom!>, OK, Hm. I'm going to have to...well,<hom> see it now. <Hrum...>


Well, half of the reviews I read bitched about the Ents. I don't know what the hell they were expecting...maybe an overgrown poplar with a face? ::) There wasn't enough of Treebeard in the movie..probably because with the way he talked, it would have turned it into a five hour movie. ;)

[wendy]

Lance..I thought Wormtongue was perfect. What a weasel.

It seems to me they've got a hell of a lot of loose ends to tie up in the next three hour installment.