The Two Towers Review:

Critique

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers begins in the hills of Emyn Muil, where lost hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) continue their quest to destroy the One Ring of Power, meeting the mysterious mercurial creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), the ring's past bearer, along the way. Frodo befriends the little guy, asking him to guide them to Mordor, as he promises to lead them safely, on their journey to destroy the Ring.

The corrupt wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) and the Dark Lord Sauron, the powerful forces of the Two Towers between Mordor and Isengard, have united in their lust for destruction of Man and Middle-earth. The rebellion against Sauron is building up under the supervision of Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen), who has defeated the fire-monster Balrog.

Darker than The Fellowship of the Ring and made up of plots connected with each other, the second instalment of the Middle-earth novel delves deeper into the characters and story. The Two Towers features one of the most visually outstanding battle sequences in motion picture history, a breathtaking atmosphere and amazing character development.

Video and Audio

The transfer of the photographic aspect in the anamorphic widescreen DVD (2.35:1) is visually impressive and on par with the theatrical prints. The colour contrast in the spectacular landscape images is complete in every detail. The video is never over bright. Black and dark levels are compact in appearance, as are the edges. The disc truly shines with its pristine transfer of the Helm's Deep battle scene. The eye-popping effects that blend seamlessly into the frame make it a totally entertaining experience. This has to be one of the highest quality non-DTS soundtrack and the music always fits the mood. Of course, it helps that this is a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround sound. The audio probably does more to set the mood than anything else does. It is quiet when it needs to be during emotional moments, high-sounding during battle sequences and extensive action and delicate during moments of immortality, sacrifice and temptation. The brilliant musical score contributes in making the audio remarkably good. The digital effects are a triumph for technology and art.

The Extras

The second disc comes loaded with extras that are very informative and helpful in understanding the adaptation and magnitude of the drama. Contains a Short Film directed by Sean Astin The Long and Short of It, a short, seven-minute film that was filmed after the three movies were completed. The clever short film involves a painter with a bad back and broken ladder attempting to hang a painting. There's also an eight-minute The making of The Long and Short of It. Featurettes includes a Closer Look at the People and Places of Middle-earth: Forces of Darkness, Creatures of Middle-earth, The Battle of Helm's Deep and Bringing Gollum to Life. No one ever expected to find a CGI creature so realistic as Gollum. Peter Jackson has raised the bar in computer generated imagery and digital sound mixing by creating a character that acts as much as any other actor in the film. The most appealing of the special features is probably the exclusive behind-the-scenes ten-minute preview of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Reviewed from DVD distributed in Australia by Roadshow Entertainment

Mos Khan

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