January 2, 2003 -- "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is best viewed not as a single film, but as one-third of an epic film. The first part of this epic was "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings," released a year ago, and the last third of this epic will be, "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," to be released next Christmas. The three films can rightly be regarded as one for two reasons: One, they are based on three books which form both a trilogy and a single story; two, because all three films were shot at the same time over a three-year period by the same director, cast and crew. In a sense, this is a big-screen mini-series.

It is no surprise then, that "Two Towers" picks up right were the last film in the series left off. There is no introduction of characters and little character development in this film because all that was done in the first film. The story is split into four parallel stories. The first is the continuing adventures of the two Hobbits, Frodo and Samwise, who are trying to destroy the One Ring, so that Sauron can't get his hands on it and use it to destroy the world. The second is the continuing adventures of Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas as they make a last stand to stop the huge Uruk-hai army of Sauruman (an ally of Sauron) at the fortress of Helm's Deep. The third is the continuing adventures of the remainder of the Fellowship of the Ring, two Hobbits known as Peregrin "Pippin" Took and Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck. The film constantly shifts among these three main subplots, and one other subplot, which isn't in the book, a developing romantic triangle between Aragorn, Arwen Undómiel and Éowyn, princess of Rohan.

There is so much cutting back and forth, that nothing much seems to happen in the film, until the battle at Helm's Deep, that is. The battle is spectacular in its scope and fury. Even though it uses a time-honored Western cliché, this is an epic screen battle. Despite that, this film, like the book, serves to continue to the story and, like a bridge, deliver us to that last film, which should be even more spectacular. Viewed as a separate entity, this film is not quite as successful as the first because the narrative is split four ways, and there is less character development. This film rates a B+ when viewed separately, but rates an A when viewed as a part of a magnificent whole.

A couple of major new characters are developed in the film, and both are non-human. Gollum, introduced in the first film at a distance, becomes a full-fledged character in the "Two Towers" after being captured by Samwise and Frodo. Although his appearance on the screen is a computer construct, much of Gollum's considerable personality is due to the acting skills of Andy Serkis of "24 Hour Party People." Serkis doesn't just do the voice of Gollum, he also provides much of the motion for the character in the film. Serkis performed all the Gollum scenes in the movie wearing special motion-capture devices which enabled filmmakers to substitute Gollum's image for Serkis after filming. The other new character is Treebeard (voice by John Rhys-Davies), the Ent, a computer-generated construct created by WETA Digital of New Zealand, which did many of the computer-generated effects in the film. Another new character is Gríma Wormtongue, a really nasty advisor to King Théodon (Bernard Hill). The character of Wormtongue is brought to life perfectly by veteran character actor Brad Dourif of "Alien: Resurrection." Other new characters include Éowyn (Miranda Otto of "What Lies Beneath"), Éomér, Rohan warrior and nephew to King Théodon (played by Karl Urban).

Returning characters include Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), Pippin (Billy Boyd), Legolas Greenleaf (Orlando Bloom of "Black Hawk Down"), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), Arwen (Liv Tyler) and Sauruman (Christopher Lee). The acting is solid throughout. The other returning star of this film is the stunning mountain scenery of New Zealand, where this was filmed. Huge, impressive sets built in remote areas of New Zealand give us an authentic-looking castle of Rohan and the fortress of Helms Deep. Although there isn't much character development in the film (aside from Gollum), the relationships between Frodo and Samwise, and between Pippin and Merry are sketched in a bit more. Despite the fact that this film is nearly 3 hours long, it seems rushed because of the need to cut back and forth among the various story lines. Look for more of the story to be filled in and look for more character development in the next DVD in the series. The first "special edition" DVD for the last film provided additional footage that smoothed out the narrative flow of the first film. I anticipate the same for the "Two Towers" DVD, due out towards the end of this year. Again, kudos to director Peter Jackson and the rest of the crew for filming a story long thought to be unfilmable. It is an incredibly difficult project, but the filmmakers are not just succeeding in their task, they are making a truly exceptional film series in the process.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.