I've probably seen this film the most out of Peter Jackson's trilogy. This is one of those films for which my enjoyment has been something of an inverse bell curve. Allow me to explain.When I first saw the film, I remember enjoying it. The centerpiece of the film, the battle at Helm's Deep, was a truly awe-inspiring sequence upon first watch. The sheer scope of the battle, with all the computer-generated orcs swarming the imposing fortress, the ingenious siege devices that the book alludes to but doesn't fully describe, the destruction of the wall by suicide-orc -- it's all appropriately epic in scale. So I really think I did enjoy it upon first blush. But I remember the film left me with some nagging disappointments, and these feelings only grew and grew upon further viewings. The epic and terrifying battle scenes grew tedious for me. The initial chase sequences by Aragorn & Co., at first so exhilarating to see on screen for the first time (what Bakshi cartoon?), became boring. And those Ents -- oh, those Ents. Every time they show up on screen, barring the final "destruction of Isengard" sequence, the pace of the film just slows to a snail's pace. Interesting on the page, especially when we get a chapter of it all packed in and then a lengthy break, but ravaging to the pace of an action/adventure movie. I remember in college the university sponsoring a back-to-back showing of all three films and a friend recommending we give it a try. I had to walk out of "Two Towers" about five minutes in because I just couldn't take it any more. This nadir is the bottom of the bell curve for me.
So when I watched "Two Towers" with my wife in preparation for this blog post, I didn't launch into it with high expectations, even though it had probably been seven or eight years since I'd seen the film. Knowing that my tolerance for its digital excesses was low, we decided to split the viewing into three one-hour sessions spread out over a couple of nights, turning the film more into a mini-series than a marathon viewing. And you know what? The results were entirely positive. Oh, the film still has flaws, which I'll touch on in a minute, but even taking those into account, this is a really fun movie.
Broken into two parts, the action sequences at Helm's Deep are not nearly so tedious. Although they still have their ridiculous moments (Legolas skateboarding down the stairs on a shield leaps to mind, and Aragorn randomly jumping thirty feet from the top of a wall into the midst of the orc army is still eye-rollingly stupid), they are very effective at communicating the chaos, tragedy, and insensibility of battle. I love the fact that Theoden's grand moment of "drawing his sword" and heading to the gate is immediately truncated by the fact that he's stabbed by an orc spear within the first thirty seconds of fighting and has to pull back. Or the moment when he bars the gate on Aragorn and Gimli because they're not fast enough to get through before the entrance is sealed. Of course, Our Heroes (TM) are still protected by plot armor, but a cheerier film would have had them rush through before the gate was sealed, because they're individually more important than a hundred random soldiers. Or the scene where Haldir is dying and surveys the landscape of dead Elves, no doubt wondering about the futility or effectiveness of his participation in the battle. War sucks. "For death and glory?" Theoden asks Aragorn, when the latter proposes they ride out together into the fray. "For Rohan," Aragorn replies. "For your people." Give them a chance to escape through the tunnels; make your death have some meaning not just for you, but for the future.
You'll notice I've referenced Theoden a number of times already. Basically Bernard Hill and his portrayal of the Rohirrim king is the best part of the film. I always had pictured Theoden as a really old man with a long, silky white beard (probably because of that darn Bakshi cartoon, there it goes creeping in again), but Bernard Hill really inhabits the role. Some (Eric) may scoff at the scene where Theoden is donning his armor and reciting the Eorlingas verse, framed by the setting sun and intercut with images of the marching Uruk-hai closing in on the citadel, but man, that scene packs a punch every time for me. Theoden's ever-increasing sense of helplessness in the face of indomitable orcish advance ("What can men do against such reckless hate?" -- a line not in the books, but probably Jackson's most memorable original from all three films) rings true to me, because there really is so much inexplicable hate in the world (some housed within ourselves). What can we do? Face it, says Aragorn, and Bernard Hill beautifully captures the change within the king as he realizes that standing for something serves a purpose beyond simple "death and glory".
What else is great about the film? Gollum -- although the motion-capture CGI, which I thought still served well after all these years in "Fellowship", did not hold up as well in some of the scenes with Gollum -- but much has been said about Jackson's framing of the creature's internal and psychological struggles, and Andy Serkis' portrayal of said struggles elsewhere, so I will abstain. They're still great. Gandalf -- although I can't agree with the cosmetic choice to give him a fashionable shoulder-bob haircut (I much prefer long greasy-haired Gandalf the Grey) -- Ian McKellen continues to inhabit the character and convey the appropriate gravitas and power. The supporting Rohirrim cast members, especially Eomer and Eowyn.
What's not so good? The handling of the rest of the Fellowship.
Legolas is reduced to outrageously bad action sequences and pensive looks. Gimli is nothing more than eye-rolling comic relief. Merry and Pippin are ten times more annoying in this movie than in the last one, and even so the script still has to hit Treebeard with the idiot bat so that the hobbits can seem like they're moving and shaking that plotline instead of just being carried around by a boring tree. Aragorn suffers from the bland love story flashbacks with Arwen and is forced to kiss a horse (this elicited chuckles from the theater audiences I originally saw the film with, I recall, but for me this scene and several others in the movie always generated within me that uncomfortable feeling of being embarrassed for the film I was watching). And Frodo and Sam. Oh, Frodo and Sam.
I realize that Peter Jackson felt like he had to spice that storyline up a little to make it more palatable for rapacious and critical audiences. But man, it feels like it's overboard. Frodo falls headfirst into the Dead Marshes. Sam falls over the cliff at the Morannon. The Black Rider's not just off in the distance, he's directly overhead. The oliphant is coming right at Sam and Faramir's tiny arrow manages to divert it. Faramir also saves Frodo from the Nazgul with his mighty Bow of Power (TM) when he shoots the flying creature it rides, then Sam tackles Frodo off the roof and they fall four stories onto the ground where Frodo draws his sword on Sam. Gag me.
I've already complained about the butchering of Faramir's character in the film. I'll never forgive Jackson for it, just for the sake of padding the movie a bit (and so much of the film feels like padding -- Frodo's tumble into the marshes, some of the Helm's Deep action, the warg attack and its aftermath). Instead of "showing his quality," Faramir tumbles off the deep end and seizes Frodo for Gondor. Then somehow they are transported from the orc-controlled east bank of the river to the west back with the rest of the Gondor forces; there's some fol-de-rol with the Nazgul, Faramir shoots it, and suddenly (and entirely inexplicably) he comes to his senses and Frodo and Sam are magically back on the east side of the river, going about their merry way. What?! And what, exactly, changes Faramir's mind? He's just seen Frodo go binky-bonkers and climb up on top of a tower, ready to hand the Ring over to the first Nazgul who calls to it, and has to be tackled by his pudgy servant in order to snap out of it. That's enough to say "at last, we understand each other" and turn him loose? No witnessing Frodo's magnanimity with respect to Gollum; no revelations about Boromir; no discussions of Faramir's hopes and dreams with respect to his country and Gondor. Nope, just a silly action sequence and then, bam, it's all resolved, plotline concluded. Ugh, it's just terrible.
My complaints could continue, but I'll cease and desist. I really did enjoy the film this time around; it's just very flawed. I have the haziest memory of "Return of the King"; I'm actually looking forward to seeing how Jackson resolves his epic film trilogy. "Two Towers" is definitely the weakest of the two, by all recollection, but even it has its moments of majesty. Certainly worth a watch every five to ten years!
