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So it’s November now, which means that fanatics all over the world are
anxiously counting down the days until The Return of the King -- the third and
final installment of director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy --
hits theaters. And I’ll admit it. I’m pretty excited to see it, too.
But
let’s talk about the second movie for a minute. The Two Towers continues where
The Fellowship of the Ring left off. (If you haven’t seen it, shame on you! Come
out from under your rock, and pick up a copy -- and read Brian’s review.)
There’s no summary of the first movie at the beginning of this one, but as Jackson
figured, you’re not going to see The Two Towers without seeing The Fellowship
of the Ring first, so there’s no need (besides -- it would only add to the three-hour
run time).
We rejoin the Hobbits, Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean
Astin), who are on their own, trying to get The Ring of Power to Mordor, so they can
destroy the ring before Sauron uses it to take over Middle Earth. As they travel, they
meet up with Gollum (Andy Serkis), who agrees to lead them to Mordor.
Meanwhile, the other two Hobbits, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin
(Billy Boyd), escape from the Orcs who took them captive (thinking that one of them had
The Ring) and venture into the forest, where they’re rescued by a tree herder.
And Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Logolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John
Rhys-Davies) join forces with the men of Rohan to battle Saruman’s (Christopher Lee)
army.
The war for Middle Earth is just beginning.
Over the
last two years, I -- like millions of others -- have been caught up in the story of
The Lord of the Rings. The first two movies in the trilogy are already a part of
my DVD collection, and I’m excited to see the next. And that’s pretty impressive for me.
I’ve never been one to get excited about the fantasy genre -- and though I tried to wade
through Tolkien’s books (read the review), I just couldn’t
do it. But there’s something about Peter Jackson’s movies that keeps me coming back for
more.
The Lord of the Rings movies just keep getting better. I
liked The Fellowship of the Ring, but The Two Towers was, in my opinion,
even better. The action was constant (yet not overdone), and the story never seemed to
drag. And though I thought that the tree herder scenes were a bit cheesy, the effects,
as a whole, were spectacular.
Before The Return of the King comes
out, pick up a copy of The Two Towers. Not only will it refresh your memory, but
it’ll also get you pumped for the next movie. And while you’re at it, check out the
DVD’s special features for a look at The Return of the King. By the time you’re
finished watching, you’ll be ready to get in line at your local
theater.
Ed. Note: If you’re a huge The Lord of the Rings
fan, be sure to pick up a copy of the extended edition
or the extended edition
collector’s gift set.
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