Genres: Action | Adventure | Fantasy Countries: Germany | New Zealand | USA Actors: Elijah Wood Frodo Baggins Ian McKellen Gandalf the Grey/Gandalf the White Liv Tyler Arwen Viggo Mortensen Aragorn Sean Astin Sam Cate Blanchett Galadriel John Rhys-Davies Gimli/Voice of Treebeard Bernard Hill Theoden Christopher Lee Saruman the White Billy Boyd Pippin Dominic Monaghan Merry Orlando Bloom Legolas Hugo Weaving Elrond Miranda Otto Eowyn David Wenham Faramir Directors: Peter Jackson Certification: Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14 | Canada:14A | Canada:AA | Canada:G | Canada:PA ...  show all  Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14 | Canada:14A | Canada:AA | Canada:G | Canada:PA | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 | Greece:K-13 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Iceland:12 | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Japan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 | UK:12 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13  hide  IMDB Rating: 8.6 out of 10 (240173 votes)

Storyline

Taglines: 

Plot Summary: 

The second film in Peter Jackson’s series of screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s internationally popular Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers literally begins where The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ended, with the Fellowship splitting into three groups as they seek to return the Ring to Mordor, the forbidding land where the powerful talisman must be taken to be destroyed. Frodo (Elijah Wood), who carries the Ring, and his fellow Hobbit Sam (Sean Astin) are lost in the hills of Emyn Muil when they encounter Gollum (Andy Serkis), a strange creature who once carried the Ring and was twisted by its power. Gollum volunteers to guide the pair to Mordor; Frodo agrees, but Sam does not trust their new acquaintance. Elsewhere, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are attempting to navigate Fangorn Forrest where they discover a most unusual nemesis — Treebeard (voice of John Rhys-Davies), a walking and talking tree-shepherd who doesn’t much care for Hobbits. Finally, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) arrive in Rohan to discover that the evil powers of Saruman (Christopher Lee) have robbed King Theoden (Bernard Hill) of his rule. The King’s niece Éowyn (Miranda Otto) believes Aragorn and his men have the strength to defeat Saruman, his henchman Wormtongue (Brad Dourif), and their minions. Éowyn soon becomes infatuated with Aragorn, while he struggles to stay faithful to the pledge of love he made to Arwen (Liv Tyler). Gandalf (Ian McKellen) offers his help and encouragement as the Rohans, under Aragorn’s leadership, attempt to face down Saruman’s armies, but they soon discover how great the task before them truly is when they learn that his troops consist of 10,000 bloodthirsty creatures specially bred to fight to the death. Most of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was shot in tandem with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King during a marathon 18-month shooting schedule, overseen by Peter Jackson.

Co-writer and director Peter Jackson continues his Oscar-winning, box-office blockbuster adaptation of the classic fantasy novel from author J.R.R. Tolkien with a second installment that plunges the fictional setting of Middle-earth into a vicious war. Welcome additions to the action in the sophomore adventure include the CG-created Gollum, moving front and center as a major character who is simply amazing in his ability to entertain and move the viewer emotionally. The most pathetic creature in the trilogy, he’s a schizophrenic nightmare but heartbreakingly human and poignantly, dazzlingly realized by a combination of actor Andy Serkis’s physical skill and Jackson’s special effects experts. Gollum puts the similar Jar Jar Binks character of the second Star Wars trilogy to shame. Also thrilling are a climactic battle between Ents (living “trees”) and the evil wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) that brings to mind any number of breathtaking sequences from The Wizard of Oz (1939), and the final clash between humans and invading enemy forces at Helm’s Deep, a lengthy but thrilling clash of bows and shields that recalls the superb fight sequences from Braveheart (1995). Less persuasive are some storytelling elements that fall victim to the filmmakers’ effort to condense the story into a three-hour running time: several gaps in the action occur and a few developments are left unexplained or vague, such as how the forces of Éomer (Karl Urban) grow from a few dozen to thousands, how the defenders of the realm of Gondor manage to defeat their attackers, why the Ringwraiths have suddenly switched mounts from horses to dragons (why did they use horses at all in the first film?) — and why Tolkien felt the need to give every location, character, and object in his work at least three utterly confusing names (those who haven’t read the books may be left wondering what the difference is between Éomer and Faramir or Gimli and Grima). However, the simple fact that a novel as dense and detailed as this one hasn’t been turned into a labored bore is a miracle; that Jackson has fashioned such a triumphant success is a real artistic achievement. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) may be imperfect in its occasionally frustrated effort to squeeze every significant plot element into the mix, but it’s a visual marvel and a definite raising of the artistic bar for its entire genre. No filmmaker will ever be able to create a sci-fi or fantasy epic again without comparison against it.

Plot Keywords: 

Downloads

See also

The Godfather (1972) Summary: Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino star as... IMDB Rating: 9.2 (285295 votes) Download: DVD DivX PDA

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Summary: In 1946, a banker named Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is convicted of a double murder, even though he stubbornly proclaims his innocence. He's sentenced to a life term at the Shawshank State Prison in Maine, where another lifer, Ellis "Red" Redding ... IMDB Rating: 9.2 (336524 votes) Download: DVD DivX PDA

The Godfather: Part II (1974) Summary: Francis Ford Coppola's legendary continuation and sequel to his landmark 1972 film, The Godfather, parallels the young Vito Corleone's rise with his son Michael's spiritual fall, deepening The Godfather's depiction of the dark side of the American... IMDB Rating: 9 (163530 votes) Download: DivX iPod

Pulp Fiction (1994) Summary: Outrageously violent, time-twisting, and in love with language, Pulp Fiction was widely considered the most influential American movie of the 1990s. Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino synthesized such seemingly disparate traditions as ... IMDB Rating: 8.9 (288977 votes) Download: DVD DivX PDA

Once Upon A Time In The West (1969) Summary: In Sergio Leone's epic Western, shot partly in Monument Valley, a revenge story becomes an epic contemplation of the Western past. To get his hands on prime railroad land in Sweetwater, crippled railroad baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti) hires kill... IMDB Rating: 8.8 (47767 votes) Download: DVD DivX PDA