Desdichado
Hero
BTW, what previews did y'all see? We got Terminator 3, X-Men 2, Bad Boys 2, Bruce Almighty and Dumb and Dumberer. Looks like it's definately a year for sequels this summer. 
Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers ENworld reviews & discussion (SPOILERS)
- Thread starter Dr Midnight
- Start date
Dr Midnight
Explorer
We got Dumb & Dumberer, som bad Vin Diesel vehicle, Terminator 3 (got hesitant applause at first, and then universal groans when he said "she'll be back". The groans were not the good kind), that stupid The Core movie, and something else. Not an exciting trailer ride.
Desdichado
Hero
EricNoah said:
MAJOR SPOILER: Yeah, he's s'posed to fall in love with Eowyn. Problem is, Eowyn is a very sympathetic and likable character, while Faramir comes across as kinda a creep.
Dr Midnight
Explorer
I think it was a mistake to show Gollum happy and cutesy when Faramir was about to order his boys to fire. That and the fact that he was pressuring Frodo really made him out to be a colossal prick.
Ohhhh I hope so. Oh dear me, yes. Mmmm *slurp*.
KnowTheToe
First Post
Joshua Dyal said:
I thought Gollum showed up almost immediately, but I could be wrong.
KnowTheToe
First Post
EricNoah said:
I thought you were not going to talk about it
Guilt Puppy
First Post
First: As others have said, glad I didn't read the books, so I couldn't get disappointed... Also, I generally prefer to have a movie make the first impression on me (I can watch a movie, then go read the book, and end up liking both, but it rarely happens the other way around.)
Second: Just a list of cool scenes:
- First, the dwarf-tossing... MAN. It was like a bomb went off when he landed. As in the first one, they really did a good job portraying just how insanely skilled the members of the Fellowship are, yet at the same time, still making it feel plausible somehow...
- The ent-battle, I imagine, was better in the book... The "ent rage" could have been done a lot cooler, judging by people's responses, but nonetheless, having not read the book, the ent battle rocked. They made them seem a little silly rather than ancient and majestic (understandable, considering it's hard to put talking trees on film and not have them seen silly), but they still knew how to totally thrash things around when it came down to it.
- One or two bonus points for giving the orcs individual personalities this time around... They're still plain evil, but somehow I can accept that a little more if you show the in-fighting et cetera.
- They came very close to letting Smeagol become Jar Jar Binks, but the Gollum side actually made that work... Round of applause to that. Still under-impressed with the computer graphics in the movies (which isn't to say they're bad, but they're still far too distinguishable from the live-action stuff), but for Gollum it seemed okay... I mean, he looked cartoony, but the character is pretty cartoony to begin with, so I can deal with that.
- Other stuff? I think the only part of the film that really bored me was the love story... Not that I'm entirely anti-love story, and it did add a certain sense of sacrifice to the battles, but I felt it was drawn out way too long, very over-emphasized. So everything but those sequences, I'm at the very least okay with.
Good movie. Enjoyed it more than the first on some levels, although the first one did have more of an adventursome feel to it that felt lacking this time around (aside from Frodo and Samwise). There was also a lot less depth that we saw in the characters, although they showed more personality as well.
Anyway, now I've got to wait a year to see just how Frodo and Samwise are going to make it through Mordor alive. Must not give in yet... must not read the books... must not...
Second: Just a list of cool scenes:
- First, the dwarf-tossing... MAN. It was like a bomb went off when he landed. As in the first one, they really did a good job portraying just how insanely skilled the members of the Fellowship are, yet at the same time, still making it feel plausible somehow...
- The ent-battle, I imagine, was better in the book... The "ent rage" could have been done a lot cooler, judging by people's responses, but nonetheless, having not read the book, the ent battle rocked. They made them seem a little silly rather than ancient and majestic (understandable, considering it's hard to put talking trees on film and not have them seen silly), but they still knew how to totally thrash things around when it came down to it.
- One or two bonus points for giving the orcs individual personalities this time around... They're still plain evil, but somehow I can accept that a little more if you show the in-fighting et cetera.
- They came very close to letting Smeagol become Jar Jar Binks, but the Gollum side actually made that work... Round of applause to that. Still under-impressed with the computer graphics in the movies (which isn't to say they're bad, but they're still far too distinguishable from the live-action stuff), but for Gollum it seemed okay... I mean, he looked cartoony, but the character is pretty cartoony to begin with, so I can deal with that.
- Other stuff? I think the only part of the film that really bored me was the love story... Not that I'm entirely anti-love story, and it did add a certain sense of sacrifice to the battles, but I felt it was drawn out way too long, very over-emphasized. So everything but those sequences, I'm at the very least okay with.
Good movie. Enjoyed it more than the first on some levels, although the first one did have more of an adventursome feel to it that felt lacking this time around (aside from Frodo and Samwise). There was also a lot less depth that we saw in the characters, although they showed more personality as well.
Anyway, now I've got to wait a year to see just how Frodo and Samwise are going to make it through Mordor alive. Must not give in yet... must not read the books... must not...
KnowTheToe
First Post
Dr Midnight said:
I don't know, Dumb and Dumberer and Bruce Almightly looked good, as well as Bad Boys 2, but I had a feeling they showed most of the funny parts in the trailer for Bad Boys 2. Van Diesel does not interest me and the T-3 trailer made me cross that off my viewing list.
What is the deal with commercials before the movie and who gets paid fr them the theater or the movie company? I can see commercials before crappy low expectation movies, but this movie will make more money on opening weekend than my entire neighborhood will make their entire lives. What's the deal?
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
Another review ...
Just got back from the noon showing the The Two Towers, so here's a short review:
My wife's first comment after the movie: "I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to find out what happens!"
Mine:"Man, I need to go get some Warg minis!" (Warg riders have featured prominently in my last two game sessions.)
Peter Jackson delivers another great epic film. If anything, the movie is more dramatic, and significantly more action-packed than the first film. Making the second story of a trilogy is tough, but Jackson succeeds in making a stand-alone movie out of the second act.
If you're going to see the film, be warned that there's no recap -- they jump directly into the action (which will throw off anyone who hasn't seen the first movie).
Tolkien purists be warned, as well -- there are some significant departures from the text. No plot points are changed or important characters deleted, but if you're as big a fan of the text as I am you may find a few of the changes disturbing.
Rants & Raves:
**** Warning, Spoilers Follow *****
My raves: the best parts of the film.
- The scenery, epic scope, music, and pacing are superb. I was completely drawn in, and even though the film is a full three hours, it sure didn't feel like it.
- The CGI creatures are all awesome: the Ents, the Wargs, the Oliphants & Trolls, and Gollum. The Wargs are my personal favorites, but the Ents are great, too. Gollum has a few "CGI moments" at the beginning until his character takes hold, but this fades by the end.
- Gollum. Absolutely awesome. I think it captures the split-personality of Gollum-Smeagol even better than the text. I could see a Best Supporting Actor for Andy Sertis, who does Gollum's voice and movements for this performance.
- Gandalf's fight with the Balrog. Great sequence.
- Action & drama -- lots & lots of it. The fight scenes are great -- especially if you're a Legolas or Gimli fan. They both have some great moves, although Gimli is still mostly comic relief. Look for a reprise of the "dwarf tossing" scene from the last movie.
- The Eowyn-Aragorn relationship. Tolkien never really develops this; he just shows Eowyn mooning over Aragorn. The movies shows a relationship that sets up the ROTK much better.
Rants:
- Textual changes. I know that a movie and a book are two different media, and must be different to work. A number of Jackson's changes are positive -- I agreed with most of the departures from text in Fellowship, actually. TTT has more departures than Fellowship, though, and a number of them I take umbrage with.
- Positive changes, in my opinion, include:
- Moving Shelob to ROTK. At first I wasn't convinced, as I was looking forward to these scenes and the cliffhanger it sets up, but given the way the film is edited it works better this way to end the plot threads on similar emotional notes.
- Adding the Warg fight sequence. I enjoyed the fight itself a lot (though not the ending of it: see below).
- Shifting the Two Towers parallel from Orthanc/Minas Morgul to Orthanc/Baradur. It works, particularly given the elimination of the Cirith Ungol sequence, and helps tie the Saruman-Sauron thread together in the movie better. The Saurman portrayal here works very well for the film.
- The Arwen-Aragorn scenes. They help the pacing of the film, so you don't get overwhelmed with action.
- Negative changes, in my opinion, include:
- Reducing the amount of footage given to Merry & Pippin. Both the Uruk-hai segments and Ent segments are quite short (hopefully there is more footage that will make it to the extended version). I thought that the original textual approaches to these scenes worked better.
- "Banishing" Eomer so that he comes to the rescue ot Helm's Deep at the end. It works for the film (particularly given the editing and pacing), though it eliminates the Huorns (whom I was looking forward to). But it also eliminates the development of the Eomer-Aragorn relationship at Helm's Deep, which I think is important to ROTK. We'll see.
- The arrival of Haldir & the elves at Helm's Deep. Poor change. Yes, it explains what the other races are doing about it all (well, except for the dwarves), but how did the elves know where to go? Why not reinforce Gondor, who is the more critical of the two countries? And with the elves arrival, how is Jackson going to handle the Grey Company segments in ROTK? It will look redundant if a bunch of Rangers ride up at the beginning of the next movie ...
- Faramir's characterization. His early betrayal of Frodo does make his later reversal more dramatic, but I found the book's method of portraying Faramir to be more heroic. Faramir came of faintly sleazy to me (which probably also has something to do with a vague resemblance to the actor who played the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).
- The Osgiliath scenes, particularly Frodo's encounter with the Nazgul. Too much. It's like Jackson said "we've had five minutes without a fight scene .. let's throw one in ... and since we have to show Frodo falling to the ring, let's have him give it to a Nazgul!" Blech. Now the question is: if Sauron knows the ring is at Osgiliath, why doesn't he fortify Minas Morgul?
- The "Aragorn death" scene at the end of the Warg fight. The moving already has enough tension and drama -- this was just over the top.
Edit: almost forgot, I didn't care for the change in the Ent's motivations, though it works OK for the film. My wife kept asking: "Why don't the Ents get swept away by the water, too?"
Was it better than the first movie? Yes, and no. From an action/drama/pacing standpoint, it is probably better, but as an admitted Tolkien purist, I found some of the changes a little jarring. I'm looking forward to the extended edition, though, and I think FOTR and TTT are 1-2 in my list of fantasy movies (if not all movies).
Edit: Worgs to wargs, at Josh's request
Just got back from the noon showing the The Two Towers, so here's a short review:
My wife's first comment after the movie: "I can't believe I have to wait a whole year to find out what happens!"
Mine:"Man, I need to go get some Warg minis!" (Warg riders have featured prominently in my last two game sessions.)
Peter Jackson delivers another great epic film. If anything, the movie is more dramatic, and significantly more action-packed than the first film. Making the second story of a trilogy is tough, but Jackson succeeds in making a stand-alone movie out of the second act.
If you're going to see the film, be warned that there's no recap -- they jump directly into the action (which will throw off anyone who hasn't seen the first movie).
Tolkien purists be warned, as well -- there are some significant departures from the text. No plot points are changed or important characters deleted, but if you're as big a fan of the text as I am you may find a few of the changes disturbing.
Rants & Raves:
**** Warning, Spoilers Follow *****
My raves: the best parts of the film.
- The scenery, epic scope, music, and pacing are superb. I was completely drawn in, and even though the film is a full three hours, it sure didn't feel like it.
- The CGI creatures are all awesome: the Ents, the Wargs, the Oliphants & Trolls, and Gollum. The Wargs are my personal favorites, but the Ents are great, too. Gollum has a few "CGI moments" at the beginning until his character takes hold, but this fades by the end.
- Gollum. Absolutely awesome. I think it captures the split-personality of Gollum-Smeagol even better than the text. I could see a Best Supporting Actor for Andy Sertis, who does Gollum's voice and movements for this performance.
- Gandalf's fight with the Balrog. Great sequence.
- Action & drama -- lots & lots of it. The fight scenes are great -- especially if you're a Legolas or Gimli fan. They both have some great moves, although Gimli is still mostly comic relief. Look for a reprise of the "dwarf tossing" scene from the last movie.
- The Eowyn-Aragorn relationship. Tolkien never really develops this; he just shows Eowyn mooning over Aragorn. The movies shows a relationship that sets up the ROTK much better.
Rants:
- Textual changes. I know that a movie and a book are two different media, and must be different to work. A number of Jackson's changes are positive -- I agreed with most of the departures from text in Fellowship, actually. TTT has more departures than Fellowship, though, and a number of them I take umbrage with.
- Positive changes, in my opinion, include:
- Moving Shelob to ROTK. At first I wasn't convinced, as I was looking forward to these scenes and the cliffhanger it sets up, but given the way the film is edited it works better this way to end the plot threads on similar emotional notes.
- Adding the Warg fight sequence. I enjoyed the fight itself a lot (though not the ending of it: see below).
- Shifting the Two Towers parallel from Orthanc/Minas Morgul to Orthanc/Baradur. It works, particularly given the elimination of the Cirith Ungol sequence, and helps tie the Saruman-Sauron thread together in the movie better. The Saurman portrayal here works very well for the film.
- The Arwen-Aragorn scenes. They help the pacing of the film, so you don't get overwhelmed with action.
- Negative changes, in my opinion, include:
- Reducing the amount of footage given to Merry & Pippin. Both the Uruk-hai segments and Ent segments are quite short (hopefully there is more footage that will make it to the extended version). I thought that the original textual approaches to these scenes worked better.
- "Banishing" Eomer so that he comes to the rescue ot Helm's Deep at the end. It works for the film (particularly given the editing and pacing), though it eliminates the Huorns (whom I was looking forward to). But it also eliminates the development of the Eomer-Aragorn relationship at Helm's Deep, which I think is important to ROTK. We'll see.
- The arrival of Haldir & the elves at Helm's Deep. Poor change. Yes, it explains what the other races are doing about it all (well, except for the dwarves), but how did the elves know where to go? Why not reinforce Gondor, who is the more critical of the two countries? And with the elves arrival, how is Jackson going to handle the Grey Company segments in ROTK? It will look redundant if a bunch of Rangers ride up at the beginning of the next movie ...
- Faramir's characterization. His early betrayal of Frodo does make his later reversal more dramatic, but I found the book's method of portraying Faramir to be more heroic. Faramir came of faintly sleazy to me (which probably also has something to do with a vague resemblance to the actor who played the Sherriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).
- The Osgiliath scenes, particularly Frodo's encounter with the Nazgul. Too much. It's like Jackson said "we've had five minutes without a fight scene .. let's throw one in ... and since we have to show Frodo falling to the ring, let's have him give it to a Nazgul!" Blech. Now the question is: if Sauron knows the ring is at Osgiliath, why doesn't he fortify Minas Morgul?
- The "Aragorn death" scene at the end of the Warg fight. The moving already has enough tension and drama -- this was just over the top.
Edit: almost forgot, I didn't care for the change in the Ent's motivations, though it works OK for the film. My wife kept asking: "Why don't the Ents get swept away by the water, too?"
Was it better than the first movie? Yes, and no. From an action/drama/pacing standpoint, it is probably better, but as an admitted Tolkien purist, I found some of the changes a little jarring. I'm looking forward to the extended edition, though, and I think FOTR and TTT are 1-2 in my list of fantasy movies (if not all movies).
Edit: Worgs to wargs, at Josh's request
Last edited:
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