January 2003
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ENTERTAINMENT

The Battle for Middle Earth continues with Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
By Lisa J., Grade 11, Cole Harbour High, Cole Harbour, NS

Lord of the Rings"You're gonna have to throw me. Don't tell the elf."

The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers is the second installment of director Peter Jackson's trilogy. Once again, Elijah Wood returns to play Frodo Baggins, as well as Liv Tyler as Arwen, John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Dominic Monaghan as Merry, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Billy Boyd as Pippin, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, and Sean Astin as Sam. The Two Towers was released in December of 2002 and is rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images.

Humour plays an important role in the second film. Frodo is still on his journey with Sam to Mordor while Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas are on a journey to save Merry and Pippin. On these journeys, the characters have a series of serious moments as well as humour to carry the plot along. While Frodo and Sam have the serious side of the movie, the three on the journey (Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas) have most of the humour, especially the one-liners between Gimli and Legolas. Examples of their humour come in the time of the battle. When the army of Orcs first appears at Helm's Deep, Gimli is not tall enough to see over the wall and complains about the spot chosen to view the action. In response, Legolas says to the dwarf, "Would you like me to get you a box?" The relationship between the dwarf and elf is one of teasing yet caring. They jest at one another yet they still care how the other is faring in the battle.

Director Peter Jackson takes the popular book and places it into film form in a creative and interesting way. Best known for The Frighteners, Jackson scored another hit with his recreation of J.R. Tolkein's novel. Filming in New Zealand, he was able to create a movie that produced a cult-like following.

The actors of the film are all outstanding, but Wood reaches beyond superstar status with his portrayal of Frodo. Representing the different moods and sides of Frodo, Wood shows his talent. He was the perfect choice to play Frodo and no other actor would have fit the role.

The special effects in the movie are breathtaking. The army of Orcs is by far the most astonishing effect of all. More than ten thousand Orcs storm Helm's Deep and each looks frightening and real. Another great special effect is how they make the hobbits look smaller than the rest of the actors. The actors that play the hobbits are regular sized people, but onscreen they appear to be the size of a child.

There are really no weak points to the film. Even someone who did not like the novel or the first film would enjoy The Two Towers. I would recommend this for all moviegoers because it is interesting and entertaining.

Rating: On a 1 to 10 scale, I would give this movie a 10.

Movie website: http://www.lordoftherings.net/


     



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