The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition)
My second visit to the movie theatre to see the extended edition of the Two Towers went as wonderfully as the first visit. The Two Towers was always my favorite of the three movies. I enjoyed that it took very short entries from the source material and made a sweeping epic.
Since The Fellowship of the Ring was basically one continuous plot, viewers of the Two Towers will notice that several concurrent stories are taking place. Frodo/Sam and Gollum heading toward Mordor. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chase after Pippin and Merry, but get swept up in the Rohan vs Saruman conflict. Pippin and Merry, on their own, aid in that fight as well, enlisting the help of the Ents. We learn a little bit about the politics of Gondor as well, but that story is saved for the third movie.
The evil plans started in the first movie really get moving in this one, and thus, continue the themes by showing repercussions. Saruman's descent into madness is somewhat stemmed by the Ents allowing nature to reclaim Isengard. The creatures sent to destroy the human are defeated when the men stand together.
The biggest and most emotional storyline comes from the shortest screen time between Frodo, Sam and Gollum. 500 years of madness were endured by Sméagol and Frodo's kindness begins to crack that rage. We get to see a battle between Sméagol and Gollum, 2 personalities fighting for dominance. His treatment, torture and mistrust can be understood, but judging his life to be meaningless is not one for a person to do. I always find something to talk about when mental illness is portrayed in main stream media, and I find Gollum's character to be redeemable. It's unfortunate that due to a misunderstanding, he feels betrayed.
Is there any character better than Samwise Gamgee? This film contains the famous PO-TA-TO scene, and several people in the theatre recited the lines (including me) because it's just so fun. His dedication and love for Frodo is so genuine and heartwarming that you can't help but tear up when Sam does something to save the day. I'm looking forward to the next film where he just keeps getting stronger, more courageous and more loving. A film that celebrates this intense friendship and love between two characters that don't need to be romantic needs to be seen more often. It's truly beautiful to see the power of love for your best friend in the world.
The battle for Helm's Deep has gotten sillier the more I've seen this movie, but I do enjoy seeing the choreography, Legolas's ridiculous acrobatics, and Gimli's funny comments. Gandalf arriving at the end always brings a surge of hope that true evil can be defeated. Saruman's pathetic attempt to curry favor with Sauron is finally over, and the plot can move forward to the real battles. Gondor: watch out. The king is returning, and Denethor isn't the most stable of people.
