Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
PG-13
Opening at area theaters Wednesday
Three-and-a-half reels out of four
I remember the first time I saw Errol Flynn in Captain Blood. I was immediately captivated. It awoke in me a sense of adventure. I saw myself fighting side by side with the noble pirates against their enemies.
It is to director Peter Jackson’s credit that much of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers arouses that same feeling in me some 30 years later. Although not a pirate movie, the film contains the same brand of macho camaraderie found in those rousing swashbucklers in which Flynn excelled.
The Two Towers continues where The Fellowship of the Ring left off. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and his faithful gardener Sam (Sean Astin) are heading toward Mordor as they encounter the weird creature Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), who, like Frodo, once bore The Ring. Sam has a bad feeling about Gollum, but agrees to go along when the creature tells the pair he can safely lead them to Mordor.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship has ended up in the kingdom of Rohan, where the king has been bewitched by one of the dark lord Sauron’s evil minions. After the king regains his faculties, the group hears word of a 10,000-man army headed right toward Rohan. Their only hope is to unite with the people of Gondor, the last stronghold of human existence.
A lot of pre-release buzz described Two Towers as far and above the first installment in the trilogy. That’s a tough call because the movies are very different from each other. In many ways, this film resembles a medieval war movie. So much so that I’d like to see what Jackson would do with The Legend of King Arthur.
I should warn parents that much of the violence is quite graphic, hence the PG-13 rating. But for the rest of us, it’s quite an unforgettable tale. The amazingly gritty and lifelike battle scenes are a highlight, but Jackson doesn’t cheat us in other departments. The special effects are jaw-dropping without overshadowing the story.
But the one effect that everyone will be talking about is Gollum — Frodo and Sam’s creepy companion. The CGI (computer-generated imagery) used for the character is incredibly lifelike, and the voice work by British actor Serkis adds to the realism.
Jackson, who just a couple of years ago was known mainly for Heavenly Creatures and several funny horror films, has combined his passions for movies and Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien into another engrossing and timeless cinematic experience. After viewing this movie, you will be convinced that the first one was no fluke. Not that there was ever any doubt.
Minority Report
PG-13
Available Tuesday
Steven Spielberg came back in a big way with Minority Report, based on a short story by cult sci-fi author Philip K. Dick. Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, the chief of an elite unit of D.C. cops who arrests murderers before they commit the crime. This is done with the help of three "precogs" who are able to see the future while in a perpetually drugged state. Anderton’s life changes when the precogs see him committing murder. Spielberg has masterfully combined several genres into what can only be called sci-fi noir, with the usual mind-bending thrill you would expect from the ace director.
