LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Starring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Liv Tyler and Andy Serkis Rated PG-13 for scary images and epic battle scenes Cinesight Rating * * * *

I would not recommend going to see THE TWO TOWERS - that is, not until you have seen THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. This second part of director Peter Jackson's epic adaptation of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, expects the audience to be up to speed with the story from the very beginning. There is no recap of the story so far, no introductory scrawl. If you haven't read the book or seen the first movie, you'll be utterly frustrated. However, for those who have done their homework, THE TWO TOWERS is a breathtaking, action-packed spectacle that achieves the near impossible, succeeding brilliantly despite being the 'middle part' of thr trilogy. TOWERS begins immediately where FELLOWSHIP left off: Hobbits Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) are slowly making their way to the land of Mordor, stronghold of the dark lord Sauron, where they must destroy the One Ring that could give Sauron dominion over all the earth. However, they are being followed by Gollum (Serkis), a hobbit-like creature who has been possessed by the power of the Ring. Elsewhere, Merry (Monaghan) and Pippin (Boyd) have been captured by a ferocious band of Uruk-Hai, servants of the evil wizard Saruman (Lee), who also wants to get his hands on the Ring. When the kidnappers are themselves attacked, Merry and Pippin see their chance of escape and slip into the nearby forest. Here they meet Treebeard, a 'shepherd of the trees' who is at first suspicous of them, but gradually becomes a friend and ally. The remainder of the fellowship - Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas the elf (Bloom) and Gimli the dwarf (Rhys-Davies) - are tracking their kidnapped friends. However, they are soon diverted to a new task. They must help the people of the country of Rohan prepare for war. Secretly, Saruman has been breeding a massive Uruk-Hai army, which he plans to unleash on all humanity, wiping the race from the earth. While FELLOWSHIP began at a very leisurely pace, allowing us to adjust to the world of middle-earth, TOWERS plows straight in to the heart of the story. The stakes are getting much higher, the adventure much darker and the outlook for our heroes much bleaker. From being a small-scale story involving a fellowship of nine travellers with a simple quest, we now see the significance of that quest for the the whole world. Unless it is destroyed, the Ring will bring about the end of mankind and a rule of slavery to evil. Tolkien's story now takes us far and wide across middle-earth - from Saruman's tower at Isengard; through the plains of Rohan, realm of the horse-lords to their seemingly impregnable fortress refuge of Helm's Deep; on into Gondor, the seat of power for the kings of old; and at last to the borders of the volcanic wasteland of Mordor, the location of Sauron's dark tower. Quite honestly, it is impossible to review THE TWO TOWERS as a 'stand alone' movie. From the beginning it was designed to be the second puzzle piece of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, which will conclude next year with THE RETURN OF THE KING. Having said that, it is an excellent continuation of the story. Peter Jackson and his own team of movie wizards haven't let us down. The written adaptation continues to be one of the best and most faithful in spirit that I have ever seen. While certain details have been altered or omitted, the writers have again captured the essence of the book. This was a risky project from the start; one false step and it could have been a collosal failure. But the moviemakers' craft, care and obsessive attention to detail have paid off in spades. In the space of 3 hours our senses are overloaded by fire demons, an army of angry trees and a battle sequence of jaw-dropping scale, when 300 humans square off against 10,000 Uruk-Hai soldiers bent on their total dustruction. Having said that, these are more than just big special effects sequences. They are an integral part of a very human story, a story of challenge and struggle. Whereas the central message of FELLOWSHIP was about having the courage to decide what we will do with the time given to us, TOWERS focuses on finding hope in hopelessness. The effects are not included to cover up for a lack of story and character, but are necessary simply in order to tell this amazing tale. The best illustration of this involves the character of Gollum. While he is a computer generated character, Jackson and company realized he needed to be able to act as convincingly as any of the human leads, since he shares as much screen time as Elijah Wood. In order to do this, actor Andy Serkis not only provided Gollum's voice, but acted the part. His movements, recorded in the computer were then given to the CGI character. Gollum won't be replacing real actors just yet, but he is lightyears ahead of George Lucas' much-despised Jar Jar Binks and Harry Potter's house elf, Dobby. Gollum is a huge leap forward in effects, but he is integrated so well into the story that he isn't an effect. He's simply Gollum. One quick sidenote: if Andy Serkis doesn't win best supporting actor at the Oscars this year, then the Motion Picture Academy needs it's collective head examining! Thankfully the flesh and blood actors aren't upstaged. Elijah Wood continues his gradual transformation from a carefree youngster into a burned-out wreck with the weight of the world on his shoulders, as the Ring takes hold of him. Meanwhile Sean Astin gets to shine this time as Sam becomes a decision-maker as well as encourager. Viggo Mortensen really comes into his own as the rugged hero. We get to see Aragorn's skill as a hunter, as well as him beginning to embrace his destiny as the future king. Merry and Pippin are both finally starting to grow up, taking life and their circumstances a little more seriously. And the slowly increasing friendship between Legolas and Gimli gives TOWERS much of its humor. A quick summary... The writing and adaptation continues to be excellent; the acting is as good as anything else you'll find on screen this year; visually it is a bleak but stunningly rich realization of gigantic proportion - everything is big in this movie. Above all else, I think that co-writer/producer/director Peter Jackson is a demented genius. Anyone with the idea that they could make a movie of this scope, when conventional wisdom (and previous failed attempts) say it's impossible must be barking mad. And to actually do it can be nothing less than genius. Thank you, Peter Jackson, for a wonderful Christmas gift. Next Christmas can't come soon enough!