The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

An essential component of what is now destined to be among the best film franchises of all time.

In size and scale, Jackson has redefined the word 'epic' -- but his attention to the small things really gives this series its awesome stature.

A cinematic flood of spectacular proportions.

Though Frodo’s quest remains unfulfilled, a hardy group of determined New Zealanders has proved its creative mettle.

More graphic in its violence and more fantastic in its imaginings than the first film.

Yes, there are some 'middle-chapter' problems, but Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptation hasn’t lost its devastating humanity, its heart-s...

This film is a towering achievement, and the next installment can’t come soon enough.

Part two is more a straight-ahead action flick, substituting brawn and brawling for the pastoral radiance of the first film.

When Gandalf arrives with reinforcements, descending a near-vertical slope using horses where you or I would use snowboards, the spirit of tri...

From the bravura opening that stunningly recalls and continues a central sequence from The Fellowship of the Ring, we feel that we’re in...

The Two Towers does not disappoint. This film is a fitting companion to the astounding The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Is it too early to say The Lord of the Rings is the best cinematic fantasy trilogy of all time, even with the series' third installment The Return...

In nearly every way that counts, The Two Towers is The Fellowship of the Ring’s equal.

Spectacular in every sense of the word, even if you don' t know an Orc from a Uruk-Hai.

What an eyeful it is. This is probably the greatest battlepiece composed for the screen since Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible.

The Two Towers could be the most sinister Hollywood epic ever made.

A thrilling work of film craft.

Gollum is the first believable CG character, while the battle of Helm’s Deep is one of the finest, most expansive combat sequences ever filmed.

Though Jackson doesn’t always succeed in integrating the characters in the foreground into the extraordinarily rich landscape, it must be sai...

If the second film never reaches the highs of the first – we have met the players before and there are no new worlds of wonder – it nonet...

The battle for Gollum’s mind also provides a fitting teaser conclusion to the second act of a story I’m beginning to wish would ne...

An engaging, emotionally supercharged epic adventure that will doubtless take pride of place alongside other genre classics and beyond.

Spectacular in every sense of the word, even if you don' t know an Orc from a Uruk-Hai.

The Two Towers is a satisfying and wholly gripping drama in its own right. Inevitably, Janus-like, it looks back to the Shire, and forward to...

To live up to expectations, The Two Towers only had to be as good as its predecessor – and, astoundingly, it’s better.

Peter Jackson, in the second installment of his Lord of the Rings trilogy, has confounded expectations and crafted a film that’s both li...

It is not faithful to the spirit of Tolkien and misplaces much of the charm and whimsy of the books, but it stands on its own as a visionary t...

An amazing feat of imagination.

When Gandalf arrives with reinforcements, descending a near-vertical slope using horses where you or I would use snowboards, the spirit of tri...

A few sloggy spots aside, The Two Towers is an outstanding effort that maintains the integrity and purpose that distinguished The Fellowship of the...

It’s been a very watchable, distinctive, if over-extended FX spectacular. Nothing more.

If you’re not already on board, you scrabble around as best you can, and this means hard work, which is something rare – and yes, exhila...

The Two Towers is both a triumph of design and cinematic engineering and, at the same time, long, repetitious and naive.

What’s remarkable is how immediately, after a full year, The Two Towers seizes your attention, and how urgently it holds you through thr...

George Lucas should watch this and hang his head in shame.

One of the great film experiences of the millennium.