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The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (22 - 24 of 54 Reviews)
Extended or Theatrical version? Decisions, Decisions...
It's interesting to see how many people say things like: "Get the extended version because it has more scenes in it" or "Get the extended version because it has more 'extras' in it". Well sometimes 'longer is better' and sometimes not...
In the case of "The Two Towers" I would agree that the 'extended' version was easily superior to its theatrical counterpart. The extended version filled in many important plot elements and fully rounded out the middle movie. Most of the 'dangling' plot elements were far better explained in this extended version.
However, I cannot say the same for the 'extended' version of the first movie, i.e. "The Fellowship of the Ring." The extended version of 'The Fellowship....' added very little new to the plot development with the exception of the 'Lady Galadriel's Gift Giving' scenes. On the contrary, the extra footage of the Shire in the beginning weakened the much tighter and far better Shire opening in the theatrical version. Plus with the various changes to the musical score, the 'extended' version of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' just drags on too much. I cannot recommend the 'extended' version of "Fellowship" over the theatrical version. All in all, my view on 'Theatrical' versus 'Extended' is summarized as follows:
The Fellowship of the Ring:
1) 'The Fellowship of the Ring' Theatrical Version: 4 stars (out of 4), a very tight and well plotted opening for the Trilogy.
2) 'The Fellowship of the Ring' Extended Version: 3 stars (out of 4), moves far slower at the wrong times, strong scenes from the theater version end up feeling weaker and watered down. The musical score is weaker as well.
The Two Towers:
1) 'The Two Towers' Theatrical Version: 3 stars (out of 4), rather disappointing due to too many unfinished scenes and the feeling that too many plot twists were left unexplained.
2) 'The Two Towers' Extended Version: 4 stars (out of 4), fully fixes all of the elements missing from the theatrical version. This one should have been released as the theatrical version.
The Return of the King:
1) 'The Return of the King' Theatrical Version: 4 stars (out of 4), Fully realized, beautiful ending to the trilogy, in spite of the lack of 'The Scouring of the Shire'. Hey, do you want to sit for another hour?
2) 'The Return of the King' Extended Version: Not yet released. If it goes on too long, I'll have to build a bladder bag into the couch, but it's doable...Still, there are a few loose ends which it may well address, chiefly 'The House of Healing', etc. Once again though, even an extra half-hour is probably going to be too long, but we'll see...
Anyway, that's my take on 'Extended' versus 'Theatrical' so far. It really depends on each and every movie. Sometimes longer is better...sometimes not...
This Time It's Personal, Hobbit!
Last year's The Fellowship Of The Ring, director Peter Jackson's first entry in his three-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, provided little cause for complaint. At once thoroughly cinematic and faithful to the spirit (if not always the letter) of Tolkien's book, it presented Middle Earth as an immersive experience, a world in which every aspect is realized in minute detail. Fellowship made the impossible believable, and without draining the magical happenings, fantastical locations, and uncanny creatures of their wonder, it also never abandoned a sense of dramatic and thematic weight. As embodied by a well-chosen cast, Fellowship's characters had all the depth Tolkien gave them on the page (and sometimes more), and their quest to rid the world of a ring of absolutely corrupting power took on greater urgency as the film progressed toward a cliffhanger that set up its second part. The film has plenty of action, as soulful hobbits Elijah Wood and Sean Astin make their way toward Mordor, friends Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan find unlikely allies deep in a forest, and the dwarf/elf/human team of John Rhys-Davies, Orlando Bloom, and Viggo Mortensen attempts to defend a struggling kingdom from the forces of Christopher Lee.
What makes Towers so staggering is the way it brings the full scope of Jackson's adaptation into focus. Without missing a beat in three hours, the film shifts from epic to lyrical and back. It portrays a harrowingly intense battle one moment, then pauses for a father's grief over his son's death the next. It shows in frightening detail the engines of war, then links those engines to the bloodshed they exact and the ecological destruction that made them possible.
What Fellowship suggested, Towers elucidates. It's thrilling as swords clash and arrows fly, but it also never abandons the underlying sadness of Tolkien's world, in which each victory only forestalls the transition to a meaner age. Next year, The Return Of The King will bring the story to a close. Until then, it feels almost like a privilege to watch the unfolding of a tale from a fantastic imagined past rich with resonance for the human present.
Not as fun as the first movie, but still good.
The Two Towers was really good although it wasn't (as I said in the title) as fun as "The Fellowship of the Ring." The plot for The Two Towers...
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are still on their quest to destroy the One Ring in Mordor. They meet Gollum, an evil creature who knows the way into Mordor. Frodo and Sam have no choice but to depend on Gollum, because without him, they would never be able to get into Mordor.
Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) try to rescue Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) from the orcs.
I won't tell what happens later on, but if you watched "The Fellowship of the Ring," I suggest that you watch "The Two Towers," especially if you want to watch "The Return of the King," which is the third movie for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
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