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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The first two-thirds of a masterpiece, August 24, 2003
"Lord of the Rings" has ceased to be just a movie, and is now a global phenomenon on the scale of Star Wars. However, "Fellowship of the Ring" and "Two Towers" are not only two of the richest, most outstanding movies out there, but also two of the best adaptations of a book."Fellowship" opens in the idyllic Shire, where the eccentric Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) and his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood) live in something like peace. When Bilbo suddenly departs in the middle of a massive birthday party, he leaves Frodo all his possessions -- including a golden ring that makes its wearer invisible. But the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) has started to suspect that Frodo's ring may be the One Ring, a nearly indestructable receptacle of the Dark Lord Sauron's power. He sends Frodo to Rivendell, where it is decided that the Ring will be destroyed in Mount Doom, in the heart of Sauron's land of Mordor. So a band of Elves, Men, Dwarves and hobbits vow to accomany Frodo -- but the journey is more dangerous than any of them could imagine, with orcs attacking them, and a rogue wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) who wants the Ring at any cost. "Two Towers" picks up where "Fellowship" left off, with Frodo and Sam (Sean Astin) struggling through Mordor, followed by the sinister Gollum (Andy Serkis), a slave to the Ring. Frodo, touched by pity for Gollum, strikes a strange deal with him. Elsewhere, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are chasing the band of Uruk-hai that have kidnapped Merry and Pippin (Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd). But after Merry and Pippin are rescued by a strange treelike being, Gandalf unexpectedly returns from death as the more powerful White Wizard. He tells Aragorn that he must go to the kingdom of Rohan, one of the last free lands on Middle-Earth, and save it from Saruman. And in Mordor, Sam and Frodo are captured -- and Frodo begins to give in to the Ring. Few books have gained the devoted following that "Lord of the Rings" has, and few movies have the fans that the adaptations do. While "Return of the King" won't be released until next December, the first two parts are beautifully made and there's no reason to think the third won't be the best of all. They have "classic" written all over them in permanent ink. Elijah Wood is perfectly cast as Frodo Baggins. With his performance, we see Frodo transform from a carefree innocent to a tormented soul whose sanity is slipping. Sean Astin is equally good as Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's best friend (and gardener). Astin never plays Sam for laughs; he's earnest and sweet from his first scene on. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd (both very underrated) are also wonderful, especially in "Two Towers" when their characters become deeper and more serious. Ian McKellen gives a spot-on performance as the wizard mentor Gandalf, whose grandfatherly manner hides powerful depths; Sean Bean and Viggo Mortensen are excellent as a tormented warrior and a reluctant king; Christopher Lee is delightful as Saruman; Orlando Bloom and John Rhys-Davies (who also doubles as the tree shepherd Treebeard) are fantastic as an Elf and a Dwarf who gradually become friends. Bernard Hill, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Karl Urban, Cate Blanchett and Miranda Otto also give amazing performances. One of the biggest Oscar cheats was the lack of acknowledgement of Andy Serkis's Gollum. Gollum is breathtakingly realistic, down to every wrinkle, stringy hair, and pointy tooth. And Serkis's performance really brings this wretched, withered thing to life -- even makes us feel sorry for him sometimes. WETA's CGI-work can be found all through both movies -- the destruction of Isengard by the Ents, the avalanche, the river sweeping away the hideous Ringwraiths. Jackson's method of filmmaking is perfectly suited (which is funny since splatter-gore was his first style). His camera swoops and dives like a live thing during battles like Helm's Deep, then does close-ups of actors' faces. The landscapes (in New Zealand) are incredibly lovely, and Jackson takes plenty of opportunities to use sweeping shots of mountains, trees, fields, rivers and forests. Jackson and Fran Walsh also managed to do something that seemed impossible -- write a story that is more or less faithful to the books, but that is also accessable to people who haven't read the books. (In other words, don't worry if you don't know what a hobbit is) "Lord of the Rings" is not just a good adaptation, it's also just an incredibly well-done movie. Wonderful acting, amazing special effects, and battle scenes that put war movies to shame. An easy five stars.
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