15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

It is a privilege to be able to write about how amazing the Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers (2002) is. Even though it is 3hrs long I have always held the belief that the Two Towers is the best of the trilogy. This film is the 2nd instalment of the film series: Frodo and Sam are well underway with their quest to destroy the ring in Mordor; Gollum helps, but it is yet to be determined whether he can be trusted. The fellowship has split but remains determined to defeat Sauron and his newly recruited ally, Saruman and his cronies in Isengard.

The Two Towers grossed $951.2 million, mainly because the director, Peter Jackson superbly interprets the depth of the Two Towers. He does this so well that word of mouth advice suggests that if one was to undertake the feat of reading this and/or all 3 books, they should watch the film(s) first. This is because Tolkien, the Lord of the Rings’ author, goes into immense detail to flesh out his narrative to make it a story worth telling. The cast is well thought through and each member embodies well the characters they portray. The making of the film had an affectionate culture towards the cast. As the crew had run out of a cast of 6ft people to play the Uruk-Hai, the film makers recruited for 5ft and above people who became known as the Uruk-Low.

Death is a continuous theme in this epic fantasy and the film is ranked so highly on the list because of the Easter Eggs (hidden meanings incorporated into a film) woven into the story, to keep certain character’s legacy’s alive in the narrative. This effect is subtle, so to fully be appreciated, demands you watch more than once. Further, hope that good prevails over evil, is the overarching theme in this particular story and can inspire resilience in everyday life.

I ranked this film a high 77. The film lost points for editing, due to the length, and this is not evaluating the extended cut which is 3h43m long. Although, it makes up for this flaw in the story/screenplay field. Even though this film only won 2 Oscars compared to 11 for Return of the King, Jackson delivered an epic for this element of the trilogy.

Judging Criteria

SCRIPTURAL INTEGRATION - 20 points: 17

STORY/SCREENPLAY - 10 points: 8

DIRECTOR - 10 points: 7

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 10 points: 7

EDITOR - 10 points: 6

PRODUCTION DESIGN - 10 points: 8

ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE or SCORE EFFECTIVENESS (if not original) - 10 points: 8

SOUND DESIGN - 10 points:7

ACTING - 10 points: 9

TOTAL SCORE 100 POINTS. : 77