Post by The Candyman on Aug 5, 2005 15:42:55 GMT -5
Quote: "Where is it? Where is it? They stole it from us. My precious... Curse them! We hates them! It's ours it is... and we wants it!"
Starring: Elijah Wood, IanMcKellan, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen
Director: Peter Jackson
Rating: PG-13
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In the second chapter of Lord of the Rings, the fellowship is broken. Frodo and Sam are off by themselves on their quest to Mordor. Pippin and Merry have been captured by orcs. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are doing their best to rescue them. Things are starting to look bad for the inhabitants of Middle-Earth. Sauron’s power is growing, and Saruman now has his own army of thousands.
This movie is awesome. As good as the first one? Almost, but not quite. Better than the book? Not this time. But it’s still an incredible ride. Whereas the first film focused more on character development, this one emphasizes cold, hard and great action. And when I say “great” I mean great. The final battle at Helm’s Deep is quite possibly the most incredible battle ever seen on screen (that is, until Return of the King is released).
We’re introduced to many new characters this time around. Most of them are from the kingdom of Rohan. Its king Theoden – played to perfection by Bernard Hill - is under a spell by Saruman (don’t you just hate it when that happens?) and is ruled by the crafty Wormtongue. His son Eomer is banished from the kingdom, and his daughter Eowyn has the hots for Aragorn (too bad he’s already taken – can you say sexual tension?).
The acting is fantastic once again. Elijah Wood is extremely convincing at showing how the Ring is beginning to affect him. However, the real show-stealer here is Gollum. And he’s not even real.
That’s right folks. Peter Jackson has redefined the art of special effects. Andy Serkis played the part of Gollum with motion-sensors and other sorts of hi-tech gadgetry attached to him. In post-production they pasted Gollum’s face and skin over his. The result: a CGI character that moves just like a real actor. The details are exquisite, from the finely tuned facial expressions to the gravely voice that changes depending on which one of Gollum’s split personalities is in control. Some people wanted him to be the first CGI character nominated for an Oscar, and it’s obvious why. Gollum is so life-like you’ll forget you’re watching a computer-animated character.
The other special effects are incredible as well. There’s an amazing sequence involving the Ents, a race of tree-like beings that can talk, in which they invade Saruman’s fortress at Isengard. They don’t look quite as good as Gollum, but they look good all the same. (Note: Look closely in the battle sequence to see an Ent on fire put himself out – it made me laugh so hard I almost cried).
This movie is not without flaws, unfortunately. I felt they took a few too many liberties from the book. For instance, they completely changed Faramir’s character (Boromir’s brother). I can understand why – in the book he was a little one-dimensional – but still. Having him take Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath didn’t really serve a purpose except to take up time. The same is true of a horrible sequence in which Aragorn supposedly dies. Come on, Mr. Jackson. You didn’t really think people were going to fall for that one, regardless of whether or not they’ve read the books, did you?
Also, I didn’t like the development of Gimli. Now with Merry and Pippin in a much more serious situation, he serves as the comic relief. And it just doesn’t seem right. Here we have a dwarf who thinks he’s the toughest thing ever to walk the face of Middle-Earth, and he stands around cracking jokes. Granted, some of them made me chuckle, but it just doesn’t seem very realistic. And the timing is horrible. The arrows started to fly at Helm’s Deep, and I was starting to get into it, and out of no where Gimli makes a one-liner. Talk about ruining the mood.
However, you’ll forget about all these small flaws once we get to the battle of Helm’s Deep. It’s a 45-minute long struggle between the forces of Rohan (a few hundred men) and some elves against 10,000 of Saruman’s Uruk-hai warriors. There are many HG moments scattered throughout, and we even get a Wilhelm. There might have been one in Fellowship, I’m not sure, but hearing one here just made my day. One thing’s for certain: you’ll spend forty-five minutes of your life in absolute awe about what you’re watching. You thought the final battle in Fellowship was good? It was, but it’s nothing compared to this baby.
This movie’s not as good overall as the first one, though it gets better every time I see it. By the end, you’ll be cheering for your favorite characters and the adrenaline will be pumping in your veins so hard you’ll have to take a few minutes after the movie and just calm down. It ends on a great cliffhanger (though not quite as good as that in the book) that will leave you biting your fingernails in anticipation for Return of the King. I give it an 8/10.
The Bottom Line: Not as good as the first one, but still amazing. You’re mouth will be hanging open for forty-five minutes during the final battle.
Should I see it? I can’t believe you’d even bother asking that question. Yes!
Starring: Elijah Wood, IanMcKellan, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen
Director: Peter Jackson
Rating: PG-13
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the second chapter of Lord of the Rings, the fellowship is broken. Frodo and Sam are off by themselves on their quest to Mordor. Pippin and Merry have been captured by orcs. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas are doing their best to rescue them. Things are starting to look bad for the inhabitants of Middle-Earth. Sauron’s power is growing, and Saruman now has his own army of thousands.
This movie is awesome. As good as the first one? Almost, but not quite. Better than the book? Not this time. But it’s still an incredible ride. Whereas the first film focused more on character development, this one emphasizes cold, hard and great action. And when I say “great” I mean great. The final battle at Helm’s Deep is quite possibly the most incredible battle ever seen on screen (that is, until Return of the King is released).
We’re introduced to many new characters this time around. Most of them are from the kingdom of Rohan. Its king Theoden – played to perfection by Bernard Hill - is under a spell by Saruman (don’t you just hate it when that happens?) and is ruled by the crafty Wormtongue. His son Eomer is banished from the kingdom, and his daughter Eowyn has the hots for Aragorn (too bad he’s already taken – can you say sexual tension?).
The acting is fantastic once again. Elijah Wood is extremely convincing at showing how the Ring is beginning to affect him. However, the real show-stealer here is Gollum. And he’s not even real.
That’s right folks. Peter Jackson has redefined the art of special effects. Andy Serkis played the part of Gollum with motion-sensors and other sorts of hi-tech gadgetry attached to him. In post-production they pasted Gollum’s face and skin over his. The result: a CGI character that moves just like a real actor. The details are exquisite, from the finely tuned facial expressions to the gravely voice that changes depending on which one of Gollum’s split personalities is in control. Some people wanted him to be the first CGI character nominated for an Oscar, and it’s obvious why. Gollum is so life-like you’ll forget you’re watching a computer-animated character.
The other special effects are incredible as well. There’s an amazing sequence involving the Ents, a race of tree-like beings that can talk, in which they invade Saruman’s fortress at Isengard. They don’t look quite as good as Gollum, but they look good all the same. (Note: Look closely in the battle sequence to see an Ent on fire put himself out – it made me laugh so hard I almost cried).
This movie is not without flaws, unfortunately. I felt they took a few too many liberties from the book. For instance, they completely changed Faramir’s character (Boromir’s brother). I can understand why – in the book he was a little one-dimensional – but still. Having him take Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath didn’t really serve a purpose except to take up time. The same is true of a horrible sequence in which Aragorn supposedly dies. Come on, Mr. Jackson. You didn’t really think people were going to fall for that one, regardless of whether or not they’ve read the books, did you?
Also, I didn’t like the development of Gimli. Now with Merry and Pippin in a much more serious situation, he serves as the comic relief. And it just doesn’t seem right. Here we have a dwarf who thinks he’s the toughest thing ever to walk the face of Middle-Earth, and he stands around cracking jokes. Granted, some of them made me chuckle, but it just doesn’t seem very realistic. And the timing is horrible. The arrows started to fly at Helm’s Deep, and I was starting to get into it, and out of no where Gimli makes a one-liner. Talk about ruining the mood.
However, you’ll forget about all these small flaws once we get to the battle of Helm’s Deep. It’s a 45-minute long struggle between the forces of Rohan (a few hundred men) and some elves against 10,000 of Saruman’s Uruk-hai warriors. There are many HG moments scattered throughout, and we even get a Wilhelm. There might have been one in Fellowship, I’m not sure, but hearing one here just made my day. One thing’s for certain: you’ll spend forty-five minutes of your life in absolute awe about what you’re watching. You thought the final battle in Fellowship was good? It was, but it’s nothing compared to this baby.
This movie’s not as good overall as the first one, though it gets better every time I see it. By the end, you’ll be cheering for your favorite characters and the adrenaline will be pumping in your veins so hard you’ll have to take a few minutes after the movie and just calm down. It ends on a great cliffhanger (though not quite as good as that in the book) that will leave you biting your fingernails in anticipation for Return of the King. I give it an 8/10.
The Bottom Line: Not as good as the first one, but still amazing. You’re mouth will be hanging open for forty-five minutes during the final battle.
Should I see it? I can’t believe you’d even bother asking that question. Yes!