Often regarded as the weakest chapter in Peter Jackson's triumphant adaptation of The Lord the Rings, The Two Towers picks up the story at the point where the previous installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, left off, with hobbits Frodo and Sam being confronted by the creature Gollum, whilst Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli set out to rescue Merry and Pippin from the clutches of Saruman's orcs. Meanwhile, Sauron continues to build his army. When you ask people what their favourite Lord of the Rings film is, then, they tend to cite either the first or the last pictures, almost as if it's blasphemy to consider that the middle flick has its good points, then. Whereas The Fellowship of the Ring is inarguable the greatest of all three, though, The Two Towers deserves just as much acclaim as Return of the King: in terms of characterisation, at least, it is perhaps the strongest picture of all.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
