The Two Towers

[coalescent]

If it were possible to name one thing that sums up why Peter Jackson is the right man to be making these films, in my mind it would be this: That Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir to the line of kings, epitome of all that is good and masculine, smokes a pipe. It's not an image you often see in a major Hollywood film.

I'm glad I got to see this film today because, to be honest, the day hadn't been going particularly well. Apart from the delivery date of my car being pushed back a week, I got a call telling me the signed contract I posted to Colwood a couple of days ago hasn't arrived yet, and would I mind starting a week later than planned? And when I went to the bank to sort out my finances, their system crashed. It was a day of niggles that were starting to add up.

It's hard trying to order my thoughts coherently, though. I won't dignify Harry Potter by pretending there's some kind of sensible comparison to be made, and playing the 'is the sequel better than the original?' game is, given the nature of the trilogy, somewhat on the pointless side. The sequel is different; the comparison would not be of like with like. I'm also not a devoted Tolkien fan. I find the novels rather tedious - it took me three attempts to get all the way through the trilogy - and in fact, my memory of the later stages of the story is more than a little vague, so I can't comment on any significant deviations from the text, and whether or not I think they worked. All I can do is say whether I liked The Two Towers as a film.

The answer, in case you were wondering, is a resounding "hell, yes!"

Inevitably, not all of it works. The scenes of pre-rejuvenation Theoden seemed somewhat cursory, for example, and although the Ents didn't look bad, they didn't inspire the sense of awe I feel they should have done. When they march on Isenguard they look less like an advancing forest and more like an advancing group of sparsely leaved trees. But, as with The Fellowship Of The Ring, in the end I think the flaws are irrelevant in the face of the whole. This is still an epic fantasy done right, in every way that matters.

Done right, in particular, were two things. Firstly, Helm's Deep is as spectacular as you might dare hope. My vague memories of the novels turned out to be something of a blessing, since I had no recollection of the use of gunpowder and it was consequently as devastating a shock for me as it was for those defending the fortress. And if the battle subscribes to the fantasy trope of mighty heroes deciding the fate of the battle, well, that's because it makes for a fine story.

The other triumph of the film is, without a doubt, Gollum. He is by turns nasty, amusing, sympathetic, disturbing, creepy, and admirable. The one thing he is consistently is different: unpredictable and chaotic. Consequently, the dynamic between Frodo, Gollum and Sam is the most interesting in the film, and the most rewarding. Gollum is a character, and it matters not one whit that for all the technical sophistication involved, you can still tell he was born in a computer.

The Two Towers is a great film. Emilia and I spent the journey back the train station simply saying "That was great!" "And what about-" "And did you see-" "That was great!"

Next december can't come soon enough.