FILM REVIEWS |
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 Ah
Tolkien! That clumsy, dull prose. That insistence on delving into
years of made-up history through epic poems recited by pompous
elves or drunken dwarves. That mundane attention to detail that
only someone whose real purpose of writing is to invent a new
language, could apply in some epic tomes. If The Lord of the Rings
makes me think of a wasted year when I could have been reading
more enjoyable books, the second book of the trilogy, The Two
Towers, was like being halfway across that wasteland. Too far
gone to turn back and still too far to get to the other side.
So if ever a book needed transferring to the glitz of the silver screen at the hands of a master, this was it. And what a job Peter Jackson does. From the tight script that, even with a three hours plus running time, brilliantly condenses the story into a number of distinct narratives, to the stunning cinematography and the astounding special effects, he brings The Two Towers to life in a way that those who've "enjoyed" the book would never have imagined possible. The story continues from the first part with the Fellowship of the Ring now gone their separate ways. Frodo, the ring-bearer, and Sam, on their way to destroy the ring in Mordor, meet up with the treacherous Gollum, who agrees to be their guide. The other hobbits are in the clutches of a band of Orcs, who are being pursued by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. The latter end up helping defend the people of Rohan from Sauraman's marauding hordes at the enclave of Helm's Deep, while Merry and Pippin find help from the Ents -walking, talking trees who eventually join the forces of good. While the opening chapter of the trilogy seemed no more than an impressive series of set-pieces and chase scenes, The Two Towers is altogether more rounded, involved and intelligent, and what's more can stand alone as its own movie. The characters, especially Aragorn, are more developed, and even in the midst of all the grimness, crucial elements of humour are added. The different storyline threads are engaging and propel the plot towards the stunningly choreographed final battle scenes. Tolkien's fear of industrialisation and it's impact on nature is made more obvious as the hordes of Orcs, rolling off Sauraman's production line at Isengard, destroy all that is green and good around them, much like Ford's assembly line automobiles. Anyone hoping to draw parallels between the current political climate with its symbolic twin towers and the battle for Middle Earth would founder at the simplistic good vs. evil of this tale, though Gollum's dualism is one of the more complex and intriguing elements of the story. But Tolkien never wanted his epic to be an allegory. And this is how Jackson treats the movie. It is not a platform for anything other than solid storytelling combined with the latest spellbinding tricks the big screen can conjure. By the time the final instalment, Return of the King, rolls around next Christmas there should hardly be anybody who hasn't been entranced by it. words: Colm Larkin |
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