I had seen this masterpiece after finishing my 11 standard board examinations . The theatre I had been to ( Skyline , hyderabad) was initially empty but later as the movie started people came pouring in to form a capacity-crowd . I think this had happened as many people didn’t understand or rather follow the first part keenly .
Now let’s dive straight into the lore and magic that can only be The Lord Of The Rings .
In the previous episode of The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy we had seen Gandalf The Grey , played by Ian McKellen , while trying to save the fellowship from the evil creature Balrog falls into a mine after putting the fire-spitting Balrog to rest .
This movie starts off with a sequence of how Gandalf kills Balrog and his transformation into Gandalf The White . This sequence is visually stunning and will be treat to the eyes and movie enthusiasts.
The director i.e. Peter Jackson should be commended for his unique style of presenting the story by splitting it into 3 stories of the separated groups , namely :
1). Frodo and Sam on their journey to Mordor
2). Aragorn , Legolas and Gimli tracking the group of Urk-Hai
3). Merry and Pippin who were taken hostage by Urk-Hai
Firstly we have an encounter of the duo ( Frodo and his guardian)with Gollum who happens to be the real owner of the ring . Gollum , the slimy little creature with his characteristic speech , tries to steal the ring which he calls “precious” in a distinctive and a characteristic way . So then follows a grueling and a tiring battle between the hobbits and slimy creature . But ultimately gollum loses and was bound by Sam .
When Gollum appeared for the first time on screen the computer graphics blew me away . Nothing that has ever been generated by computers has evoked such a response .
Then the director introduces the characters of Ruler of Rohan , King Theoden , Eowyn and his vile minister Grima Wormtongue . They all ensue in a power struugle which results in the banishment of Eomer from the kingdom of Rohan. King Theoden was cast under a spell by the evil Saruman The White . But he later comes out of the spell with the help of Gandalf.
Back with Aragorn, Legolas, & Gimli, the group are surrounded by The Riders Of Rohan, in which they reveal that the two Hobbits they seek were no where to be found in the dead pile of Uruk-hai that was killed the previous night by the Riders. Leaving the fellowship, the Riders move onward, and the fellowship starts to give up hope of finding their friends...that is until the skills of Aragorn, one of the greatest rangers of all time, come into play. Aragorn starts tracking the trail and the happenings of the previous nights’ activities of the Hobbits. Flashback sequences are then revealed and the audience is enlightened as to how the Orcs & Uruk-hai argued about eating the fresh meat that was the Hobbits, and how Hobbits in turn escaped their grasp. From this flashback, we then follow the Hobbits into Fangorn Forrest, we meet the almighty Treebeard as he stomps out an Orc that was on their tail.
A key sequence in the movie which I feel is absolutely brilliant and well handled is the split personality of the slimy , ugly creature Gollum . There is a sequence in the movie in which Frodo gets Gollum to obey his orders and thereby leading him to the gates of Mordor . But at night when the Hobbits were sleep , Gollum struggles with a sort of split personality , one of Gollum and the other of Smeagol which Frodo reminds him off .
I strongly feel that this particular scene greatly succeeds in bringing the viewers closer to the complex psyche of Gollum . The director should be given full marks for taking this complex shot with great dexterity and Weta Digital ( Special FX Company ) for bringing the complex features of Gollum through animation thereby providing a sequence which the viewers won’t forget for a very long time .
The director doesn’t fail to impress the masses either . The love triangle between Aragorn , Arwen and Eowyn has been sensitively shot without actually deviating from the track .
Treebeard and the Ents of Fangorn are another example of the wizardry that special effects company, WETA Digital, possess. When you see Treebeard for the first time you will realize the brute strength and power of the oldest creature in Middle-earth. Being a huge talking tree with a beard, one would think that Treebeard might be a cheesy character onscreen. Quite the contrary. Treebeard, being from the dark greenish brown forest of Fangorn is somewhat shrouded in mystery. He blends so well with the forest that the only time we really get to see him in full action is he is moving, or we get a close up on his eyes and mouth.One thing I found to be different pace wise was the placement of the Ent battle at Isengard. In the book, this event happens in the middle of the book and seems like ancient history once we get to Shelob, but in the movie we get the Ent battle dead last. This makes complete sense as the to final battles of the film seem to happen concurrently onscreen. This would also make sense for the chapters of the book that are supposed to coincide as well, but the nature of the way the stories are split in The Two Towers made this stand out in the movie as I watched .
But I have complain to make at this juncture . The special effects in this movie are absolutely fantastic but in few scenes the special effects are worse than effects in telugu movies . You can easily notice that the sequences involving the trees carrying Merry and Pippin have been carelessly composited ( i.e. putting a moving image over a still background ) .
But still I would commend WETA Digital for having done an excellent job within a short time .
Gandalf then advises King Theoden to fight against the evil forces . But he refuses and orders his people to move to the fortress of Helms Deep for their protection . Meanwhile Sauron comes to know of Theoden’s plans and orders his men i.e. Orcs . While the people of Rohan were making way for solitude at Helms Deep , they were attacked by the Orcs seating on the backs of nasty creatures named Wargs . The ensuing battle between King Theoden’s men which includes Aragorn , Legolas and Gimli is also a visual treat . In this battle Aragorn falls off a cliff and later everone assumes that he had died . But fortunately he returns to the fortress with some minor injuries .
Where as Hobbits, Merry & Pippin, were used as the tension breakers in Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers used Gimli, the dwarf, throughout the film as comic relief. From the playful taunting with Legolas, to the remarks Gimli would make during his Uruk-hai slaying, Gimli’s character was used to break a lot of the tension and lessen the seriousness of a situation.
As we have all seen the battle of Helms Deep in the movie trailers , the battle is of epic proportions and is flawless . I would rate it as the best graphics ever in any movie .
I would not like to the details of the battle as it would take the suspense when you watch the movie .
The very last scene which takes us into the credits ends on a very weary note . There is a particular scene in the movie in which Frodo helps the Ur’s in capturing Gollum in order to save Gollum’s life . Gollum mistakes Frodo’s help and plans to kill Frodo and his guardian Sam which is the last scene in the movie thereby producing a sensation of tension .
An absolute masterpiece is at hand. With the second chapter under our wings, we shall soon have the one of the greatest stories ever to be told in the greatest cinematic form that we could have ever hoped for. This movie truly does justice to the books that inspired it.
