"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is a spectacular achievement in fantasy filmmaking. The long-awaited sequel is a dark masterpiece of epic proportions. Like the wonderful Star Wars sequel "The Empire Strikes Back," "The Two Towers" deals with ordinary heroes struggling with seemingly hopeless obstacles. Peter Jackson's film overwhelms the viewer with sweeping vistas, intimate moments and frightening battles. CGI technology has never been put to better use.

The second book of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy follows Frodo (Elijah Wood), San Gamgee (Sean Astin), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and others as they continue their trek to Mordor to destroy the Ring of Power. At the end of "The Fellowship of the Ring," the band of travelers were scattered and separated. Each group continues on their separate paths toward destiny.

Frodo and Sam find themselves being followed by Gollum (the voice of Andy Serkis). They capture Gollum. While Sam wants to kill the twisted creature, Frodo takes pity on his tortured soul. Frodo wins Gollum's trust and the warped, misshapen beast becomes their guide to the depths of Mordor.

Aragorn, Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) are hot on the trail of the Orcs which captured Pippen (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan). The chase leads them to the land of Rohan. Theoden, the King of Rohan (Bernard Hill) is entranced by the spirit of Saruman(Christopher Lee). This stronghold of Man is a target for Saruman and Lord Sauron. While the trio of warriors loses track of the two abducted hobbits, they do meet up with Gandalf. They begin their mission to free Rohan from the grasp of Saruman.

The tale includes several other subplots. I'll leave them to you to discover. The second film mixes seamlessly with "The Fellowship of the Ring." The design, costumes, acting and writing are all superb. The CGI animation surpasses the first film in scope and technique. The character of Gollum is wonderfully realized. With the exception of an early scene in which he is being led by a rope, Gollum is completely believable as a real character. The animators and actors involved in the Gollum scenes all deserve kudos for their work. The pitiful beast shows a wider range of emotions than many of his live action counterparts. Much of the credit for this belongs to Andy Serkis who did the voice work.

The sweeping scope of the visuals makes "The Two Towers" one of the most exciting movies ever made. There are amazing creatures from flying dragons to giant, four-tusked elephants. One of the film's more imaginative standouts are the saber-tooth-tiger like steeds the Orcs ride into battle. The film is battle intensive. The climatic battle between Saruman's vast Orc army and the allies at Helms Deep is stupendous in scope and intensity. The battle is like a Middle-Earth version of the Alamo. There is so much attention to detail in this film. They might as well start engraving the Special Effects Oscar right now.

No matter how well done the special effects of a movie are done, a film will not satisfy unless the story touches the audience's soul. Compare the two "Star Wars" trilogies to discover the truth of this point. "The Two Towers" succeeds because your care what happens to these characters. Credit for this is due the writers and actors. Viggo Mortensen carries the film. His Aragorn grows beyond his heroic nature in the first film to become a three dimensional human being. There is a nice romantic subplot between him and Eowyn (Miranda Otto). John Rhys-Davies provides comic relief as the proud dwarf Gimli. Elijah Wood is fine as Frodo. The closer he gets to Mordor, the more the Ring torments his soul. There is one scene in particular which made the audience jump as Frodo turned on his friend Samwise. Elijah Wood's eyes glow with maniacal fury as he draws his trusted Sting on Sam. Brad Dourif is a standout as the creepy Saruman minion Grima Wormtongue.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is the best movie I have seen this year. It is an amazing achievement. The perfect blend of directing, acting, writing and special effects. The film's message is very relevant as our world teeters on the brink of war. I look forward to next year for the release of "The Return of the King." I just hope that the release of the third film takes place in a world no longer threatened by real-life Sarumans and Saurons.

Rusty White, 2002