Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS – The journey continues

byStaff writers
12 January 2003
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortenson, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Christopher Lee
Director: Peter Jackson
Rated: M15+

THE second instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is longer, as violent and even more breathtaking than the first film.

In The Two Towers, the tightly-knit group protecting the Ring has been broken up. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Sam Gamgee (Sean Astin) have gone to Mordor alone to destroy the Ring. Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) have been captured by the Uruk-hai. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) have made friends of the Rohan, a race of humans that is in the path of the upcoming war, led by its aging king, Theoden (Bernard Hill).

The corrupt wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee), under the power of the Dark Lord Sauron, has assembled a huge Uruk-hai army bent on the destruction of humanity and Middle-earth.

The rebellion against Sauron is building and will be led by Gandalf the White (Ian McKellen), who was thought to be dead after the Balrog captured him.

One of the Ring’s original bearers, the creature Gollum (Andy Serkis), has tracked down Frodo and Sam in search of the ‘precious’ Ring, but is captured by the Hobbits and used as a way to lead them to Mt Doom where the war of the Ring is to be fought.

This film is epic in every sense of the word. Peter Jackson realises the mythic proportions of the second book with great distinction. Again, the New Zealand locations are stunning. No wonder their tourism industry has boomed since the first film.

Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography is first rate. The acting is excellent too.

All the old characters are consistent in the way they inhabit Frodo, Gandalf, Sam Aragon and Saruman.

But the new characters are good too. Australian’s Miranda Otto is luminous as Eowyn and David Wenham is every inch the action hero.

Related Stories

Bishops call out racism, gun violence after U.S. shooting

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

There are only three downsides to The Two Towers. At 179 minutes it’s a bit long. Even though the attack on the Rohans is a triumph for Jackson’s direction, it’s drawn out and gory, except that no one bleeds!

Secondly, it would have been a help to have a quick recap of the first film at the beginning of this one. Not everyone who sees this film will be a devotee of the books. Finally, Howard Shore’s impressive music score overpowers the pictures at several points.

The Two Towers is as strongly a moral tale as the first film.

The confrontation with evil is so serious that even nature joins forces with all other spirits and creatures to defend goodness and right.

Carl Jung heavily influenced the author J.R.R. Tolkien, and this sequel can easily be read as a further exploration of a conflicted psyche.

Most notably, however, is the message that carrying the ring is a burden, a dangerous, heavy and essential burden.

Anyone who has ever had the burden of confronting evil head-on will see his or her story writ large on the screen. The Two Towers delivers epic entertainment on nearly every level.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

POSSESSION

Next Post

Doors open

Staff writers

Related Posts

Bishops call out racism, gun violence after U.S. shooting
World

Bishops call out racism, gun violence after U.S. shooting

17 May 2022
Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday
QLD

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

17 May 2022
Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks
Faith

Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

17 May 2022
Next Post

Doors open

Bishops back Pope's 'no to war' campaign

Vinnies crisis lines run hot

Popular News

  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Bishops call out racism, gun violence after U.S. shooting
World

Bishops call out racism, gun violence after U.S. shooting

by CNS
17 May 2022
0

SEVERAL U.S. Catholic bishops spoken out against racism and gun violence after a mass shooting in Buffalo,...

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

17 May 2022
Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

Lives of the saints – St Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks

17 May 2022
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

17 May 2022
Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

Cleanup begins after floodwaters swamp South East Queensland again

16 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping