Why It’s The Best Lord Of The Rings Movie

The Lord of the Rings is one of the best movie series ever, but the second in the trilogy may actually be the best movie. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films are based on the books by English high fantasy master J.R.R. Tolkien. But only one can be the greatest, which fans have debated for many years.

Written and published in three parts between 1954 and 1955, The Lord of the Rings changed literature and cinema forever, spawning the fantasy genre. By The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ ending, it was clear that this may be the best movie in the genre, as well as the series and Peter Jackson recently commented.

Speaking to Letterboxd, Jackson responded to the question of what his favorite LotR movie was. He answered with “The Two Towers, I think.” This reflects the feelings of many. There are so many reasons why the trilogy’s sophomore outing was the best, even despite how each movie brought something totally unique and unforgettable to the table.

The Main Lord Of The Rings Characters Had Already Been Introduced

The members of the Fellowship of the Ring had already been introduced in The Lord of the Rings trilogy by the time of The Two Towers. This meant that The Two Towers was free to dive deep into its picture-perfect cast.

With the relatively unknown Elijah Wood playing Frodo Baggins, the cast was off to a flying start. The Two Towers allowed him to play off Sean Astin and Sean Bean much more.

As Boromir, Sean Bean provided a perfect counterpoint to Frodo’s naïveté. Boromir was guided by a genuine desire to get his realm, Gondor, back on track, but was dangerously tempted by Lord of the Rings’ One Ring. The contrast between Boromir’s underlying internal conflict and Frodo’s innocence really shone in LotR’s second movie, as did Aragorn’s increasing leadership.

The Lord Of The Rings Got Much Darker In The Two Towers

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was darker than the movie before it, and fascinating, as a result. Fantasy in the 1980s and 1990s was often fairly humorous, with movies like The Princess Bride and Practical Magic setting the standard.

By contrast, The Two Towers had the hallmarks of a great horror movie while absorbing the notes of good comedy and action, providing something for everyone. Even though it wasn’t until The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s end that Shelob’s terrifying part in the tale had unraveled fully, The Two Towers built up her entry gloriously.

With Ents and grand-scale battles offering darkness galore and Gollum leading the Hobbits into Shelob’s lair, The Two Towers was set to scare. The Two Towers played a large part, in fact, in developing dark fantasy, which grew after its release.

The Two Towers Was Miranda Otto’s Time To Shine As Éowyn

No one can forget Miranda Otto’s unbelievable performance as Éowyn, the shieldmaiden of Rohan. Otto stepped into the limelight in this movie the way Wood had in The Fellowship of the Ring. Otto was a breath of fresh air in the male-dominated movie, as the heroine needed, proving how ahead of his time Tolkien was in creating her character.

The War of the Rohirrim movie, released in 2024, proved how deep Otto’s legacy went. Bursting onto screens in The Two Towers, Éowyn created a compelling love triangle, of sorts, between Aragorn and Arwen, as well as knowing how to handle a sword. The Lord of the Rings anime movie continues Éowyn’s legacy, exploring shieldmaidens through its main character, Hèra.

The Caverns Of Isengard Lord Of The Rings Soundtrack

If any one thing about The Two Towers sticks in the mind, it is “The Caverns of Isengard.” In “The Caverns of Isengard,” Howard Shore soundtracks the hammer of Saruman as the camera pans in on the industrial nightmare of his realm.

The soundtrack swoops in alongside the clanging clatter of Isengard’s workforce, destroying the natural habitat around it and slaving away for a darker future.

Saruman was hard at work rearing one of the worst types of Lord of the Rings Orcs, Uruk-hai, in The Two Towers. These ungainly beasts were seen being dragged out of birthing sacks that resembled a horrifying version of gooey children’s toys popular in the ’90s. Grotesque and without amoral compass, the Uruk-hai were a good representation of evil.

Legolas Surfing Down Stairs On A Shield

Peter Jackson experienced some backlash for changing Tolkien’s story, and his addition to it of Legolas’ shield-surfing was one of his best. Leaving out Lord of the Rings’ Tom Bombadil in The Fellowship of the Ring was a controversial decision, but ultimately, a good one. Peter Jackson proved that his harsh editing could make space for suitable new material.

Legolas was easily the most capable of the Fellowship, with his Elvish sight and hearing, super-strength and ancient wisdom. Compared to the others, he could seem overpowered, but Orlando Bloom handled the role with the perfect amount of humility to make Legolas impressive, funny and relatable, all at the same time.

Surfing down stairs on a shield while shooting arrows flawlessly at Orcs was the perfect expression of Legolas’ Hollywood sheen, as applied by Jackson.

Legolas And Gimli’s Friendship Blossomed In The Two Towers

Legolas and Gimli were unquestionably the best bromance of The Lord of the Rings, and this really took off in The Two Towers. Many of the times Legolas and Gimli proved they had the best friendship were in LotR 2, adding a Hollywood update to the way Tolkien wrote the duo.

In the ’50s novel, Legolas and Gimli were just as heroic and prone to banter, but Bloom and John Rhys-Davies brought it to a whole new level.

Bringing the duo’s dynamic to the big screen was one of Peter Jackson’s biggest successes, and The Two Towers made that work more than any other movie. The Orc-slaying contest, for one, was inevitably one of its biggest moments.

Although the movie downplayed Gimli’s skills here, somewhat unfairly, it definitely got the message across. These two were near-unbeatable, and together, even more so.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers Opening Scene Is Incredible

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers opens with Gandalf wrestling a Balrog in midair, which surely makes for one of the best openings in cinematic history. Ian McKellen’s Gandalf is one of Lord of the Rings’ most powerful characters, so this face-off had real nerd value.

To this date, somehow, the impressive CGI in this sequence feels alarmingly real – the wind can practically be felt hurtling past. This opening scene gave the audience what they wanted straight away, recapping Gandalf’s dramatic exit in The Fellowship of the Ring.

The scene was wise to do so, allowing moviegoers a useful summary of the Balrog’s whip clinging to Gandalf’s ankle at the last minute. The scene quickly explained what happened to Gandalf after he was dragged from the ledge in Moria, with one of the most epic high fantasy one-on-one fights following.

Frodo And Sam Proved Their Loyalty In The Two Towers

Sean Astin’s Samwise Gamgee and Elijah Wood’s Frodo were always a delight, but their relationship took off in The Two Towers. As Frodo’s gardener, Sam was a loyal servant and friend in The Fellowship of the Ring.

But it wasn’t until the two separated from the rest of the Fellowship that their unique interplay could take center stage. As the One Ring started weighing heavier on Frodo, Sam started taking more of the weight, in turn.

Wood started shining as an increasingly distorted version of Frodo. Although fans weren’t happy with this version of Frodo, which appeared less strong and heroic than the book version, it suited the script and Wood’s range. Meanwhile, Sam had to step up to the plate. His pettiness with Gollum was fun, while his increasing bravery made him a fan-favorite.

Saruman Was One Of Fantasy’s Best Villains

Christopher Lee’s Saruman remains uncontested as one of high fantasy’s best villains, with only Sauron and few others able to top him. Lee’s passing in 2015 made it abundantly clear how many Lord of the Rings fans worshiped Lee and celebrated his appearance in the trilogy as one of its best performances.

In The Two Towers, Lee came into his own as Saruman, serving evil in spades. It was criminal that Peter Jackson cut Saruman’s death scene from The Two Towers, given it denied him a fitting ending.

But at least the scene made its way, at last, into the extended edition of The Return of the King. Finally speared on one of the spikes of his own machinery, Saruman died a gruesome death in line with his reign of terror. But even before this grotesque scene, Lee was spectacularly alarming.

The Battle Of Helm’s Deep Was The Lord Of The Rings’ Best Fight

The big screen had never seen a battle quite like the Battle of Helm’s Deep, with a huge scale rolling out across the fight in multiple scenes. As the heavens opened and the eye of Eru Ilúvatar wept to see the destruction below, tension mounted.

Arrows flew from the parapets of the Hornburg, while the masses of Orcs arrayed under it heaved as one giant mass. The single arrow that was let fly before the right time was a stroke of genius on Jackson’s part.

This arrow punctuated the tension perfectly, zooming into an Orc’s face. It came almost like a cue from Middle-earth’s God himself, suggesting the Orcs stop stamping their feet and terrorizing the Hornburg and get on with it.

The chaos that ensued was legendary and unprecedented, setting a standard for all high fantasy battles to come in movies and TV. Gritty fantasy was never better than in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Source: Letterboxd