What people think of Two Towers (*SPOILERS*)

[Celebréiel]

Argh!!!! Im just gonna put this whole post in spoilers b/c....yeah..

There were so many things wrong with this film. I understand making a book to movie is hard.....but COME ON!!! Me and my friend were sooo excited for the midnight show. lol First, they turned Gimli into a comic relief!!!! Everyone was cracking up every line he said! I wont even go into that now tho, Treebeard.....ugh....The whole Merry, Pippin and Treebeard scene....>.< The didnt develop Treebeard as a character! Well okay, I could go on forever, but looking at it just as a movie and not a Tolkien fan, they made big mistakes! The choppiness, nothing was explained, it was confusing and annoying....I just generally didnt like it and was really dissapointed in Peter Jackson. Me and my friend are going to see it again with an open mind....but damn, how could that destroy such a possibly good movie!!!!! Ow!! It hurts!! Ok maybe im going over board, ill post when im more calmed down...

~Celebréiel

[Khamûl]

I'm going to see it tonight and I wonder how I'm going to react to it. There seem to be two sides here: 1) It was amazing, I love it, so much better than FotR, can't wait for RotK, etc... and 2) What was Peter Jackson thinking?, I bet Professor Tolkien is rolling over in his grave, that wasn't even in the book, I don't care that much for it, etc...

I guess only time will tell which side I'll come out on.

[Gerbil]

Gerbil wrote:Uh oh, Gerbil … I've been burned on other message boards by using the word "fact" when I should have used "impression" or "opinion" instead.

True, but where's the fun in that?

I need to make clear though - my thoughts on TTT are not based on the fact it's not very close to the book. I had a year, and dozens of watching of FotR to prepare for the inevitable butchering. True - it's worse than I'd hoped, but it's not as bad as it could have been. Taking this out of the equation - TTT is simply a less enjoyable film than FotR.

Of course, it would be impossible for every film to be equally as good - people will always have favourites, so the fact TTT might have been worse does not imply it would be BAD, but to me TTT was a much worse film than FotR. It's not like they were close and FotR pipped it - TTT is pretty darned bad.

What'll annoy me is I am probably going to use the free tickets I got from complaining about TTT to see Harry Potter. If that's better (IMO), then I am going to kill PJ.

[Churl]

Regarding the use of "fact" vs. "opinion," Gerbil wrote:

True, but where's the fun in that?

Ha ha! Well said.

Later I'll drop in a big, spoiler-packed post in which I blather on and on about specific elements of the film. For now, let me say that I agree with you on one point: different people will choose different favorites from the trilogy.

Personally I found the two films to be so different — not in terms of quality, but of pace and tone — that I find them difficult to compare. I enjoyed each (and was vexed by each in places) for radically different reasons.

[Gerbil]

Originally posted by Khamûl
I'm going to see it tonight and I wonder how I'm going to react to it. There seem to be two sides here: 1) It was amazing, I love it, so much better than FotR, can't wait for RotK, etc... and 2) What was Peter Jackson thinking?, I bet Professor Tolkien is rolling over in his grave, that wasn't even in the book, I don't care that much for it, etc...

Not true - I am saying TTT is not that good as a film in it's own right. Compared to FotR film, I believe it is vastly inferior. I had more fun watching FotR again than watching TTT.

[IronParrot]

Um, guys, wouldn't it be easier if I just marked this thread as a *SPOILER* thread, instead of everybody having to highlight everything?

I wasn't originally going to comment on the film until I saw it a second time (I saw it at 12:01am last night) but every show is sold out today, so I'll just drop my initial impressions. This will be far briefer than I'd like it to be, because I can go into excruciating detail on some of these points.

So, on to talking about perhaps the fastest three hours I have ever spent at the cinema:

Highlights

- My favourite bit of dialogue from the book was left in the film, at the best spot it could possibly be - Sam and Frodo at the end, talking about the stories that will one day be told.

- The storming of Isengard. Wow. Wow. WOW.

- The early part of the film, on the western side, was extremely well cut together. I particularly liked how Aragorn's tracking of Merry and Pippin's escape was intercut with the escape itself.

- Of the different plot threads, the one that was tackled the best was Frodo/Sam/Gollum, particularly the extent to which the Ring was already affecting Frodo. The story, as it should be, is increasingly from Sam's perspective, as he watches what happens to his master.

- As for Gollum... as far as schizophrenic conversations with oneself go, this is the best I've seen in a movie. Puts the rather shoddy Green Goblin talking-to-himself sequence in Spider-Man to shame, and rightly so.

- Overall, the Frodo/Sam/Gollum relationship was the most involving part of the movie.

- Even with the little we see of Merry and Pippin, I don't think the (exaggerated) criticisms of buffoonery in Fellowship hold any water here.

- Helm's Deep was one of the best battles, well, ever. Fortunately, it was not nearly as overdone as I feared it would be.

- Great choice of a place to end the film, leaving enough material for ROTK to be a sufficiently "balanced" length.

- Eowyn, arguably my favourite character from the book, gets all the development she deserves in preparation for the next film.

- Sam's monologue in Osgiliath, and the montage of all three substories woven together - it brought a lot of thematic unity to the whole film.

- The Legolas-Gimli relationship really does get moving along here, and it's wonderful to see. Their little competition at Helm's Deep was

- Very specific comment here, but Legolas flipping around onto Arod's back... coolest move in the movie.

- Visual design of the film as a whole - Ents, Nazgul steeds, Oliphaunts, Gollum, Henneth Annun, Edoras, Battle of the Peak, etc. - everything in the movie continues the trend Fellowship set, of the whole piece being a big moving painting of Middle-Earth. Well done.


Not-so-highlights

- This isn't a liberty that the film takes, but the characters on the western side of the river don't get much screentime. It actually highlights something that I'd hardly noticed before - that Gandalf, Merry and Pippin are barely in the foreground of the story until they all converge in Isengard, which seems like it's been shunted to the next film.

- Until the very end, I did have a problem with Faramir's re-characterization. However, looking back at it after the credits rolled, I don't mind it as much as I initially did.

- I'm rather unsure about how Helm's Deep ended. Eomer's role is pretty shafted as a whole, but the film seems to imply that victory would normally have been possible had Wormtongue not sent Eomer away, because Gandalf leads the eored into battle, not the Huorns. In some ways this works, but Eomer is really missing from most of the movie, and the concern here is how he will be portrayed as a worthy successor to Theoden come Return of the King.

- Of all the liberties taken, though, I think the one that remains the most questionable - as in, the one with which I am most unsure what purpose it serves - is Haldir and some of the elves appearing at Helm's Deep.

- I do have a very minor gripe about the geographical accuracy of Osgiliath... if Faramir approached it from the East, how come he's fighting across the river unless Sauron's forces have already crossed the Anduin?


Overall

I didn't cover even nearly everything I wanted to say, and I'll be following this up with another post. My verdict: a marvelous film that I came out of the same way I came out of Fellowship - eagerly awaiting my second trip to the film, now free of curiosity about what's been done with the book, and able to see the film as a standalone work.

However, even more so than Fellowship, The Two Towers could really use that Extended DVD. I kept getting the impression that they filmed way, way more material than could be used, and that some of it was very pertinent.

[Churl]

First, I realize that films shouldn’t rely on director’s cuts, commentaries, or supplemental materials to make their true quality evident. That said, the extended edition of Fellowship makes me confident that Towers (which I loved, even with some reservations) will only get better when deleted scenes are reincorporated.

Below are my own views on the major high- and low points mentioned by others. Please let me know about any factual misstatements I might have made. Also, I'll continue to obscure spoilers until there's a "Spoilers" designation on the thread. [EDIT: that's been done, so off the spoiler blots go…]

Smeagol/Gollum:
Elsewhere I’ve read quibbles that Gollum’s CG “isn’t quite there yet.” If the quibblers mean that you can still tell that the character is a CG creation, then I can’t argue with them. But by using such dismissive language, they ignore the extremely high bar which Gollum sets in every category on which a CG character should be judged.

For me, these categories are 1) maturity of characterization (first and foremost), 2) range of emotional expression, 3) seamless integration/interaction with physical actors, props, and set, 4) seamless integration/interaction with physical lighting, and 4) the character’s ability to make you forget that it’s an effect.

On each of these criteria, Gollum rates through the roof.


Battle at Helm’s Deep:
I agree that it was utterly amazing. All pre-screening hype aside, it truly was on a scale larger than anything else I’ve ever seen on screen. I’ve read comparisons made between Kurosawa’s scenes of battle and Jackson’s Helm’s Deep … from everything I’ve seen of Kurosawa, those comparisons are justified. (By the way, such comparisons only reaffirm Kurosawa’s brilliance: he filmed Ran, et al., without the benefit of CG, MASSIVE, or computers in general.)

Did the Helm’s Deep battle run too long? Hmmm. That’s hard to say. Since it was interleaved with the Merry/Pippin and Frodo/Sam threads, it didn’t seem quite as ponderous as it might have otherwise. I think its length was justified because it resonated with the desperation that permeated the book. Although the book’s noncombatants didn’t pile into the fortress as they did in the film (they journeyed to Dunharrow from Edoras), the passage still portrayed Helm’s Deep as Rohan’s last stand — and a grim and desperate one at that. I thought the film captured this well.

On a more visceral level, the sheer scope of the thing was mind-boggling. Even the most jaded, non-reading MTV junkie would have to admit that the sequence was spectacular.

As for Elves instead of Rangers at Helm’s Deep … neither brilliant nor an unforgivable travesty, but again, why? My guess is that it was done to beef up Elrond and Galadriel’s scant screen time during their decision over whether or not to send the Elves.


The Ents:
I agree that their power and significance was diminished by the film, which is regrettable. After listening to Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens’ commentary on the extended Fellowship, you can see that they’re trying to make plot tweaks that heighten the importance of the Hobbits. That’s apparently carrying through the whole trilogy (e.g., making Merry and Pippen more responsible for the rousing of the Ents, etc.).

Although I can see why this approach might appeal to people who haven’t read the book, it seems a shame to alter things that were otherwise fine in Tolkien’s original vision.

As for the Ents not marching on Helm’s Deep as well as Isengard, I guess I can accept that. Jackson and crew probably didn’t want to confuse people by having the Ents show up in two places at once. (Moreover, if they were going for a “triumph-of-Men-and-Elves” thing, they probably thought that it would feel like a “purer” victory if the Men and Elves won without the deus ex anti-machina of the Ents. I don’t know this for certain, and I’m definitely not arguing that it was the right way to go, but I think it’s a plausible theory.)

[Churl]

Faramir:
This is probably my biggest knock against the film. The dubious tension that was added by making Faramir exactly like Boromir was definitely not worth the smearing of his character. (In the book, after all, Faramir’s character was his character!) I’d like to think that he’ll grow wiser and nobler in The Return of the King.

And, although it was very cool to see the ruined streets of Osgiliath (which, like most things in Jackson’s version of Middle-earth, looked exactly as I always imagined it), the visit wasn’t worth the time or the alteration it imposed on Tolkien’s original plot.


Ringwraiths/Nazgul:
See above, because my only complaints about the Nazgul are tied to how they were used in the Osgiliath scene.


Rohan:
Eowyn … strong, brave, beautiful, and just as frustrated by the passive role imposed upon her as she was in the book. I fell in love with her, but she loves Aragorn and besides, she’s not real. (Sounds like a Charlie Kaufman screenplay…) I can’t wait for her moment of tragedy and glory in Return. Jackson had better not alter that scene one iota!

Eomer … well played; more or less true to the book in his dealings with Theoden and Eowyn, but absent for too much of the film. Since Eomer more or less took over Erkenbrand’s place as leader of the just-in-time rescue cavalry at Helm’s Deep, we don’t learn enough about him to make a real judgment.

Theoden … Bernard Hill is great, but I wasn’t crazy about the wacky quasi-exorcism that Gandalf performed to break “Saruman’s spell” (if I remember the book correctly, he was merely a victim of Wormtongue’s lies and poisons, not of any kind of literal spell). Gandalf and company simply convinced Theoden that he was still capable and noble, and that his people needed him desperately. Again if I remember correctly, the only use of magic in the Golden Hall happened when Gandalf darkened the sky to warn off the guards. The film’s silly “demons-out!” segment seemed to usurp book-Theoden’s inner will to regain his dignity.


Warg Attack/Aragorn’s False Death:
The warg attack was cool and exciting; I have no gripes with it. What’s more, even in terms of the book, it’s something that plausibly might have happened during the journey from Edoras to Helm’s Deep.

As for Aragorn’s fake death switcheroo, it was absolutely unnecessary, and worse, it consumed time that could have been devoted to other things.


Arwen:
Here I have to disagree with the Liv-bashers. I didn’t mind the flashbacks and dream sequences. I don’t even mind the fact that they’re playing up the Arwen/Aragorn love story. After all, it’s there in the book — albeit much more subtly portrayed and not in the film’s detail. Liv Tyler might not be the best actress in history, but she’s doing orders of magnitude better than I feared she would when I first heard about her casting. (Think of her in Armageddon. Or better yet, don’t.)


Comic Relief:
Some of it I didn’t mind; some of it became cloying. I think Gimli deserves better than to be made the constant butt of height jokes.


Cinematography:
There’s nothing at all I could significantly complain about.


The Ending (Book vs. Film):
Since the Scouring of the Shire is gone from Jackson’s Return of the King (in my opinion, a regrettable but cinematically necessary exclusion, just like Bombadil from Fellowship), there should be adequate room to squeeze Shelob into the probable three-hour running time.

I haven’t kept up with all the rumors/reports on what else is in or out of Return. I have no worries about Shelob’s creature effects or the Battle of Pelennor Fields; I’m certain they’ll be mind-boggling. I just hope that the filmmakers nail the bittersweetness of the book’s ending, e.g., the Gray Havens, Aragorn and Arwen, etc. Moreover, I hope that film-Faramir redeems himself enough to deserve my Eowyn.

Despite my complaints, I left the theater completely amazed and enthralled by the movie. Call me crazy, but I was smiling and nodding in recognition of dialogue, themes, and Alan-Lee-paintings-come-to-life more than I was cringing at the departures from the book.

Sorry for such a long post — I hope that at least some of you are still awake.

[Mathron]

My thoughts on the film, piece by piece:

Frodo, Sam and Gollum's part. I found the character development among these three to be excellently done, especially Gollum. But I also found a lot of the actual events they had a bit weaker than they could have been. The deviation from the story seemed unneccessary. Specifically, it seemed to have been added so that they could put Shelob off until the next movie. I understand the reasoning - since RotK is the shortest of the books - but I also feel that it resulted in a fairly weak ending point, compared to the very strong ending point with Shelob. Also I disliked the change to Faramir's character. They made him, basically, into a powerful human who is corrupted by the ring, but breaks free of its temptation at the end. Ie, Boromir. The point in the books was that even among humans who are not quite as impressive as, say, Aragorn, there are those who can resist the ring. By changing Faramir's character, his entire role became fairly useless. Did get to see Oliphaunts, of course. Merry, Pippin, and the Ents. I felt the Ents seemed to have not been done justice - but only due to the short length of the film. I felt they did as well as they could have, but still could wish for a bit more. However, again, character development was pretty impressive - if subtle - between Pippin and Merry. To elaborate, I recall one of the earliest comments about FotR was that Merry and Pippin seemed indistinguishable - which was only really true upon first watching. Careful attention to them meant one would notice that Merry was the one who almost made bright suggestions, and Pippin the one who messed up. In TTT, it stays much the same... up until near the end, where Pippin is the one who manages to get Treebeard to go South, and see the devestation wrought by Isengard - and thus, rally the Ents. I thought that was a nice touch on the development of his character. The storming of Isengard seemed fine, with some good moments and some weaker ones - again, the lack of the Ents really being individuals was the main weak point, and one that they probably couldn't do much about. The Battle at Helm's Deep. Phenomenal. Amazing action and events. More than that, again, good character development. They added in Elves from Lothlorien - a deviation from the books, but one that worked well, I thought. Especially considering their leader (whose name I can't remember). He comes off, both in FotR, and in TTT, as a highly arrogant being, who thinks fairly poorly of all others. When he dies, it is with a look of shock that he can actually be falling. I found that very impressively done - to give such depth to such a stock character. The interplay between Legolas and Gimli was developed out well. Gimli did come off, sadly, as somewhat comic - but he definitely had his moment, when he and Aragorn defend the bridge to the keep against pretty much the entire Uruk'hai army. One of the things I didn't realize until after the movie, that was sad, was the Caves of Helm's Deep. Whereas in the book they are described as amazing things of wondrous beauty, in the movie they were just caves. Nothing special, nothing really noticable. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I found Helm's Deep to be the part they focused most on, as well as the part that was purely incredible. It, I felt, was of a higher quality (if not by much, and only by virtue of how well done it was) then FotR. But the rest of the movie, as a cost, was weaker. By ending where it did, as well, it leaves a somewhat bitter taste in the mouth of Tolkien fans - even though a lot of the strong points in the movie are in the middle, it sort of peters out at the end, and doesn't seem to have as solid an ending as it could. A lot of the areas that it was weak in are things that could be highly bolstered by the extended version - and the rest are mainly issues that will be solved one RotK arrives. The main issue is that it is somewhat weak as a standalone theatrical release - but as part of a larger whole, it will be fine.

[IronParrot]

You know, right now, I'd really like to do a scene-by-scene analysis of the entire movie, but my memory isn't that good after just one viewing, and it would take forever to write it anyway.

This post, I'm going to analyse the various major departures between book and film and talk about my thoughts.

Eomer

Book: His loyalty to the king, but not to Grima, leads to his imprisonment. Gandalf cures Theoden, and Eomer rides out with Aragorn.

Film: His loyalty to the king, but not to Grima, leads to his exile. Helm's Deep is won when Gandalf rides out and brings him back, along with his fellow Riders.

Verdict: The most problematic consequence of this, in my opinion, is that Helm's Deep is won perhaps a bit too easily. Also, Eomer's screentime in the whole film is very limited, and some of his lines ("This is the hour when we draw swords together") are given to Theoden. However, his personal motives and characterization, along with that of Theoden and Grima, remain intact - and I think that's of paramount importance. Also, in a way, Eomer is taking Erkenbrand's role here.


Faramir

Book: Upon finding out about the Ring, later lets Frodo go without a struggle, but with the advice to be wary of Gollum. Returns to Gondor by way of retreating to the defense of Osgiliath (spoken of, not seen in The Return of the King).

Film: Intends to take the Ring to Denethor, and gets as far as Osgiliath with Frodo before finally understanding the nature of the Ring (especially when Sam tells him of Boromir's fate). Then lets go.

Verdict: His line about "a chance to display my quality", taken from the book, doesn't make too much sense here as at the time, he's still intent on taking the Ring. Also, the fact that his intention is not to take the Ring for himself, but to pass it to his father, speaks for something. Still, Faramir in the film is far more ambitious - and therefore, a far more corruptible - character than Faramir in the book.

However, I think that the whole interpretation of Faramir here narrowly avoided disaster, and was rather clever. It gets Faramir to Osgiliath, from which we know he will have to retreat to Minas Tirith. It sets up the conflict he will have to face with his father, as well as establishes Denethor's expectations of him delivering "a mighty gift", as Faramir sends word of doing just that. Just on the basis that Faramir at the end of the film is consistent with Tolkien's Faramir, and that there is actually some dynamic character change going on here, I think this is overall excusable.


Dunharrow

Book: Women and children to Dunharrow. The men of Rohan take the straightaway to Helm's Deep, fight, and return to Dunharrow.

Film: Everybody to Helm's Deep by way of the mountains - the Glittering Caves, not Dunharrow, becomes Rohan's last refuge.

Verdict: Good change. Geographically it's consistent with Tolkien; Helm's Deep could indeed be used as a refuge, and more importantly, should Helm's Deep have fallen, Rohan would indeed be utterly screwed with the utmost immediacy. This makes Helm's Deep more important, and worth the time dedicated to it.


Wargs

Book: They get to Helm's Deep.

Film: They are waylaid by wargs.

Verdict: A very good implementation of the warg attack that we did not see at the foot of Caradhras in Fellowship. The shocker is Aragorn's loss, and while we all knew darn well that he survived, it was a good way to first get him to witness the enormity of Saruman's forces as they marched on Helm's Deep, and a decent excuse to implement some more Arwen flashbacks that wouldn't have fit anywhere else. However, Aragorn's "death" is still, in my opinion, among the more questionable changes and is in some ways a time-filler more than anything, to shunt Helm's Deep to the rear end of the movie.


Haldir

Book: The Elves are neutral.

Film: Elrond and Galadriel send Haldir and a good contingent of Elves to aid Rohan at Helm's Deep.

Verdict: Could be my biggest gripe with the movie. I'm not sure what purpose it serves, though the "conversation" between Elrond and Galadriel does imply that the intention was to show that the Elves are prepared to lend a hand to the collapsing world of Men, albeit very reluctantly. It will be interesting to see if something similar is done with the Pelennor - after all, they need to get the reforged Anduril to Aragorn somehow. Maybe this is just setting that up.


And there's more where that came from...

[Falagar]

That may actually refer to his father mpression on him. He wants to give the Hobbits to his father, so his father will think better of him...

I'm going to wright my own comments. They won't be so long, as I don't have much time...

[IronParrot]

Ents

Book: The Ents are aware of Saruman's orcs destroying the trees, and Merry and Pippin's appearance rouses them to war. They sack Isengard, and the Huorns defeat the orcs at Helm's Deep.

Film: The Ents decide not to go to war, until Merry and Pippin lead Treebeard to the sight of the destruction of the forest near Isengard. The Ents sack Isengard but do not appear at Helm's Deep.

Verdict: My gripe was with Eomer (in Erkenbrand's role) saving the day at Helm's Deep, with no Ents, somewhat diminishing their role. But they do take down Isengard in a way that leaves Saruman with the most lovably shocked and defeated look of surprise in the whole thing. Merry and Pippin play a more active role in rousing the Ents, other than just bringing them news, and that was welcome.


Erkenbrand / Quickbeam / named Orcs / etc.

Book: Present.

Film: Absent.

Verdict: Not incredibly missed, thankfully.


This is not all I have to say. More later.

[Churl]

Pardon the momentary digression.

With all these spoiler blots, who else thinks that this thread looks like it arrived by way of Winston at the Ministry of Truth?

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Khamûl
I'm going to see it tonight and I wonder how I'm going to react to it. There seem to be two sides here: 1) It was amazing, I love it, so much better than FotR, can't wait for RotK, etc... and 2) What was Peter Jackson thinking?, I bet Professor Tolkien is rolling over in his grave, that wasn't even in the book, I don't care that much for it, etc...

I still think Tolkien is rolling over in his grave. I just happened to have lower expectations this time. Obviously by the complaints about Gimli - I guess he just took over the role of Merry and Pippin since they weren't around to be used as comic relief.

[IronParrot]

"With all these spoiler blots, who else thinks that this thread looks like it arrived by way of Winston at the Ministry of Truth?"

Agreed.

Simply as an aesthetic thing, I'm declaring this thread a spoiler zone. It's just too hard to discuss the film here with all of that in the way, especially when everybody's seeing the thing anyway.

Edit your posts and remove spoiler blocks at your own discretion.

[Varda Oiolosseo]

I actually really liked it!!!
At first when i saw Gollum I though oh o PJ has done him wrong. But then he grew on me and I really liked him!

I thought Faramir came across a bit nasty when in the book he doesn't!

I thought that Gimli was really funny and Legolas!

The Ents were fantastic!!!!

I didn't particually like Eowyn and I thought that both Elrond and Theoden were quite nasty to Aragorn too!

Helm's Deep was just amazing!!! That couldn't have been done better! The Elves turned up too!! but that was ok and Haldir was there!! But he came to a bad end and i was like noooooooo!

Overall, after I had got used to things, I love it!! And can't wait to see it again!!

[Cirdan]

It's very entertaining but there seems to be a fall off towards the end of the movie in terms of editing and continuity. The first hour was near as perfect to the vision as one could ask. As with the first film the sets and scenes are fantastic. The changes were mostly innoculous except for the Faramir bit. I kept sayng myself "why", but I guess I'll have to wait for the DVD commentaries for an explanation. Overall I enjoyed it very much, and the varied plot threads were handled nimbly most of the time. I hope everyone has a great time!
Loved:
- Balrog fight. (Gandalf as action hero.
- The hunt for Merry and Pippin. Very true to the book but still well paced.
- The Morannon! Did you love the trolls opening the gate?
- Eomer & Co. taking out the Orcs.
- Coneys! Oliphants! Wargs! Wraiths!
- Gollum vs. Smeagol
- Edoras was very well done.
- Wormtonue... could he be more repulsive? He made Smeagol seem noble.
- Theoden's transformation.
- The Legolas Leap
- Saruman's reaction to the Ents.
- The Glittering Caves
- The fire of Orthanc
- The charge from the Hornburg
- Isengard getting flooded, trashed, stomped, etc.
- Arwen's .... profile.
- Eowyn's portrayal. Nice character development. Theoden and Gollum's parts were done out nicely as well.
Dislikes:
- Sam falling right in front of the Morannon.
- Arwen's blubbering and Elrond's bombast
- Aragorn's Gandalf impersonation ( only one character should pull the rise-from-the-dead bit)
- Aragorn being less optimistic and brave than Theoden (at first)
- Evil Faramir and excess Osgiliath
- Frodo almost shivving Sam

Edit: spoiler code removed...

[Varda Oiolosseo]

Oh and I didn't like the ringwraiths on wings at all!!
It just didn't work! When they were on horses they were really cool in FOTR! But in TTT they just weren't the same!

[IronParrot]

I don't know... I think Frodo standing before the winged Nazgul is perhaps my favourite shot in the whole film.

And as for some of Cirdan's gripes above... I loved the Black Gates sequence, as well as Frodo's increasing hostility to Sam - something that escalates at a far quicker pace here than it does in the book, where it doesn't become a real issue until ROTK.

[Cirdan]

Originally posted by Varda Oiolosseo
Oh and I didn't like the ringwraiths on wings at all!!
It just didn't work! When they were on horses they were really cool in FOTR! But in TTT they just weren't the same!

I think the effect was lessened without the sub-sonic rumble. I think they should have used filters to make it seem as though night was coming (a great shadow).