By Margaret A. McGurk
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Director Peter Jackson's movie version of The Two Towers pays full respect to the most sorrowful part of J.R.R. Tolkien's mighty Lord of the Rings trilogy.

This is a sadder, more frightening film than The Fellowship of the Ring, but it is also more exciting, more visually dynamic and more sweeping in its vision. This, film fans, is an epic with a capital E.

FILM REVIEW

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (PG-13; epic battle sequences, scary images) Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen. Directed by Peter Jackson. 179 minutes. AMC 20, Great Escape 14, Midway Bethel, National Amusements, Showplace 8.

The story picks up almost exactly where Fellowship ended, with the original adventurers separated, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) facing the next perilous journey alone. All we see from the first film is the wizard Gandalf's apparently fatal plunge into the center of the Earth as he battles the horrendous Balrog monster - a special-effects scene as masterful as modern technology and artistic imagination will allow.

A short while later, an even more astonishing techno-wonder awaits in the character of Gollum, a creature generated entirely by computers based on the body and voice of actor Andy Serkis. Gollum has been kept largely under wraps in advance of the movie, the better to astonish audiences with his shocking authenticity. This is by far the most expressive, least mechanical, computer-generated figure ever seen on screen, and the movie's most engrossing character to boot.

Once a Hobbit-like being named Smeagol, Gollum was corrupted by the One Ring that Frodo now carries. Gollum dogs Frodo, hoping to steal the ring back. Frodo's appeal to the part of him that is still Smeagol reveals a divided person who carries the battle between good and evil in his own head.

Frodo's goal is the ring's destruction in the pit where it was forged, thereby stopping the resurrection of the disembodied Sauron, who has set his wicked wizard Saruman (Christopher Lee) to the task of wiping out beauty, peace and freedom among humans, hobbits and their friends.

The movie crosscuts from place to place as Frodo and Sam struggle toward Mordor, tracking friends Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) in a magical forest overseen by ancient, tree-like beings called Ents, as well as the race by dwarf Gimli (voice of John Rhys-Davies), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) to save their friends.

The action peaks when the Fellowship warriors find a reborn Gandalf (Ian McKellen in another sharp, detailed performance) and rally the humans of Rohan to fight Saruman's massive forces. (Be advised that the movie earns its PG-13 rating with thrilling but often horrific combat.)

Mr. Jackson, who wrote the screenplay with Philippa Boyens and Stephen Sinclair, interprets Tolkien's stormy vision with tremendous insight and empathy. Frodo's weakening spirit, Gollum's pathos, Sam's loyalty, the fury and dread of the final assault on Helm's Deep - it's all there on the screen, as powerfully as it was on the pages of the great novel. Mr. Jackson has taken a few liberties with the book, but none that destroy its sense or sensibility.

Plot complexities are explained in part with flashbacks, flash-forwards and narrative recaps. It is possible the tale could confuse some who are not familiar with the books, but even non-readers of Tolkien stand to be swept up in the film's urgent pace and emotional intensity - not to mention its breathtaking visual riches.

The Two Towers is every bit the momentous event fans have been hoping for. All it lacks is three more hours of the story. That comes Dec. 17, 2003. Mark the date.

E-mail mmcgurk@enquirer.com