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Impressive...most impressive.
By The Critic
unrivaled.info
September 9, 2003 - The Lord of the Ring novels, which were written by
J.R.R. Tolkein, pretty much defined the current fantasy genre as we see it
today. With an already excellent story, these novels are a perfect vehicle for
making a movie trilogy. Although it has been created into an animated cartoon in
the past, these productions never really captured the detailed essence of the
books. Today with the current level of special effects technology, it is
possible to create the detailed fantasy world a live action LOTR movie requires.
New Line Cinema decided to create these movies and signed on director Peter
Jackson for the gigantic task of creating the epic series. The results are
spectacular. It's almost perfect in everyway with a plot, story, and special
effects all with the high quality standards usually reserved for movies made by
George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. There’s a new blockbuster in town and its name
is Lord of the Rings.
Now I'll be the first to admit, with the current 2 LOTR movies, this trilogy is
on its way to being the best of this decade. But it's not the best of all time.
People comparing it to old school trilogies like Indiana Jones or the original
Star Wars are insane. These movies are classics that have yet to be toppled out
of the top spots. But LOTR shines and shines bright it does. It beats Lucas’s
current Star Wars trilogy (I don’t really consider this a trilogy because Star
Wars: Episode 1 was awful... you can’t really count this set) and it may beat
the Matrix trilogy (depending on how 3 turns out). But until LOTR 3 hits the
theaters this December, we must hold on to the crown award before we king this
trilogy as the best this decade.
After seeing LOTR 1, I was impressed with it as a whole, but disappointed at the
inconclusive ending. There was really nothing that can be done about this; LOTR
is a story too large to be told in one movie. But even at this stage people were
proclaiming it as the next Star Wars as fans across the world converted over to
LOTR geekness. When two was ready for release last December (2002), all who
loved the original couldn’t wait to see it; and boy did it deliver. LOTR 2
capitalizes on the midpoint storyline as all of the exposition is out the way,
getting right into the action. Viewers are not bombarded with a boring summary
of the first movie. It starts right where we last saw our heroes and from there
its takes you deeper into the world of Middle-earth as humans fight for their
survival and combat the resurrection of the dark lord Sauron. Awesome stuff
indeed.
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Knowing the LOTR Two Towers extended DVD version
is being released in 3 months, it makes little sense to get the normal DVD
version of the film. Although it has some extras and the quality of the
presentation is solid, it’s merely a small hamburger compared to the T-bone
steak coming this November. For those hungry to have it at home now however,
it’s not a bad package. The 16X9 enhanced anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1 aspect
ratio) video quality is rock solid for the most part, but I noticed it was a bit
soft overall. Color saturation is subdued due to the low bit rate the authors
had to implement to fit the movie on a dual-layered disk. It’s not a bad
transfer; in fact for a movie of this length it’s pretty good. But it’s far from
reference. The Dolby 5.1 EX mix was pretty damn good, with lots of clarity and
activity in the fronts. The banging and booming action will give your subwoofer
a good workout. The surround was not the most active I've ever heard, but there
was some good sounds coming from the back. The extras are there, but are not
very comprehensive. Most of them, which has already aired on TV or have been
available on the official website, are worth watching once and give some interesting
perspective to the making of the film. Plus there is a preview to the extended
version of the DVD which you should not watch if you want to full enjoy that version and there is a spoil-a-rama documentary to LOTR 3: Return of the King that
you must stay away from!
The good: Peter Jackson has done an
admirable job of putting together these movies. LOTR 2 is not perfect, as the
first movie was somewhat better. But it’s fantastic in its own right. The story
in this movie is a little on the light side as it’s mostly a progression of the
characters and the events that must take place around them. But its rock solid
all the way: the plot, dialog, acting and direction are all very good. It pretty
much can’t get any better than this. The special effect will leave you
breathless, especially the CGI creatures and the CGI character Gollum. His
actions and face movement details are so well done, I could hardly tell it was
digital most of the time. If you look hard enough, you can tell its graphics,
but honestly this is breakthrough work unmatched by anyone. Only Lucas's ILM
comes close to this excellence: Gollum can be compared to Star Wars Episode 2's
CGI Yoda. If I compared the 2, I’d say they were very close in terms of detail
and how realistic they are. But if I had to pick the best one, I would pick
Gollum as he is slightly more realistic than Yoda (but only by a tiny margin
mind you). Both young and old stars also play out their parts with much
conviction. Seeing old school legends like Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and
Christopher Lee (Saruman)
performing had me delighted with glee.
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The bad: the soft point of the LOTR trilogy is it has a standard road to
follow. Even though Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema did make changes and cuts
to adapt the story for a 3 part movie, they were bind to the original story
written by Tolkein. This can be good or bad, depending on what side of the fence
you’re on. Your either going to like LOTR or not, which is this trilogies'
biggest weakness. Even so, it's such a small price to pay for being true to the
series, right? You will also be required to watch the first movie. It's not a
big deal for most, but if you’re thinking of jumping into this movie without the
first, you’re going to be a bit confused.
Despite the entire graphical prowess of the movie, some of the CGI special
effects were distracting especially the human CGI shots. These effects
looked unrealistic, but were quick and blurry so it was not a big deal.
- Execution - 4: the story, plot,
direction and dialog were all good and done in good taste. Awesome, but
not as good as the first movie.
- The Stars - 5: the stars do a near
perfect job with their role of the main characters. Sir Ian McKellen and
Christopher Lee were incredible! I'm glad they brought their talents
onboard.
- Supporting cast - 4: much of the
cast's chemistry is very good and backup characters do a good job with
their roles.
- Special effects - 5: WETA
Digital's breathtaking effects will knock your socks off with their
creatures, especially Gollum. Incredible! Some special effects were
distracting, mainly the human CGI, but most of it was quick and blurry.
- Tilt - 4: LOTR 2 is impressive.
You can’t really knock it down can you?
Unrivaled rating: 4.4
Overall: it may not seem like it now, but the LOTR trilogy will age well
and become a classic in the hearts of many. You really can’t go wrong with these
movies. But if you're thinking of purchasing this DVD, consider waiting for the
extended version which will be released in November and will be a much better
purchase (the extended version will be 43 minutes longer (spanning on 2 disks),
have more extensive extras, have a DTS 6.1 surround track, and have better
picture quality). You must watch the LOTR 1 before watching this one, otherwise
you'll be lost. If you love the first one you'll love this one too. Highly
recommended as a rental, but only purchase if you plan on skipping out on the
extended version.
