ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

I will unashamedly own up to reading the Lord of the Rings in the early seventies when it was the book that everyone I knew owned. It was big then.

A friend of mine had some obscure electronic instrumental concept album as well and Barclay James Harvest sang about Galadriel. Since then I have left it alone and decided only to watch Peter Jackson's first film the night before going to see the second. To fully appreciate The Two Towers I would advise you do just that.

The new film is a masterpiece. The first film moved from the rustic naivety of the Shire towards Mordor but only towards the end, in the mines of Moria, did the darkness that pervades this new film descend.

Rohan Soldiers gather.

The Two Towers is haunted with an inevitability of the apocalyptic ending that we will witness in twelve month's time. It lacks the narrative cohesion of the first film as we follow the now disparate fellowship. Gandalf fell into the shadows at the end of the first film. This is elaborated on here and he returns as the white wizard on the beautiful white stallion Shadowfax.

Frodo and Sam continue under the increasing burden of the ring guided by Gollum, Merry and Pippin escape the orcs and meet up with Treebeard and his fellow Ents... talking walking trees. Meanwhile Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli search in vain for the Hobbits before becoming embroiled in the Battle of Helms Deep.

The battle is awesome, on a par at least with the opening scene of Gladiator. Saruman's Isingard has hundreds of toiling worker which reminds you of Fritz Lang' s Metropolis. The high spot have to be the effects. The differing sizes between Elf ,Dwarf, Hobbit and man is breathtaking and thrills every time.

The make-up is first class; Liv Tyler's slightly pointed ears leave you wondering whether her lugs really are that shape and the gross Uruk-hai, Saruman's mass produced genetic army are terrifying. But the real piece de resistance is Gollum. He was once a Hobbit called Smeagol who had the ring in his keeping, distorting him into a slimy creature who scurries around on all fours holding schizophrenic conversations with himself.

Andy Serkis played Gollum in a motion sensor suit which then had Gollum superimposed on it. It is totally convincing.

Aragorn in battle

For me there is one reason why this film succeeds. It is because the characters are just as I imagined them to be and how Tolkien described them. Treebeard, Gollum, Gimli and Legolas are exactly as I saw them in the early seventies. The Nazgul, the flying black raiders, are just right too.

Towards the end Sam asks Frodo, "do you think people will ever talk about us or tell stories about us?" They will - talking about Peter Jackson's trilogy as one of the finest film epics ever made.

The Two Towers breaks new ground with its visual impact and special effects. The films are the result of Peter Jackson's love affair with Tolkien's work. If you see no other film this year, see this one, but watch The Fellowship of the Ring first. I cannot wait for part three.

Ìý