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34
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93
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64
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36
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54
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93
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82
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79
Iron Man
78
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
76
Shine a Light
73
Kung Fu Panda
71
Horton Hears a Who!
69
Redbelt
67
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Wanted
62
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The
61
Stop Loss
61
Incredible Hulk, The
58
Mist, The
57
Forbidden Kingdom, The
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
55
Street Kings
55
Nim's Island
55
Baby Mama
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
52
Mamma Mia!
49
Hancock
48
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
47
Strangers, The
44
Ruins, The
43
Meet Dave
41
Drillbit Taylor
37
Made of Honor
37
Shutter
37
Speed Racer
36
College Road Trip
36
What Happens in Vegas...
35
Jumper
35
Space Chimps
34
Happening, The
34
10,000 B.C.
33
Superhero Movie
31
Deception
24
Love Guru, The
22
Postal
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

83
Alexandra
39
August
80
Band's Visit, The
76
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79
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47
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80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
60
Blind Mountain
55
Bra Boys
61
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70
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49
Children of Huang Shi, The
83
Chop Shop
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
78
Counterfeiters, The
75
Days and Clouds
48
Death Defying Acts
54
Diminished Capacity
47
Doorman, The
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
27
Eight Miles High
54
Elsa & Fred
81
Encounters at the End of the World
62
Expired
64
Fall, The
54
Felon
51
Finding Amanda
57
Flawless
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
60
Fugitive Pieces
72
Full Battle Rattle
45
Full Grown Men
31
Garden Party
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
69
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73
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59
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10
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68
Heartbeat Detector
36
Holding Trevor
68
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55
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66
Jellyfish
58
Jihad for Love, A
66
Kabluey
62
Kiss the Bride
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
80
Last Mistress, The
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
74
Lou Reed's Berlin
70
Love Songs
67
Mad Detective
65
Man Named Pearl, A
64
Married Life
30
Meet Bill
33
Miss Conception
53
Mister Lonely
74
Mongol
52
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52
My Blueberry Nights
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
85
My Winnipeg
61
On the Rumba River
69
Operation Filmmaker
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
70
Outsourced
83
Paranoid Park
72
Priceless
51
Promotion, The
55
Quid Pro Quo
29
Red Roses and Petrol
79
Reprise
71
Roman de gare
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
56
Sangre de mi sangre
51
Savage Grace
76
Shotgun Stories
66
Son of Rambow
70
Standard Operating Procedure
57
Stone Angel, The
61
Stuck
72
Surfwise
25
Take
81
Tell No One
56
Then She Found Me
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
71
To the Limit
54
Tracey Fragments, The
69
Transsiberian
71
Trumbo
71
Tuya's Marriage
83
U2 3D
56
Unknown Woman
86
Up the Yangtze
59
Very British Gangster, A
79
Visitor, The
61
Wackness, The
37
War, Inc.
65
Water Lilies
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
55
Without the King
72
Woman on the Beach
64
XXY
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
75
Young@Heart
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
85
My Winnipeg
83
Chop Shop
83
Paranoid Park
83
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
82
Chris & Don. A Love Story
81
Tell No One
81
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Band's Visit, The
80
Last Mistress, The
79
Reprise
79
Visitor, The
79
Before I Forget
78
Counterfeiters, The
77
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
76
Shotgun Stories
76
Beauty in Trouble
75
Young@Heart
75
Days and Clouds
74
Mongol
74
Lou Reed's Berlin
73
Duchess of Langeais, The
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Woman on the Beach
72
Full Battle Rattle
72
Priceless
72
Surfwise
71
Tuya's Marriage
71
Trumbo
71
To the Limit
71
My Brother Is an Only Child
71
Roman de gare
70
Standard Operating Procedure
70
Love Songs
70
Outsourced
70
Caramel
69
Transsiberian
69
Operation Filmmaker
69
Go-Getter, The
68
Heartbeat Detector
68
Honeydripper
67
Year My Parents Went on Vacation, The
67
Mad Detective
66
Son of Rambow
66
Jellyfish
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
66
Kabluey
65
Man Named Pearl, A
65
Water Lilies
64
Married Life
64
Dreams with Sharp Teeth
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
Foot Fist Way, The
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Expired
62
Kiss the Bride
61
Brick Lane
61
Stuck
61
OSS 117: Cairo - Nest of Spies
61
Wackness, The
61
On the Rumba River
60
Fugitive Pieces
60
Blind Mountain
59
Gunnin for that #1 Spot
59
Very British Gangster, A
58
Jihad for Love, A
57
Flawless
57
Stone Angel, The
56
Unknown Woman
56
Then She Found Me
56
Sangre de mi sangre
55
Quid Pro Quo
55
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
55
Irina Palm
55
Bra Boys
55
Without the King
54
Diminished Capacity
54
Felon
54
Tracey Fragments, The
54
Elsa & Fred
53
Mister Lonely
52
Mother of Tears, The
52
My Blueberry Nights
51
Finding Amanda
51
Promotion, The
51
Savage Grace
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
48
Death Defying Acts
47
Doorman, The
47
Bella
45
Full Grown Men
39
August
38
Life Before Her Eyes, The
37
War, Inc.
36
Holding Trevor
33
Miss Conception
31
Garden Party
30
Meet Bill
29
Red Roses and Petrol
27
Eight Miles High
25
Take
10
Harold
xx
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The
New Line Cinema
FILM:
GAMES:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images
Starring
Elijah Wood,
Ian McKellen,
Viggo Mortensen,
Sean Astin,
Liv Tyler,
Christopher Lee,
Cate Blanchett,
and
Bernard Hill
In the second chapter in J.R.R Tolkien's epic trilogy, the Fellowship faces unimaginable armies and deception while also witnessing ancient wonders and the untapped strength of their people. (New Line Productions)
| GENRE(S): |
Fantasy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Frances Walsh
Philippa Boyens
Stephen Sinclair, Peter Jackson
J.R.R. Tolkien (novel)
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Peter Jackson
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: August 26, 2003
Video: August 26, 2003
Theatrical: December 18, 2002
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
179 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA / New Zealand |
Received 6 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Also received a Best Picture nomination at the Golden Globes. Named Best Picture of 2002 by the Online Film Critics Society.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
The miracle is that 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is better: tighter, smarter, funnier.

100
Time
Richard Corliss
Towers, while not quite so varied as Fellowship in its moods and settings, has a grave gusto that energizes every moment...a thrilling work of film craft.

100
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
The Two Towers moves faster, covers more ground, has more action and -- with the introduction of the marvelous character Gollum -- packs some much-appreciated laughs.

100
Film Threat
Chuck Russel
Thank you, Mr. Jackson for pushing film into a new age -- Ladies and gentleman, we have our new directing God!

100
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
Like its predecessor, The Two Towers is a great motion picture, and not to be missed by anyone who appreciates fantasy adventure.

100
New York Magazine
Peter Rainer
Jackson has a genuine epic gift: Few filmmakers have ever given gross-outs such resplendence.

100
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
One fabulous Middle-earth show.

100
Washington Post
Stephen Hunter
Gripping, whole and nourishing. Certainly of the fantasy film series currently in American theaters - I include "Harry Potter and the Secret Toity" and "Star Trek: Halitosis" - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the best, and not by just a little.

100
Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
Moviegoers should be almost as entranced by the teeming, glorious landscapes and dark, bloody battlegrounds of Two Towers: astonishing midpoint of an epic movie fantasy journey for the ages.

100
Newsweek
David Ansen
What's remarkable is how immediately, after a full year, The Two Towers seizes your attention, and how urgently it holds you through three seamless, action-packed hours.

100
Wall Street Journal
Joe Morgenstern
Casts a spell and then some -- a ringing testament to the power of motion pictures.
100
Film Threat
Eric Campos
Theres no question here that moviegoers will be treated to a completely enveloping, three-hour vacation from reality.

100
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
The result is harrowing and inspiring. As escapist entertainment, it's the movie of the year.

100
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Keith Phipps
What makes Towers so staggering is the way it brings the full scope of Jackson's adaptation into focus. Without missing a beat in three hours, the film shifts from epic to lyrical and back.

100
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
A brilliantly conceived, boldly executed, cumulatively thrilling fantasy epic that expands the art of film and is sure to be the middle link of one of the movies' greatest trilogies.

91
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
You will be heartened by the amazing sensation of watching one of the greatest works in the history of the medium unfold in front of you, piece by piece, year by year.

90
The New Yorker
Anthony Lane
The virtues of Jackson's trilogy, thus far, have been pace and astonishment, which is almost the same thing. [6 January 2003, p. 90]
90
Chicago Reader
J.R. Jones
One of cinema's most absorbing fantasies.

90
Salon.com
Charles Taylor
Yes, there are some "middle-chapter" problems, but Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptation hasn't lost its devastating humanity, its heart-stopping cinematography or its epic sweep.

90
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Never has a film so strongly been a product of a director's respect for its source. Mr. Jackson uses all his talents in the service of that reverence, creating a rare perfect mating of filmmaker and material.

90
Dallas Observer
Gregory Weinkauf
The year's greatest adventure, and Jackson's limited but enthusiastic adaptation has made literature literal without killing its soul.

90
Variety
Todd McCarthy
Has a sharper narrative focus and a livelier sense of forward movement than did the more episodic "Fellowship."

89
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
God forbid this should ever play on an IMAX screen -- the concussive soundtrack and relentless visuals would likely strike viewers deaf and blind (but what a way to go!). Simply breathtaking.

88
USA Today
Claudia Puig
Epic battles, spectacular effects and multiple story lines make The Two Towers a most excellent middle chapter in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

88
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
For now, The Two Towers feels like the second installment in what next year, when Frodo finally reaches Mount Doom and the story draws to a close, we'll surely be hailing as a masterpiece.

75
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Most moviegoers will leave buzzing about the climactic Battle of Helm's Deep. But in my eyes, this is Gollum's show more than anyone else's, even the special-effects wizards behind the scenes.

75
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
What it comes down to is superbly staged battle scenes and moral alliances forged in earnest yet purged of the wit and dynamic, bristly ego that define true on-screen personality.

75
San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
An outstanding effort that maintains the integrity and purpose that distinguished "The Fellowship of the Ring."

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
Jackson's superior sequel to last year's first installment in his Rings cycle - resurrects the beloved Gandalf (majestic Ian McKellen) and rejuvenates the audience, too.

75
New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
The sequel's battle scenes -- especially the climactic assault on the Helm's Deep fortress by the armies of darkness -- easily put those of the "Star Wars" series to shame.

75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
Both a triumph of design and cinematic engineering and, at the same time, long, repetitious and naive.

75
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
A rousing adventure, a skillful marriage of special effects and computer animation, and it contains sequences of breathtaking beauty. It also gives us, in a character named the Gollum, one of the most engaging and convincing CGI creatures I've seen.

75
Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
Spectacular in every sense of the word, even if you don' t know an Orc from a Uruk-Hai.

75
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
Seeing Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is like having a second date with the woman who made you fall in love at first sight.

70
LA Weekly
Russel Swensen
Falters precisely because there's not enough stumbling, and far too much striding gallantly forward.

70
Slate
David Edelstein
A glorious, visceral mess -- The film is, by most criteria, an ungainly piece of storytelling. Yet it sweeps you up and hurtles you along like water from an exploded dike.

70
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
Jackson's movie is one portentous happening after another -- not unreasonable in that his source, J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy, is basically the fantasyland equivalent of a world war against absolute evil.

70
Los Angeles Times
Manohla Dargis
If the second film never reaches the highs of the first -- we have met the players before and there are no new worlds of wonder -- it nonetheless invests moviegoing with a sense of adventure.

60
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
This second installment is heavy on battle sequences, which will thrill some viewers more than others.


The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 318 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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