Opening

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—— The Haunting of Helena Jun 21

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—— How To Make Money Selling Drugs Jun 26
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

tomatometer

96

Average Rating: 8.4/10
Reviews Counted: 224
Fresh: 215 | Rotten: 9

The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter.

100

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 41
Fresh: 41 | Rotten: 0

The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter.

audience

92

liked it
Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 1,207,142

My Rating

Movie Info

Frodo and Samwise press on toward Mordor. Gollum insists on being the guide. Can anyone so corrupted by the ring be trusted? Can Frodo, increasingly under the sway of the ring, even trust himself? Meanwhile, Aragorn, drawing closer to his kingly destiny, rallies forces of good for the battles that must come. Director Peter Jackson delivers an amazing second movie that won 2 Academy Awards (R)* and earned 6 total nominations including Best Picture. The journey continues. So do the astonishing

Aug 26, 2003

$340.5M

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All Critics (224) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (215) | Rotten (9) | DVD (71)

More graphic in its violence and more fantastic in its imaginings than the first film.

March 5, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In size and scale, Jackson has redefined the word 'epic' -- but his attention to the small things really gives this series its awesome stature.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment (1)
Time Out
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This second installment in the trilogy ends with Gandalf intoning that the battle for Middle-Earth is about to begin. I'm pumped.

August 7, 2004 Full Review Source: New York Magazine
New York Magazine
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A brilliantly conceived adventure that has the capacity to take your breath away.

January 25, 2003
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

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.

January 14, 2003
Newsweek
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A thrilling work of film craft.

January 13, 2003 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Less a sequel to The Fellowship Of The Ring than it is a seamless continuation, The Two Towers is another immersive marriage of stirring storytelling and stunning spectacle.

December 23, 2012 Full Review Source: Flix Capacitor
Flix Capacitor

Marches along with considerably more assurance and smoothness than the desperately crammed Fellowship.

December 9, 2012 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy
Antagony & Ecstasy

The movie doesn't deepen or expand the tale's themes as masterfully as The Empire Strikes Back added to Star Wars' mystique. But as a stirring story of unsullied heroism, it's a winner, and as an action epic, it features superb battle sequences.

September 13, 2012 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing
Creative Loafing

The Two Towers, then, is the greatest blockbuster ever made without either a beginning or an end, a feisty beast with a hollow ring in its bones.

December 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Birmingham Mail
Birmingham Mail

If you're not already on board, you scrabble around as best you can, and this means hard work, which is something rare -- and yes, exhilarating -- in a modern blockbuster.

November 15, 2011 Full Review Source: smh.com.au
smh.com.au

The second chapter of Peter Jackson's seminal epic disffers from the first in narrative and tone, there are more battle scenes and the mood is darker.

June 21, 2011 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Andy Serkis's work in creating Gollum deserved an honorary Academy Award. His gestures and voice, not computer software, make Gollum so memorable as he wrestles with his inner homicidal maniac. A soaring, searing tale of wonderment.

September 19, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment (1)
Suite101.com

Gollum and the battles are a triumph of integrated art and technology, and the battles a masterstroke of sheer logistics. (Extended Edition)

March 23, 2010 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment (1)
Movie Metropolis

To say that this is a great movie would be an understatement.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

Spectacular entertainment.

February 18, 2009 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

Glorious escapism that will not make you feel dirty the morning after.

April 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4

The battle is one of the best of its kind in film history, a symphony of bloodlust and hopes dashed and restored.

August 13, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com
eFilmCritic.com

Yes, Peter Jackson demands nine hours of your time. But I can't think of a director more deserving.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | Comments (2)
Big Picture Big Sound

And the Masterpiece continues.

September 30, 2005 Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs
Three Movie Buffs

Jackson once again gives stunning life to one of the finest stories ever written with The Two Towers.

July 5, 2005 Full Review Source: Bullz-Eye.com
Bullz-Eye.com

I began to wonder, as the waves crashed about: Is it still possible for a movie to get excited about people?

March 3, 2005 | Comments (15)
The Nation

Tolkien made every character's heart a battlefield between desire and selflessness, and Jackson underlines and boldfaces this theme. Call it Soul Wars, Episode Two.

January 15, 2005 Full Review Source: Christianity Today | Comment (1)
Christianity Today

The final act's battle scene is the most spectacular medieval type ever filmed. (Pubished 1-3-03)

November 1, 2004 Full Review | Comments (2)

Audience Reviews for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

[img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon14.gif[/img]
March 28, 2013
Directors Cat
Directors Cat

Super Reviewer

Though not as precise in its storytelling abilities as its predecessor, 'The Two Towers' makes up for its slowly paced plot with epic action pieces. The Battle of Helm's Deep is massively exciting and impressive, and Serkis' work as Smeagol is just as brilliant. The story may be a little bit of a drag in the second installment of the saga, but the epic battle and final third make it all worth while.
April 20, 2011
Kase Vollebregt

Super Reviewer

    1. Treebeard: The Ents cannot hold back this storm. We must weather such things as we have always done.
    2. Merry: How can that be your decision?
    3. Treebeard: This is not our war.
    4. Merry: But you're part of this world! Aren't you?
    – Submitted by Dave H (2 months ago)
    1. Gollum: My precious.
    – Submitted by Dutch E (3 months ago)
    1. Merry: There won't be a shire, Pip.
    – Submitted by Liam H (5 months ago)
    1. Legolas: They're taking the hobbits to Isengard.
    – Submitted by Catherine D (5 months ago)
    1. Samwise Gamgee: What we need is a few good taters.
    2. Gollum: What's taters, precious? What's taters eh?
    3. Samwise Gamgee: Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew.
    – Submitted by Catherine D (5 months ago)
    1. Théoden: May this be the hour when we draw swords together.
    – Submitted by Liam H (5 months ago)

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Latest News on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

December 14, 2012:
There and Back Again, Day 3: The Return of the King
And so it ends. Having journeyed through The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, almost...
December 13, 2012:
There and Back Again, Day 2: The Two Towers
Yesterday we joined the Fellowship of the Ring on the first part of our quest to plow through Peter...

Foreign Titles

  • Der Herr der Ringe - Die zwei Türme (DE)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (UK)
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