Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Part 2

 

Today is the day. I'm concluding my reviews of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. By now you would know that the first movie was my favorite of the three. That's not to say that the other two were lesser movies. On the contrary, both these movies were brilliant. They were so good, they released extended versions of all three. This is the definitive versions of the trilogy and I highly recommend watching these over the theatrical release.

The Two Towers 

The second installment focuses on expanding the Middle Earth canvas. Here we are introduced to Smeagol/gollum the Rohirrim, Fangorn Forest and the Ents. We also see two huge battles, the defeat at Isengard and the Battle for Helms Deep. Interwoven into this is Frodo and Sam's journey through the dead marshes, aided by Smeagol, the owner of the one ring before Bilbo. Sam catches Smeagol tailing them and while suspicious of him, allows him to tag along after Frodo convinces him. Merry and Pippin's escape from the Uruk Hai army and their meeting with Treebeard and the Ents are also one of the main arcs of the story. They play a pivotal role in the the destruction of Isengard and Saruman's army when they show the Ents what Saruman's army had done to Fangorn Forest.

 The movie opens with Gandalf fighting off the Balrog at Khazad Dum. We discover that he defeats the demon but is left for dead. He is rescued by the Eagles and is resurrected as Gandalf the white. Cut to the trio of Legolas, Gimly and Aragorn. They find evidence of Merry and Pippin's survival, but not before they are picked up by Eomer and the Rohirrim. They are taken to the kingdom of Rohan. It is here that they meet King Theoden who has been bewitched by Saruman. It's only with the help of Gandalf that they are able to free the king. The king drives out his advisor, Grima Wormtongue who has been poisoning the king's mind out. We also meet the king's niece Eowyn, who takes an immediate liking to Aragon. 

Defeated, Saruman turns his sights and Uruk Hai army towards Rohan. Edoras is attacked and the people of Rohan are forced to escape and seek refuge at Helms Deep. Saruman uses this to his advantage and attacks Helms Deep. A battalion of elves answer the call to arms and join the people of Rohan. They are unfortunately overwhelmed and only emerge victorious when Gandalf finds Eomer and the Rohirrim and join the fray at dawn. They drive Saruman's army into Fangorn Forest and the Ents make short work of the Uruk Hai.

The Return of the King 

The final installment in Professor Tolkien's epic saga. In a nutshell the story follows several mini arcs. Frodo, Samwise and Smeagol press forward but are captured by Faramir, younger brother of Boromir. He attempts to take the one ring to Gondor, but ultimately does what his brother could not do, let go of the ring. Frodo's journey gets more difficult the closer they get to Baradur. As they scale up the steep cliff face, Smeagol reverts to his evil alter ego Gollum uses Frodo's deteriorating condition to sew the seeds of discord and successfully separates the Hobbits. Frodo, now on his own with Smeagol is led into Shelob's lair. It's only with Sam's faith in his friendship with Frodo that he goes back and saves Frodo, who is rendered unconscious by Shelob's sting.

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimly travel to the kingdom of the dead to recruit the fallen human army as Gandalf travels with Pippin to inform the kingdom of Gondor of the impending war that is coming to Gondor now that Sauron has his sights set on Gondor. They encounter a grieving and recalcitrant Steward of Gondor who is unwilling to do anything. Pippin stays behind to try to coax the Steward out of his stupor. The armies of Gondor make a stand at Osgilith, and are massacred when the Witchking and his Ringwraiths arrive at the scene on their dragons. Faramir is severely wounded and is saved by Gandalf. The Steward finally looses his mind and tries to cremate Faramir who is still alive. Pippin and Gandalf step in and save the day. It is then that the Battle for Pelenor Fields begins.

The initial wave of Sauron's army makes small inroads until King Theoden leads the Rohirrim into the fray and turn the tide. Merry, who stayed behind with the Rohirrim now rides with Eowyn, niece of the king and sister of Eomer. The reprieve is short lived, however when the Mumakil show up with their ginormous elephants. The Witchking targets king Theoden and takes him down. Eowen steps up to the plate, and with Merry's help vanquish the leader of the Ringwraiths. When all seemed lost, Aragon shows up with the army of the dead. Aragorn then marshals the surviving forces and march towards the doors of Baradur. aragorn delivers a rousing speech, but when the doors open, they realize that they are hopelessly out numbered. All they can do now is hope Frodo succeeds in his quest.

Meanwhile Sam manages to free and revive a comatose Frodo from Shelob's web. They avoid detection by dressing up in goblin armor and finally make it up Mount Doom. Sam literally carries Frodo up the mountain as Frodo struggles under the weight of the ring. When they finally make it to the top, Frodo finds it impossible to release the one ring. Smeagol shows up and tries to wrestles the ring from Frodo. With a final desperate act, he bites off Frodo's finger and the ring. He gleefully dances with his precious and looses his balance and falls into the lava. Sauron's spirit explodes as the one ring finally dissolves.

With the essence of Sauron's power destroyed, his spirit explodes. His hold on the armies dissipates and the war is over. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the Eagles from an erupting Mount Doom. Back and reunited with the surviving fellowship, Frodo and friends celebrate Aragorn's coronation as the king of Gondor. Arwen chooses to remain with Aragorn as his queen. Due to the injuries he sustained, Frodo decides to join his uncle Bilbo and sail to the Grey Havens. Sam, Merry and Pippin head back to the Shire.