What can be said about The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that hasn’t been said already? For over 2 decades, it has stood the test of time as being one of if not the most-influential Hollywood blockbuster epic trilogy that has ever graced the silver screen. The cinematic storytelling told through exciting action set pieces mixed with genuinely heartfelt and engaging character writing and performances made for a series of films that were engaging and entertaining throughout, despite the longer than usual runtimes that would normally be off-putting to modern audiences. The rich world building and expertly-crafted filmmaking made the film a technical and cinematic achievement on a massive scale that left an impactful legacy on the film industry thanks to director Peter Jackson and his crew of professionals. When talking about this incredible franchise, it is hard to narrow down exactly what works so well when every aspect of the films was done so expertly, that is why I will be examining one specific film in the trilogy to focus my attention on and will discuss how it ties in with an upcoming release in the franchise that has laid dormant longer than the defeated Lord Sauron.

The Two Towers is my personal favorite film in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which is not a regularly-held opinion by many fans. Fellowship of the Ring is considered to be a beautiful introduction to Middle Earth and Return of the King is regarded as a fantastic finale and one of the greatest films of all-time (supported by it winning 11 Oscars, including “Best Picture”). Unfortunately, The Two Towers is often overlooked compared to the other 2 films given that it is the neglected middle child that doesn’t deliver the same emotional highs that the beginning and ending of a grand epic usually do. However, the film shines in many ways that make it a distinct and fantastic middle chapter that advances the story in every way it should. For instance, the slower pace of the film compared to the others gives it more time to further flesh out the world of Middle Earth and provide necessary character arcs. From Gollum/Smeagol’s ethical journey going back and forth between good and evil, to Gandalf’s ascension to the afterlife and return to Middle Earth in a new form, to Merry and Pippin’s necessary maturation, the film gives every major character in the massive cast time to grow and develop. Samwise Gamgee’s speech to Frodo at the climax of the film reinforces the purpose of their quest and reinvigorates them to continue moving forward at the lowest point in their journey so far, and is one of the most emotionally-arousing moments in the trilogy.

The film also stands out above the other two based on its technical achievements alone. The CGI/motion capture work done to transform Andy Serkis into Gollum still stands up to this day and is effective at making him feel like a real creature living and breathing in that world even two decades later. This motion capture technology helped to pave the way for other groundbreaking films such as Avatar and the Planet of the Apes reboot. But it goes without saying that the biggest technical achievement of the film is the battle of Helm’s Deep. The battle is expertly-crafted, mixing real life sets with precise model work and CGI in a blend that makes the battle feel completely real and convincing from beginning to end. The battle is shot and paced perfectly, knowing exactly how long to go on for in order to maintain tension and dramatic pacing, building up to a perfect crescendo at its climax. Despite the bigger scale of the battle scenes in Return of the King, the over-reliance on CGI and extended runtimes make for scenes that are exciting but lack the visceral energy and realism that made Helm’s Deep stand out among the rest of its contemporaries.

Thankfully, we may not have seen the last of Helm’s Deep as a stunning locale in the franchise. Back in 2021, a new installment in the franchise was announced in the form of an animated feature film titled The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim set to release in December of 2024. The film is a prequel set 261 years before the trilogy, telling the story of Helm Hammerhand, a king of Rohan and the one whom Helm’s Deep was named after. Not much is known about the film, but we should expect promotional material and trailers to begin releasing in the coming months ahead of its holiday release. It is truly exciting to see the franchise continue in some form, as it has laid dormant since the less-than-satisfactory adaptations of The Hobbit that ended a decade ago. Hopefully the film takes the right lessons from the failures of those films and remembers exactly what made The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (and The Two Towers specifically), such engaging masterpieces that continue to stand the test of time.