Written by: J.R.R. Tolkien (book); Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Stephen Sinclair (screenplay)
Being the second part of "The Lord of the Rings"...
When we left off, Frodo and Sam were headed off towards the dark land of Mordor while the rest of the fellowship had been battling orcs and heading to Gondor. This film picks up almost exactly where the first part left off.
This nature of the story requires that the film follow two distinct stories: that of Frodo and Sam, and that of the rest of the group. Although the balance is not perfect, the two stories alternate often enough to keep either story from slowing down the pace.
"The Two Towers" does not take great advantage of its sequel status to take on new ground. Instead, it feels as if it begins and ends rather arbitrarily. (Compared to, say, "The Empire Strikes Back," which takes advantage of previously established characters to trampoline into a more complex story.)
What does stand out about "The Two Towers" is the epic scene encompassing the battle of Helms Deep, which makes the entire movie worth watching from beginning to end. The battles of the first movie were rather small in scale. The Helms Deep sequence is large and loud and chaotic, as all great fantasy battles should be.
The only character who really grows or develops in this segment is Aragorn (Mortensen), and his arc is clear. Most of the other folks are pretty static to the point of their development being nearly irrelevant. This lack of development may be a part of why this movie does not stand out from the rest of the series.
You can't watch "The Two Towers" without seeing "The Fellowship of the Ring" first, or following it up with "The Return of the King." It is more of an episode than a separate film.
I can't remember anything specific standing out in the "Extended Edition" which was not part of the original theatrical cut, so I'll refrain from commenting on anything like that.
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