New On Video: 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers'

'The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers' (PG-13) The bridge is now open for "The Return of the King" with the DVD release of "The Two Towers" -- a phenomenal filmmaking achievement that promises an exciting end to "The Lord of the Rings" film trilogy.

Director Peter Jackson forgoes any prologue for "The Two Towers" and immediately plunges into the action -- quite literally -- by exploring Gandalf the Grey's (Ian McKellen) fate after falling into a dark chasm in the Mines of Moria while battling the massive Balrog. And while "The Two Towers" ventures into much darker territory than "Fellowship," the fire hardly dims after Gandalf's encounter with the fiery creature. Instead, it picks up with thrilling sequences that split off into three engaging subplots driven by the presence of the film's talented ensemble cast.

In the first, we find Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Samwise (Sean Astin) encounter The One Ring of Power's former owner, Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis) on their path to Mordor. And while the pair can't entirely trust the troubled creature, they need his help if they are to find their way to Mount Doom to destroy the ring.

Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli's (John Rhys-Davies) search for the captured hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) continues. But an encounter with the reborn wizard Gandalf the White (McKellen) leads them to the kingdom of Rohan, where King Theoden (Bernard Hill) has fallen under the spell of the evil Saruman (Christopher Lee) and is under close watch by his underling Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif).

Merry and Pippin, on the other hand, find refuge in a forest inhabited by the Ents, a band of living trees, and its eldest member Treebeard (voiced by Rhys-Davies).

Pivotal to all their fates is Saruman, who fell under the possession of the Dark Lord Sauron in "Fellowship." Hell-bent on destruction, Saruman has bred a massive army of Uruk-hai soldiers in his quest to destroy man and Middle Earth, and is intent on repossessing the ring to enslave the world.

Perhaps the biggest difference between "Fellowship" and "Two Towers" is the pacing. While both "Fellowship" and "The Two Towers" have roughly the same three-hour run time, the first film led us through an elaborate stretch of character and story development. "The Two Towers," on the other hand, assumes you are familiar enough with the players to pick up where things left of at the end of the first film.

That's not to say that the narrative of "The Two Towers" falls victim to shallowness in lieu of the film's eye-popping visuals (most importantly, Gollum, unlike previous big-screen digital characters, feels real) and harrowing action sequences. Again the cinematography is breathtaking as it traverses through the sprawling settings of Middle-earth, and the costuming, makeup and score help create an engaging atmosphere.

The acting is first-rate, featuring wonderful turns by the ever-charismatic McKellen, Mortensen, Wood and several other members of the ensemble cast. The only downfall of the film is the exhausting Helm's Deep battle scene at the conclusion. While it's a brilliant sequence, parents should take note that the brutal war carnage pushes the film's PG-13 rating to the limit.

DVD Features: The two-disc set for "The Two Towers" is loaded with extras, the most noteworthy of which is a preview of the third "Rings" installment, "The Return of the King." Jackson is the key person featured in the10-minute vignette, and he's careful not to reveal any major plot or character developments. a Jackson, producer Barrie M. Osborne also reveal details on the disc of the upcoming extended version of "The Two Towers," where fans can expect some 200 new effects shots a pivotal flashback scene featuring Boromir (Sean Bean) and Faramir (David Wenham) and their father Denethor (John Noble).

Also featured is a short film by Astin -- "The Long and Short of It" -- a six-minute piece that really has nothing to do the with "The Lord of the Rings" films with the exception that it stars key behind-the-scenes crew members and Jackson and several other people in the production volunteering to make it happen (a "making-of" segment of the film is also included). The actors guide you through two "making-of" documentaries; one from Starz that's more about the film and the other, from the WB, that delves more into the actor's personal passions like Bloom's penchant for bungee-jumping and other daredevil stunts.

Also included on the DVD are the production featurettes from thelordoftherings.net; a preview of the "Return of the King" video game; a preview of the upcoming extended version of "The Two Towers" DVD; Emiliana Torrini's haunting "Gollum Song" music video and more. All told, it's an exciting DVD release that will have you counting the days until "The Return of the King," which can't come fast enough. (New Line Home Entertainment)