A new power is rising

First, should you go see "The Two Towers," it helps if either you've seen the first film, "Fellowship of the Ring," numerous times or if you saw it, say, a day before you see "Two Towers." The new film doesn't begin with a summary of the mini epic it succeeds. There's no haunting narration by the elf queen Galadriel. There are no "Star Wars" text blocks flowing regally through space, giving you the skinny on life in Middle-earth since you last left the theater. You and the rest of the audience get tossed into the mix, as if picking up a book where you left it splayed open on the nightstand.

Second, "The Two Towers' is one of those films you need to go to the theater to see to appreciate the scope, effects and drama. If you're a purist, you'll have fits because the movie mixes things up from the book greatly, coming to a close at the battle at Helm's Deep. If you've come expecting to see Shelob, you'll miss her in this installment, along with a rematch between Gandalf and Saruman. I might also give away details of the film. I'll try to stay as generic as possible.

The new installment of the trilogy is about doubt and facing certain defeat only to find some spark of hope and humanity while staring into the abyss. While the film maintains its epic sweeps of far-off lands, magic undercurrents and fantastic creatures, there are touches of warmth and friendship. The intensity is amplified, along with the slow echoing of past failures and the very real prospect of man being wiped form Middle-earth by a hungry evil. What was inferred in the first installment as far as the dark forces gathering to wipe mankind off the face of Middle-earth is fully fleshed out. When the filmmakers have character mention "an army of 10,000 strong on the march," they mean it, showing you the army up close, hungry for chaos and manflesh. The battle at Helm's Deep will go down as one of the battle large-scale battle sequences ever filmed and a favorite piece of the DVD pie for viewers eager to go straight to the blood and guts.

As you can deduce, it's a darker beast than the previous film, and like all good trilogies, the second part places our heroes on the ropes, just about to give up the fight. In fact, the stare down the maw of hopelessness is a reoccurring theme in this film, from the reluctant warrior-king Aragorn (who doubts his love for the elegant elf Arwen - and turns his affections to the fiery niece of the King of Rohan, and subconsciously doubts his ability to escape the curse of his ancestor who was corrupted by the One Ring of Power nearly three thousand years ago - and proves this death wish by leaping into battle against overwhelming odds several times) to Frodo (who begins to sway under the effects of the malodorous One Ring, attacking his best friend and protector) to the Ent Treebeard (who refuses to see the developing war among men and orcs as the concern of his race of ancient tree shepherds). The ones we identify as heroes suffer pain and doubt, all leading to a moment of decision that we hope isn’t made too late.

And then there's Helm's Deep.

The end result of a trap laid by the villains, the sprawling major final battle takes place after the citizens of a Rohanian castle to seek shelter in the firm walls of a keep carved out of a mountain. But the forces of good in the films are outnumbered and there are precious few men to take up arms, so, in a touching sequence, the old and young "who have seen too few winters...and too many" in the words of the elf archer Legolas, are recruited, pulled from their loved ones hiding in nearby caves and given second-hand swords and bows in a hodge-podge of desperation. The fear in the eyes of old man and child on the battlements choreographed with the wailing of wives and mothers is pitch-perfect vision of the sorrows borne from war not seen in film for a good decade, at least. "How did it come to this?" the weakened king of Rohan whispers before battle.

And off in the distance, the Urak-Hai, the unholy warriors of treachery, advance on the race of huddled men.

In fact, evil seems nearly unstoppable in this installment. Foreign armies, dressed in exotic armor and coaching bizarre war animals, crawl across Middle-earth to join the evil wizard Saruman, the human representative of Sauron, the master of the One Ring. Watching Saruman ready his orcs and forge alliances with troops from other lands, including the elegantly evil Easterlings, and his love for "industry" and "machines of war," one can't help but shrink in the seat. The Urak-Hai is America (coming from an American's point of view)...pumped up and ready for vile deeds in the name of a great crusade to crush our enemies.

Single-minded in quest, the Urak-Hai at Helm's Deep nearly do so, madly attacking and slaughtering human warriors and elven archers, a combination of forces which echo the battle for the destructive One Ring of Power thousands of years ago. It is only by magic that all hope is not lost. Yet, a great price is paid as the survivors climb over the dead to see the sun again. What seemed like victory is seem as an invitation of retribution by evil.

But while the humans of Helm's Deep fight off the monsters before them in epic, jaw-dropping combat, the real drama takes place far away with Hobbits Sam and Frodo, who meet the terrible and pitiful creature Gollum. Gollum once possessed the One Ring, which kept him alive for 500 years while corroding his mind with obsession over the ring. Robbed of it by Frodo's uncle, Gollum wants the ring back, and is constantly locked in a battle with the good and evil halves of his soul...what he used to be, and what he has become.

Gollum offers to be Sam's and Frodo's guide to Mordor to destroy the ring, and both of whom regard Gollum differently. The ring-bearing Frodo sees the wizened, fish belly-colored anorexic beast with pity, knowing that Gollum was once a Hobbit-like creature who fell under the sway of the Ring, a cursed object that always finds a way to win. Sam, now burdened with Frodo's darkening mood because of the ring, has to watch out for Gollum, thinking that the beast is scheming ways to kill he and Frodo, craving the ring for himself. While the trio does not have to contend with the violent siege at Helm's Deep, they do have a grim and terrifying battle of wits with each other, one not seen on screen since "Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

And yet, it barely begins to cover the creature Gollum. For the first time, here is a CGI character you truly believe in. And credit is due to the filmmakers for having enough guts to train the camera on Gollum for long periods of time, confident that the effect will work enough for us to revel in the sweetness of Gollum's eyes when he is sane and the danger in his foul, dirty teeth when his troubled brain concocts foul, dirty things. Near the end, you become attached to the creature, relived when it wins a Job's battle with itself and the good side prevails…if only for a short while.

The final piece of the installment involves Hobbits Merry and Pippin becoming involved with Ents, perhaps the oldest living creatures in Middle-earth. These ancient tree beings want to stay out of war, happy to let the mortal men and orcs slay each other. It's only when they see the result of Saruman's treachery do the trees stand up for themselves and enact a form of environmental revenge that will give logging executives nightmares for evenings to come. The Ents, while interesting, get the short end of the story in this installment. Their final judgment feels rushed and rough, but trust me, when you see an army of 20-foot-tall trees squishing orcs, you'll be happy you paid your $9 for your ticket.

I won't say how the film ends, but it's akin to the first installment’s end of "to be continued." Evil is plotting over the eastern mountains in Mordor. A final showdown is in the works and victory, as mentioned earlier, can be fleeting. What seems safe is actually a trap, and the fires of Mount Doom grow red with evil rapture. Now is the time for peril. The ring is coming closer to destruction, but it also comes perilously closer to the one being who could destroy the world with it.

And as Emiliana Torrini’s haunting “Gollum’s Song” play over the end credits, you stagger out, weary from battle yourself. Three hours have come and gone and Middle-earth is more radiant and exciting than ever, even if it’s covered in dust, grime and chalk-colored landscapes. You want to return again, even if the lands are filled with menace because in there glowed strength and unity and clear sides of good and evil. Out here, in a world without elves and wizards, we all feel a bit powerless against the rising winds of war, the nebulous threats of terrorism and a president who seems to care little as the economy crumbles and cronyism flourishes. With lies, scandals and manipulations in the halls of power, one aches for the nobility of Gandalf and the stalwart presence of Sam. One hopes the elves will show up at the last minute and that magic will help win the day because it helped the race of men in Middle-earth stand up, battered and bloodied, to the beastly Urak-Hai. It’s painful to think that, out here and alone, we would be outmaneuvered and betrayed by our own race corrupted by their own rings of power.