Finally saw it. TTT. The Two Towers. Lord of the Rings.

Wow where should I start?

Well, I'm not as lucky as you all were since I wasn't able to watch TTT on its first day. But that's ok with me. I was able to wait for a whole year; I could wait for 5 more days. Besides that doesn't make me less of a fan. :-) Anyway, the looong wait was over. I finally saw it awhile ago. For the first few hours or so, I couldn't think of anything coherent to say about the movie. I was totally blown away. I could only form words, incomprehensible sentences, to describe it. Wow... awesome... utter coolness...Gollum... what the?!... spectacular... Faramir why?... Gollum ... a-MA-zing... whoa!... Gollum... These are just some of the words I thought throughout the film. I would say this film is worth the looong wait.

Like some of the fans, I wanted to read the book before the movie is released so I'll be acquainted again with the characters. But I thought, why should I bother when PJ said that, among the 3 books, TTT will have the most deviations? I might as well sit tight and let PJ and Co. overwhelm and entertain me. And wow, was it overwhelming or what?! Not only did he (PJ) do a good job in interpreting the book, but he also added a lot of scenes that will make fans think and rave. And it sure was a job, sitting there, watching the film, taking it all in, then in one scene or the other, I would go, "What the...?!" or "But... but..." Then again, I learned from the first movie to just relax. And since there's nothing I could do about their interpretation of our beloved trilogy, might as well shut up. :-)

As expected, this film is darker, more action- and tension-packed than the first one. Although there's much to be told and to be seen, there's a lot of character development in this movie. And that is good. You see a lot of things from the book... and also things that are not really in the book. And I think it's okay. We see our beloved characters develop and undergo some serious changes. Aragorn is slowly accepting his fate and taking charge of it. Merry and Pippin are not the indistinguishable hobbits we saw in the first movie but now they're slowly making a mark by helping out Treebeard and the Ents. Gimli is becoming a darling; his friendship with Legolas is developing. (I am glad to see that they included the competition between those two during the Battle of Helm's Deep.) Frodo and Sam's journey is becoming heavier and tension-filled and we see it in more ways than one. I especially like how they made Frodo and Sam's relationship to be somewhat tense when Frodo snapped at Sam. Sam's teary-eyed response was touching too. Gandalf here is more serious and he surely kicks a$$! Need I say more? :-) Liv Tyler as Arwen brought to the screen the poignant story of her relationship with Aragorn. I felt her anguish and bitterness, she's so torn between the choices laid before her. On the other hand what's up with Elrond? He seems a little rough to someone whom he adopted. A little narrow-minded too, in my book. The least he could have done is to stop whining. Doesn't he see what he's doing to his daughter? He doesn't need to rub it in.

I ABSOLUTELY love all the new characters, too. But, I must say, hands (and feet) down to Gollum. I love all his scenes especially the "Stinker and Slinker" ones. Andy Serkis's portrayal is really amazing. He did a really good job. He brought to life a very complicated character. In an explained or unexplained way, I pitied him. I finally understood him, how torn he is, between his precious and his master, whether to help them or not. I love the way PJ and Co. developed the relationship between Sam, Frodo, and Gollum: Sam not trusting Gollum, Frodo pitying and defending Gollum, and Gollum's response to all that. I am also glad that they included Sam and Gollum's argument about stewed rabbits. Po-ta-toes! Haha. That was heartwarming. Not to mention, Gollum's scene by the Forbidden Pool, when he was catching a fish. You've gotta love him there. :-) Also, there's Eowyn, Theoden, and Grima. All of them, they were perfect for their roles. Miranda Otto, Bernard Hill, and Brad Dourif portrayed their characters so well that I cannot think of any actors that would best fit those said characters. For Eowyn, I can't wait for her Dernhelm scene in the next installment, The Return of the King; for Bernard Hill, in the Ride of the Rohirrim; and for Grima Wormtongue, in his palantir-throwing scene. The character that I was hoping to see more is Eomer. After his banishment from Rohan, we see nothing more of this gallant warrior. I kinda miss him in the Battle of Helm's Deep too. And even after the battle, he's not around that much. With Gandalf, I understand that he's not into the movie that much since he's always off and running. He's more serious this time since doom is at hand. Of course, I hope to see all of them again in ROTK.

The changes to TTT wasn't at all appealing to me. For example, the arrival and participation of the Elves in the Battle of Helm's Deep made me cringe a little. I've always thought that this time in the history of Middle Earth belonged to Men. How they should overcome their obstacles, that is theirs alone. On the other hand, there's this issue with the Elves: should they help the race of Men or what? That's a dilemma for their part since they lived and flourished in Middle Earth too: should they just leave it be at the mercy (or lack of it) of Sauron? Not to forget the fact that they have this bond with Men. Another change in the movie is Treebeard's first decision NOT to attack Isengard. I mean, the forest's been hacked and attacked by Saruman's orcs and yet Treebeard decided to do nothing. Then after seeing some tree stumps, he goes hasty and decided to attack Isengard then and there. And I thought PJ was in a tight position about the movie's screen time? Why not let the Ents decide to attack Isengard in the first place? Another change, the boldest if I may add, is that of Faramir's character. We know for a fact that the book Faramir is very different from his brother, Boromir, because he was able to resist the lure of the Ring. But in the movie, that's not the case at all. We see a darker, more interesting representation of Faramir. And I wonder what's it all about? Maybe it's another way of adding tension with Frodo's journey. Maybe he desires his father's love and attention so much that he wanted to live up to his father's expectations and his brother's footsteps thus giving his father a mighty gift, as he calls it. Whatever the reasons though, I guess, in the end, these changes came through for me. I just have to accept the fact that the movies are just interpretations of the books. It may take a while getting used to them, though.

I am very thankful for PJ since he has done not an easy but a daunting feat. He offered a unique opportunity, to let us experience the thrilling ride to Middle Earth. But now, our hardest task is waiting for the next film.