[Rika]

Хотела дать просто ссылку на эту статью, но ссылка уже (увы!) не работает. Это одна из лучших профессиональных рецензий на английском о ТТТ, которую я читала в сети. Издание Teletext. Кинокритик (Paul Arendt) - британец, в своей области - очень солидная фигура, насколько я понимаю.

Рецензия совсем не чисто комплиментарная. Но она умная, стильная, с юмором, четко уловлены самые важные темы фильма, причем мысли свои автор формулирует блестяще. А в последних двух абзацах настолько точно выражена главная особенность этого киномастодонта и стиля работы Джексона... что я просто тащусь и аплодирую этому кинокритику.

Эх, если бы наши критики умели ТАК писать рецензии, я бы их очень уважала... Кто знает английский - получите удовольствие...

Review by Paul Arendt

The Lord Of The Rings returns, bigger, better, darker and sillier than ever.

They should have called it The Two Gollums. There is a lot to admire in this, the second instalment of Peter Jackson’s ludicrously epic treatment of Tolkien, but nothing comes close to the schizophrenic Gollum, arguing with himself in flawless CGI.

Gollum's split personality underpins the film. While The Fellowship Of the Ring was about unity, The Two Towers is about division. Every scene of its three-hour sweep speaks of separation - men from wives, children from parents, friends from friends.

The verdict, too, must be divided. The Two Towers is extraordinary and awful. Full of unforgettable images, unspeakable dialogue and unbelievable hairdos. For all the bleeding edge technology and special effects, it belongs to a less cynical age.

Picking up almost exactly where the first film left off, Towers splits a single story into multiple strands. Doe-eyed hobbits Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) continue their long ramble to Mordor, aided of course by their built-in furry hiking boots.

Meanwhile, greasy-locked stubblechops Aragorn (Mortenson, excellent) and his mates, Elvish archer Legolas (Bloom) and dwarf Gimli (Rhys-Davies) track a gang of Orcs who have hobbit-napped Merry and Pippin (Monaghan and Boyd).

Meanwhile, the Riders of Rohan, flaxen-tressed warrior-types straight out of Beowulf, are facing genocide at the hands of evil wizard Saruman (Lee), who has taken to addressing rallies of Orcs from his balcony, like Hitler with Cher’s stylist.

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin, having escaped their uncouth captors (Orcs all talk like Phil Mitchell) wander into a spooky forest and meet a talking tree with a beard called Treebeard. You sense Tolkien may have been getting tired by this point.

Me-e-eanwhile, Arwen the sexy elf chick and Gandalf the wizard... oh, just read the book. The point is there's a lot happening. Now, let’s talk special effects. Jackson and his SFX army have raised the bar again with a feast of digital eye candy.

The Two Towers is a banquet of monsters, from dragons to the astounding Gollum, and a smorgasbord of vicious action that culminates in the eye-popping battle of Helm's Deep. Undoubtedly, this is the most spectacular film of the year.

Tolkien's fruity, sub-Shakespearean language raises many an unintended giggle - the younger actors struggle with their po-faced pronouncements and it takes old Brits like Ian McKellen and Bernard Hill to establish a properly mythical tone.

What is most impressive is Jackson's bloody-minded refusal to compromise. If he feels like spending half an hour doing Elvish flashbacks, then he'll do it. If he wants to impress Tolkien’s tree-huggin' distrust of industry, no-one can stop him.

The Two Towers never feels like a blockbuster - it's too unfashionable. It feels marinated in essence of Clannad. It feels like a work of love. It is ridiculous and it doesn't care. There's something rather moving about such unashamed geekiness.