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If "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" was the introductory setup, then its sequel, "The Two Towers," is the plot-progressive taste of the payoff to come (I say this because the third film, "The Return of the King," has yet to be seen). Everything that was so largely envisioned about "Fellowship" has been more than tripled here: show me the Mines of Moria, and I'll show you Peter Jackson's sprawling showcase of the standoff between man and beast at Helm's Deep, just one of the many spectacularly staged and executed setpieces that crown this installment in an absolute blaze of well-earned glory. ***

And yet, this new film isn't much unlike its predecessor in certain ways. The script from writers Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and newcomer Stephen Sinclair, not only makes way for some very fine action sequences, but first gives us a reason to care for the characters who face them. Through a multitude of situations and instances, we become involved with these people and their tribulations, fearing for their lives in times of extreme peril; as a result, the suspense is almost unbearable, not to mention truly exciting. ***

From the start, "The Two Towers" proves that it's not just another sequel, opting for an opening that takes us right to where we left the broken Fellowship of the Ring, without so much as a tie-in to the conclusion of the previous film. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) have sought the path to Mordor on their own following Frodo's squirmish with the now-deceased Boromir. Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan), having been captured by the Uruk-Hai under the control of Saruman (Christopher Lee), are now sought by the remaining members of the Fellowship, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom). ***

The title refers to the two towers of Isengard, where Saruman has busied himself building an army of tens-of-thousands of orcs and Uruk-Hai, and that of Mordor, where the Dark Lord Sauron is also gathering forces for an assault on the city of Gondor. Saruman has also taken control of a small town where the people of the Rohan dwell, keeping their king in a semi-vegetative state. Sauron still hunts for the ring, his Ringwraiths swooping down on giant dragons in search of it. And another character, seen only in shadow in the first film, has returned to claim his "precious." ***

Much like the previous outing, this new adventure takes some time in developing the plot before diving into the action. We get more of the exploits of Frodo and Sam after their encounter with Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis), whom they use as a guide to Mordor before being thwarted by Gondor soldiers. Gollum, a completely computer-animated character that makes Dobby of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" look like a crayon drawing, is one of the film's better characters, given a personality that easily lurches from calm to unstable when tempted by the ring. Jackson's decision to expand further on the themes of corruptibility concerning the ring is very commendable, and the changes we see in the characters (Frodo included) as a result of the temptation is well-drawn and convincing. ***

If there is one mistake the movie makes, it's that it tends to withdraw from Frodo and Sam all too often in search of other plotlines. Don't get me wrong: the material that does involve them is just as engrossing as the first film, but with the newly-broken fellowship, and characters going their separate ways, I'm beginning to understand what fellow critic Roger Ebert meant in regards of the first film when he said, "The taller characters seem to stand astride the little Hobbit world and steal the story away." I didn't quite agree with him concerning "Fellowship:" I felt that the tall and the small were examined in equal measure. With "Towers," I'm beginning to see his point. ***

The taller characters like Aragorn and Legolas are given more to do in this entry than the Hobbits. The script further examines the heartache of Aragorn and Arwen (Liv Tyler) after their departure from one another in "Fellowship," while Éowyn (Miranda Otto), the niece of the Rohan king, seemingly serves to become a potential love interest for him in the last chapter. Story developments like these are not without their own merits, but in the interest of what is important to the story concerning the Hobbits, they do tend to steal the show. We have more of the interaction between the taller members of the ensemble, as well as some good-spirited story involving Merry and Pippin and a complete forest of walking, talking trees, but less of the focus on Frodo and Sam, who once again graze the movie just before the credits roll, but with whom we share far less time than we ought to. ***

Even still, this is but a small hinderance in this absolutely gorgeous film. Jackson has upped the ante in terms of his visionary approach to the trilogy, and as a result, "The Two Towers" becomes one of the most spellbinding displays of sheer cinematic scope and scale ever made. In the tradition of sequels like "The Empire Strikes Back," this one has a canvas that has been stretched to the maximum, and just when you think that the filmmakers have finished wowing their audience, something new comes along and delights you even more. ***

Take, for instance, the entire last hour or so of the film, made up of sequences like the battle of Helm's Deep, the assault on Isengard by the trees, and the attack on Gondor by Sauron's forces. Each of these plays out amidst one another, with Jackson cutting two and fro between setting to keep us involved with everything that happens. Singly, they are effective, eye-popping displays of brilliant visual effects that possess terrific magnitude and awesome scale, the type of action and battle imagery that hasn't been seen since the likes of a movie like "Braveheart." Through the use of sweeping, long-range images and dirt-under-your-nails closeups, Jackson puts us right in the middle of the events while simultaneously generating a shockwave of intensity that comes with each new surprise. ***

And to think I've said nothing yet about his imagery in the rest of the picture. Unlike "Fellowship," which was confined to the interiors of the Shire and the effects-created Mines of Moria, Jackson's extraordinary use of the exteriors of New Zealand is given a sharp boost here. Breathtaking vistas dominate much of the presentation, combined with the effects shots of such locations as Mordor and Isengard; the overall effect is nothing short of fascinating. *** As for the faithfulness to the source material, I can't say. Some quibbled about "Fellowship" straying lightly but noticeably from the novel, and apparently "Towers" isn't much different in this respect. The consensus, however, is a positive one, and I'm glad to say I'm a part of it. While my heart belongs to the characters of "The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers" stands on its own as a breathtaking monument of visual brilliance, guided by a filmmaker whose passion for all things fantasy and mysticism are everpresent and in fine form.

The first DVD for "The Two Towers" featured a transfer that was absolutely ravishing, perfection in the form of a small plastic disc. Leave it up to New Line to give us a new, even better transfer on this special edition: struck from a source print that looks much more refined than the previous one, this image is much cleaner, more defined, and just breathtaking in many places. The biggest improvement I noticed here is the levels of contrast throughout the picture: everything looks much cleaner here, with darker areas exhibiting finer detail than before, and blacks remaining ever-so-solid. Shadow detail also appears to have been paid close attention to, and the results are clean, smooth transitions from light into dark, and vice versa. ***

As for the rest of the transfer, it remains wondrous: color saturation is deep and gorgeous, with a great deal of moments where reds, oranges, and natural hues practically jump out at us from the screen. There are no signs of bleeding or smearing, and textures remain smooth throughout. And then there's the clarity of the image: you just couldn't ask for better detail on a DVD, especially when you have a movie in which detail is absolutely essential. Edges are crisp and lacking in enhancement halos, and small object detail brings out the best that the special effects have to offer, especially in the final climactic battle for Helm's Deep, which is flawlessly presented. I didn't think that the reference quality transfer on the initial DVD version could have been one-upped, but I was wrong. This is grade-A image quality at its finest. ***

The one thing I was somewhat disappointed in with the previous version, however, was the Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack, which was terrific, don't get me wrong, but just seemed to lack the all-out power of that which "The Fellowship of the Ring" was blessed with. Well, this is a problem that is long forgotten with this new set of audio transfers that practically wipe out the old version in every way, shape, and form. Availabe in both DTS-ES 6.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, these mixes are a fine example of DVD audio and should provide listeners with hours of enjoyment. Even the Dolby mix is an improvement here, with much better use of the overall soundfield and cleaner, smoother transitions between channels. Imaging is still top-notch, and sound effects are ever-so-aggressive, with lots of deep bass from the .1 LFE and surround usage reaching aggressive levels in many instances. The score has more presence this time around than it did before, and sounds much better, while dialogue is clean and nicely balanced within the mix. The differences between the DTS and Dolby tracks here are more miniscule than they were on the previous expanded edition DVD for "Fellowship," with the DTS option featuring slightly cleaner transparency and a better low end. But either one of these fine tracks will suffice.

Well, hear we are again, one year later, feasting upon the behemoth that is New Line's presentation of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Special Extended DVD Edition." And let me tell you: it's every bit as big, as comprehensive, and as time-consuming as the gargantuan monster that was "The Fellowship of the Ring." Better set aside at least a full day's time to take in all the material that is presented here, and that's only if you skip through different sections of the commentaries and just casually browse the image galleries. ***

As with "Fellowship," "The Two Towers" has been recut and released in a new extended edition that features more than forty minutes of footage that was not seen in the theatrical cut. Think of it as the ultimate experience in viewing deleted scenes: we've seen director's cuts and new versions of movies in the past, but for some reason "The Lord of the Rings" have something about them that sets them apart. Maybe it's because the additional footage isn't merely a venue for Jackson and Co. to insert a new wave of eye-popping special effects into the already-enormous CGI landscape. Perhaps it's because it feels as if we're watching a completely new movie rather than something we've cherished for so long. Whatever the reason may be, one thing's for sure: this new cut of "The Two Towers" is a must-see for its expansion of the characters, their relationships, and the overall grandeur of the experience as a completed whole. ***

The layout of this four-disc edition is pretty much the same as before, with the movie being divided onto two discs- One and Two- and the extras finding a home on the remaining two platters. Again we have the four commentaries to go along with the film, divided into the same categories: The Director and Writers, The Design Team, The Production/Post-Production Team, and The Cast. With the movie running close to four hours, and a total of four commentaries, it could take a full day in itself of sitting through all of these tracks, and while most may just want to skip through each of them and listen to particular highlights, I highly recommend exploring each of them in their entire at one point or another during your life. ***

Of course if you thought the commentaries were informative, then you have a whole new world waiting for you when you reach Discs Three and Four. Again we have a large collection of lengthy featurettes and comprehensive design galleries, and a few new goodies this time around as well. Disc Three begins by paying tribute to the original vision of J.R.R. Tolkien with two featurettes: "J.R.R. Tolkien: Origins of Middle Earth" takes a look at his unique vision and the amount of work that he put into his work on "The Lord of the Rings," while "From Book to Script: Finding the Story" features interviews with many of the filmmakers covering the differences and liberties taken with the source material in fashioning the movies. The latter of these two pieces is really quite intriguing, as it reveals a number of things that were changed as well as concepts that were abandoned or later shifted around in post-production. ***

We then move on to the section "Designing and Building Middle Earth," which kicks off with the featurette "Designing Middle Earth." Perhaps the most comprehensive piece on the disc, this featurette takes an extended, in-depth look at the production design of the movie, revealing everything you'd ever want to know about the set construction of the most important locations in the film, the pre-production work that went into this extensive amount of creativity, all the while comparing these envisionments with Tolkien's descriptions from the novel. Those with an interest in the film's visual appearance will find this to be of absolute interest, and will also find the miniscule details broken down in "Weta Workshop" to be quite fascinating as well. This section also features an extensive design gallery that is broken down into two sections: "The People of Middle Earth" and "The Realms of Middle Earth." These are early design sketches that were created prior to shooting; some of them have optional commentary to inform us of what we are seeing and what ideas were born out of the image. ***

Next up is an entire section devoted solely to the character that seems to have taken "Lord of the Rings" buffs by storm: Gollum. In "The Taming of Smeagol," we learn all about the evolution of the character, from his early design to the casting of Andy Serkis to fill the voice as well as provide a point of reference during the principle photography for the actors who would have to otherwise interact with nothing at all. The process of creating the digital character is explored in detail as well, and proves to be pretty intriguing. There is also a sequence that plays in split-screen that shows how the effects artisans worked off of Serkis's performance to create the digital facial expressions and movements. The section closes out with a small featurette in which everyone talks about how co-producer Rick Porras filled in for Serkis on the set one day; nothing special, really. There is also a design gallery in the same vein as the previous one on this disc, only this time the drawings are related to the conceptualization of Gollum. ***

Closing out this disc are two interactive features: the first, "Middle Earth Atlas," allows us to travel through the events of the movie by choosing the paths of four different groups of characters. This will undoubtedly provide for some much-needed breakdowns of story and progression of events, and for me, it provided a much clearer understanding of the events of "The Two Towers." Then, in "New Zealand as Middle Earth," we have a map of New Zealand as well as a list of the most important locations, which lead us into small vignettes showcasing the locations used during filming. ***

On Disc Four, there is even more from which to glean a knowledge of the filmmaking processes. We start with the section "Filming The Two Towers," which begins with the featurette "Warriors of the Third Age," in which we get a first-class look at the stuntwork and the artistry that went into the creation of the many different battles and the different groups of people fighting them. In "Cameras in Middle Earth," we're taken to a number of different locations and shown a great deal of behind-the-scenes footage, as well as learning about some interesting behind-the-scenes trivia, such as Viggo Mortensen breaking two of his toes during one scene, and Orlando Bloom breaking one of his ribs after falling off of his horse. This section closes out with a gallery of production photos, some with commentary. ***

Up next is "Visual Effects," which takes a solid look at the special effects wizardry from a number of different angles. Beginning with the featurette "Big-atures," we learn here all about the massive miniatures that were constructed for the scenes taking place at Helm's Deep, Barad-dur, the Black Gate of Morder, Fangorn Forest, Osgiliath, and the scene in which Isengard is flooded. The last of these is actually the most intriguing, as the production team talks about the process of making the flowing water appear to be in scale with the miniatures created for the scene. It's a stunningly wonderful scene in the movie, and the story of its creation is an epic in and of itself. An animatic for the scene is also included here, available by itself or in split-screen with the final cut, as well as a host of photo galleries showing us the progression of work on the various miniatures. In "Weta Digital," we get a glimpse of the computer effects that were incorporated into the film, with special emphasis on things like the facial animation of Treebeard, the Ents, the battle of Helm's Deep, and the opening moments where Gandalf can be seen falling through the earth on the fiery beast he fought before. Two abandoned concepts are also presented here in concept art form, with some commentary. ***

Then we have "Editorial: Refining the Story," in which Peter Jackson tells us of his decision to have a different editor for all three films so as to keep up with the December release dates three years in a row. This is a rather engaging piece full of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of Jackson and his editors sitting in a small room, combing through footage and deciding on which moments remain and which hit the floor. We learn of the proposed prologue for "The Two Towers" that was eventually left out, and the battle between New Line and Jackson over how the film would open. The burden of multiple storylines is tackled, as is the absence of audience previews once the films are finished, something I think that studios need to do more of. Preview a film, get a negative reaction, and then you go change everything about that film... look what happened to "Gigli." Go, Jackson. ***

Following this featurette we move on to what is probably my favorite section of the entire set: "Music and Sound." I've become a huge fan of Howard Shore's compositions for these two films since I began listening to their soundtracks, and his score for "The Two Towers" is every bit as bold and moving as that of "The Fellowship of the Ring." While there are some themes that are resurrected from the first film, this is a soundtrack left to its own, and the journey through which it was created is explored here very nicely. We hear about the use of new voice talents here in the absence of Enya, as well as the rather tight schedule on which Shore had to operate in order to get the score in its entire. Anyone who has listened to the music needs to check this out. Then, in "The Soundscapes of Middle Earth," we learn all about the creation of the sound effects from scratch, something that isn't as easy as it looks. The crew went so far as to go to a crowded cricket match in order to get the sounds for the throngs of Uruk-Hai at Isengard. Then, in the sound demonstration of Helm's Deep, we have the option of sifting through separate audio tracks to hear the progression of the sound as it was made for that scene. ***

Closing out the disc is the featurette "The Battle for Helm's Deep is Over," which is like the last chapter of a fascinating book. It basically brings everything to a close, with some winks and nods to the forthcoming "The Return of the King." There's even some footage taken during the premieres of the movie around the world, where all of the cast members seem to have been surprised by their rise in fame.

Pretty much everyone has returned from the previous disc for their respective commentaries: "The Director and Writers" once again features director/co-writer/producer Peter Jackson, co-writer/producer Fran Walsh, and co-writer Philippa Boyens. "The Design Team" is composed of production designer Grant Major, Weta Workshop creative supervisor Richard Taylor, conceptual designers Alan Lee and John Howe, supervising art director and set decorator Dan Hennah, art department manager Chris Hennah, and Weta Workshop manager Tania Rodger (costume designer Ngila Dickson is a no-show). "The Production/Post-Production Team" gives voices to editors Mike Horton and Jabez Olssen, visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, producer Barrie Osborne, executive producer Mark Ordesky, director of photography Andrew Lesnie, co-producer Rick Porras, composer Howard Shore, visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel, animation designer Randy Cook, supervising sound editors Ethan van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins, VFX art director Christian Rivers, VFX cinematographer Brian Vant Hul, and miniatures director of photography Alex Funke. And "The Cast," in addition to welcoming back Elijah Wood (Frodo), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Liv Tyler (Arwen), Sean Astin (Sam), John Rhys-Davies (Gimli), Billy Boyd (Pippin), Dominic Monaghan (Merry), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Christopher Lee (Saruman), and Sean Bean (Boromir), also makes room for newcomers Bernard Hill (Theoden), Miranda Otto (Eowyn), David Wenham (Faramir), Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtongue), Karl Urban (Eomer), John Noble (Denethor), Craig Parker (Haldir), and Andy Serkis (Gollum). ***

What you want to hear ultimately decides which commentary you will choose: like a good buffet, there's something here for everyone. Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens once again take us through both the technical elements of the production as well as relating to us the immense undertaking of adapting the middle chapter of the trilogy, which took a great deal of condensing and expanding in order to fully realize the book in a manner befitting of a follow-up to the successful "Fellowship of the Ring." The conversation between the members of the design team may seem a bit dry for those who can only stomach so much of listening to how Middle Earth was brought to life, but there are a number of interesting facts here for the hardcore fan. The production and post-production teams provide some very engaging moments, and come out more successfully than the design team in terms of keeping our interest longer. The cast, however, wins the day, as their discussion is more lively and jovial than the previous three tracks, yet still manages to give us some information as well as perspective from the actors about how they view the many moments and pivotal scenes in the film. It will take some time, yes, but getting through all of these tracks is well worth it.