TheLord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the second film in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson. It is an adaptation of the book The Two Towers, the second part of the three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, although some of the book's events are held over to the third and final movie, The Return of the King. The film was very well received critically, winning two Academy Awards, and was an enormous box-office success, making over $936 million worldwide in its initial release, making it the highest grossing movie of 2002 and was the third highest-grossing film of all time at the time (behind Titanic and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). It was the second Middle-earth film adaptation to be released, and the fifth chronologically.
The surviving members of the Fellowship have split into three groups. Frodo and Sam face many perils on their continuing quest to save Middle-earth by destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Merry and Pippin escape from the Orcs and must convince the Ents to join the battle against evil. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas encounter a mysteriously transformed Gandalf and battle Saruman's army at Helm's Deep.
In Rohan, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are in pursuit of the Uruk-hai, who are journeying back to Isengard with the hobbits Merry and Pippin as their captives. Meanwhile, Thoden, the King of Rohan, is being held under a trance by Grma Wormtongue, who is secretly in the service of Saruman the White. Saruman is working towards the demise of Rohan. Orcs and the Dunlendings, incited by Saruman, are freely roaming the land, burning villages, massacring the Rohirrim people and destroying crops. In an attack on one of the villages, a mother sends her two children on horseback to Edoras to warn the King of the attacks. Recently, the King's only son Thodred fell victim to them, left mortally wounded in an ambush. Thoden's nephew omer interrogates Grma, labelling him a spy. Grma, however, convinces the King to banish omer "on pain of death" for undermining his authority. omer sets forth to gather the remaining loyal men of the Rohirrim and leave Rohan. That night, omer's army ambush and kill the party of Uruk-hai, allowing Merry and Pippin to flee into the forests of Fangorn. There, they meet Treebeard, the oldest of the Ents of Middle-earth.
Frodo, Sam and Gollum traverse the Dead Marshes, evading a Nazgl riding on a winged beast. When they finally reach the Black Gate, they find it shut and heavily guarded by Orcs. However, as they watch, an Easterling contingent arrives and the gate opens for them to enter. Sensing a chance, Frodo and Sam get ready to move. However, Gollum, who confirms their fears of capture and insists that any attempt to get in via the Black Gate will only end with the One Ring returning to Sauron, holds them back. He then reveals that there is another way into Mordor, hidden and unguarded. Sam is immediately suspicious, but Frodo gives him the benefit of the doubt, pointing out that he has remained loyal thus far.
omer later encounters Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in Rohan. He tells the group that there were no survivors of the battle with the Uruk-hai the previous night, indicating that Merry and Pippin were accidentally slain. Upon arriving at the battle site, Aragorn picks up the tracks of the hobbits and the trio follows them into Fangorn. There they are approached and temporarily subdued by a wizard masked with shining white light. Initially fearing it is Saruman, the group are amazed when he reveals himself to be Gandalf reborn (after defeating the Balrog in a battle that cost him his life). Gandalf reveals that he is now known as Gandalf the White. The quartet proceed to Edoras, where they exorcise Saruman's hold on Thoden and banish Wormtongue. The now awakened Thoden has to come to terms with both his son's death and the threat of Saruman. Rather than risk open war and further harm to his people (especially after seeing the two exhausted children who finally arrived from the village), Thoden decides to flee to Helm's Deep, a large stronghold in the Mountains. Gandalf realises that Helm's Deep's defences will not survive the Uruk-Hai onslaught that is surely to come. He leaves to find omer, promising to return within five days with the 2,000 banished riders. As they lead the people of Edoras to Helm's Deep, Aragorn and owyn (omer's sister) form a close relationship. Aragorn tells owyn that Arwen, whom he loves, is leaving Middle-earth to be with her people in the Undying Lands. In the meantime, Wormtongue has fled to Orthanc and informs Saruman of a weakness in the outer wall of Helm's Deep, which Saruman and his army of 10,000 Uruk-hai plan to exploit. Saruman dispatches his army to Helm's Deep, ordering them to spare no one.
Having led the Hobbits south from the Black Gate to the land of Ithilien, Gollum is in turmoil, torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his all-consuming need for the Ring. The three travellers then play witness to an ambush of Haradrim by Rangers of Ithilien, who take Frodo and Sam prisoner. Meanwhile, on the journey to Helm's Deep, the Rohirrim are attacked by Saruman's Warg-riders. During the battle, Aragorn is thrown off a cliff into a fast-flowing river below: Thoden, Legolas, Gimli and the others believe him dead and journey on to Helm's Deep. Elrond comes to his daughter Arwen and implores her to leave on the ships departing Middle-earth, escaping the troubles of these lands. When she refuses, Elrond, in a devastating speech, uses his powers of foresight and reveals the darkness of Arwen's future if she chooses to remain in Middle-earth with Aragorn. As he is mortal, Aragorn will eventually die even if he becomes King of Gondor, leaving Arwen to fade away with her grief when he is gone. Once again, Elrond pleads with her and she yields to him. As she leaves Rivendell, the words of Galadriel, concerning the plight of Men defying Sauron, come to Elrond in that moment. She questions whether the Elves should wash their hands of Middle-earth and points out that the Ring has maneuvered itself into the company of Men, which it can easily corrupt. Galadriel asks if they should abandon Men to their fate, even if it condemns Middle-earth to fall under Sauron's rule for all time.
Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam have been taken to Henneth Annn, a stronghold for the Rangers of Ithilien, and brought before Faramir, Boromir's younger brother. Gollum had evaded capture and, in order to save him from death at the hands of Faramir's hunters, Frodo accepts that he and Gollum are bound to each other. Faramir investigates further and learns of the One Ring that Frodo carries. Seeking to prove his worth to his father, Denethor, he decides the Ring shall go to Gondor. In Rohan, Aragorn washes up on the riverbank and is nudged awake by the horse Brego, which formerly belonged to Thodred, and which Aragorn had set free before leaving Edoras. On the verge of collapse, he wills his horse to take him to Helm's Deep, passing Saruman's army of Uruk-hai on the way. His arrival at Helm's Deep is met with relief, but is short lived as the news of the approaching Uruk-hai horde casts doubt upon the survival of the defenders. As night falls, a battalion of Elves led by Haldir arrives from Lothlrien, bearing word of alliance and aid from Elrond. In Fangorn forest, Merry, Pippin, Treebeard and other Ents hold an Entmoot to decide on the role of the Ents in the war with Saruman.
The Battle of Helm's Deep begins with a flurry of arrows from the defending archers, cutting down dozens of Uruk-hai. Scaling ladders are thrown up against the Deeping Wall and the Uruks swarm up to engage the defenders. At first the onslaught is stayed by the valour of the Rohirrim and of Aragorn and his companions. Suddenly, two crude explosive devices that Saruman created, blow up the gutter in the Deeping Wall, blasting a breach in it. Despite Aragorn and Gimli's best efforts, the Uruks manage to penetrate the main gate and soon the stronghold is overrun. In the midst of battle, Haldir is slain and the few remaining Elves fall back. In the Hornburg, the Uruks have scaled the walls and have breached the gate, forcing the defenders to retreat into the Keep. In Fangorn, Treebeard and the other Ents have decided to not have any involvement in the war, deciding rather to "weather such things as [they] have always done". Despite this, Pippin manages to cleverly take Treebeard to the section of Fangorn that Saruman has recently decimated near Isengard. Treebeard is filled with rage at Saruman's betrayal and commands all the other Ents to seek vengeance. The Ents gather and embark upon 'the Last March of the Ents', straight into Isengard itself.
Meanwhile, as Thoden despairs in the besieged Keep, Aragorn refuses to give in and, remembering Gandalf's words before he left Edoras, takes Thoden, Legolas and the remaining Rohirrim on one last gallant ride to attack the Uruk-hai army in a desperate bid to allow the Rohirrim's women and children to escape into the mountains. The riders storm out of the Keep and cut their way through to the fortress gate. As the riders emerge into the mass of Uruks, the first rays of dawn fall down into the valley and upon the eastern hill, Gandalf appears, accompanied by omer and his men.
They rush down into the body of the stunned Uruks and rout them: the terrified Uruk-hai flee into Fangorn, where the Ents and their Huorn allies swiftly exact retribution. Meanwhile, the Ents are take control of Isengard. They destroy the remaining Uruk-hai population and release the dam placed upon the river Isen, which gushes forth into the plains around Orthanc, drowning the surviving Orc defenders, quenching the fires of its industry and flooding Isengard, and stranding Saruman in his tower.
Away to the East, Faramir has had Frodo, Sam and Gollum taken to Osgiliath, a ruined city on the banks of the river Anduin between Mordor and Gondor; where there is a Ringwraith, again on a winged beast. With the help of Sam and Faramir, Frodo narrowly escapes the Ringwraith's efforts to capture him and the Ring (it nearly cost Sam his life because the Ring tried to make Frodo kill him). In an inspired monologue as he watches the Ringwraith fly off (and as victory scenes from the two battles are seen) Sam reflects on the state he and Frodo are in, on how their story may yet come to have a happy ending. Frodo is doubtful of this (especially because he nearly killed Sam) but Sam insists that they must still hold on to what they are fighting for: each other, and the fulfilment of their quest. Approaching them from the throes of battle, Faramir overhears them and realises these unassuming hobbits have a high doom before them which he can no longer hope to interrupt. He sets them free and helps them on their way. After the battle of Helm's Deep, Gandalf and the others ride up on horseback and gaze towards Mordor, and now know inevitable things have been set in motion. As Gandalf puts it, "The battle for Helm's Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin." He remarks that hope now rests with Frodo and Sam, who have resumed their journey to Mordor with Gollum. Feeling betrayed by Frodo when he delivered him into the hands of Faramir's men, Gollum's darker self re-emerges and he decides to reclaim the Ring by secretly leading Frodo and Sam to a creature he refers to only as "her", which Gollum's lighter self reluctantly agrees to and leads the hobbits on through the woods as Mordor is seen in the distance.
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