- Domestic Total Gross: $926,287,400
- Distributor: New Line
- Release Date: December 18, 2002
- Genre: Fantasy
- Running Time: 2 hrs. 59 min.
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- Production Budget: $94 million
Cast:
Elijah Wood - Frodo Baggins
Cate Blanchett - Galadriel
Orlando Bloom - Legolas Greenleaf
Ian McKellen - Gandalf the Grey - aka Gandalf the White
Viggo Mortensen - Aragorn
Liv Tyler – Arwen
2002 Academy Awards® :: 2 Wins out of 6 Nominations
Nominated & Won: Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects
Nominated: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound
The Fellowship has been broken. Boromir is dead, Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee have gone to Mordor alone to destroy the One Ring, Merry and Pippin have been captured by the Uruk-hai, and Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli have made friends of the Rohan, a race of humans that are in the path of the upcoming war, led by its aging king, Théoden. The two towers between Mordor and Isengard, Barad-dúr and Orthanc, have united in their lust for destruction. The corrupt wizard Saruman, under the power of the Dark Lord Sauron, and his slimy assistant, Gríma Wormtongue, have created a grand Uruk-hai army bent on the destruction of Man and Middle-earth. The rebellion against Sauron is building up and will be led by Gandalf the White, who was thought to be dead after the Balrog captured him. One of the Ring's original bearers, the creature Gollum, has tracked Frodo and Sam down in search of his 'precious', but is captured by the Hobbits and used as a way to lead them to Mt. Doom. The War of the Ring has now begun...
The quality of the production continues. The Rohirrum are a sight to behold and do conjure images of the lost Anglo-Saxons. The battle scenes are engaging and terrifying. War is depicted with all of its consequences. Your heart is torn as you see the young separated from their parents, innocents are killed, and destruction abounds. At the same time, strength and hope come to those in desperate need and courage comes in the unlikeliest of moments. You find yourself in the lowest depths, as all seems lost; and then your heart soars, as hope comes at the last moment. This is storytelling at its finest. This is not a sequel, it is another chapter in an epic saga. As such, it builds on the previous chapter and advances the story. The pace quickens as the conflict rises. The stakes are higher and the danger greater. The audience is on the edge of their seat, as darkness looms, while the threads of hope begin to weave together. The stage is set for the final battle.
