Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Battle Of Helm’s Deep
The Setup: The good guys (including Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) et al, are holed up at Helm’s Deep and the Orc army has arrived. Despite manfully facing up to the challenge, the odds are stacked until a resurgent Gandalf The White (Sir Ian McKellan) shows up with some help.
The Battle: There’s a lot to admire in the Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, as well as a lot that hasn’t aged well (Orlando Bloom surfing on a shield, anyone?) but there is no doubt that the Battle of Helm’s Deep was a game changer in cinematic terms. Lasting for around 40 minutes, the sequence is breathtaking in both scope and scale, providing tiny, human moments and, beat after beat, jaw-dropping, sweeping shots that beggar belief. Even if the audience is essentially waiting for the rescue from the off, it’s no less incredible when it comes, with Gandalf cresting a mountain in a shard of light only to usher in thousands of valiant saviours on horseback to turn the tide against what felt like an unstoppable wall of angry green guys. Go! Run, Watch again!
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
