This is an O.K. movie, but it has a weird, gross orc-eating scene, and then some decapitating and stabbing. It's worse than the first, so don't see it until you're a teenager.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Outstanding, but has very violent battle scenes.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 12–13
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this movie is nonstop, very intense action, with extremely violent battle scenes and intense peril.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the many representations of the war between good and evil. King Theoden comes back. Gollum may be coming back. Where else do you see the dualities expressed? What does it mean to say that Saruman has "a mind of metal and wheels and no longer cares for growing things?" At several points, characters have to decide when to fight and when to give up or retreat. What do they consider in making that decision? What should they consider? Why is it important to Gollum that Frodo calls him by his old name? Why do Sam and Frodo wonder if they will ever be included in songs or tales?
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More on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
What’s the Story?
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS follows the members of the remaining fellowship and cuts back and forth between their adventures. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) find a twisted creature called Gollum who embodies the story's struggle between good and evil. Once utterly corrupted by his attempts to steal the ring, the remaining good within him begins to awaken under Frodo's kindness, but that may not be reliable enough for him to become the faithful guide they need. Meanwhile, Frodo's Hobbit friends Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) are caught up with Treebeard and the Ents (tree creatures of enormous size). Also meanwhile, the human warrior Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) try to get help from King Theoden (Bernard Hill), who has been enchanted into befuddlement so that they can fight the vicious Uruk-hai throng of White Wizard villain Saruman (Christopher Lee).
Is It Any Good?
The Two Towers will satisfy Tolkien devotees and those who are new to the stories looking for an epic with a heroic quest and a lot of action (and a little romance). The first movie had a lot of thundering hoofs and meaningful looks and introduction of characters and portents of doom. This one flings us from cliffhanger to (literal) cliffhanger, with mighty legions hurtling into battle. Every moment on screen is filled with masterfully handled detail.
The vast New Zealand landscapes are a perfect realization of Tolkien's middle earth. The vast armies of hulking monsters stretch back for miles, and Gollum, computer animated but based on the movements of actor Andy Serkis (who also provided the voice), is as real as any of the humans. The human actors hold their own, giving gravity and heart to the effects and panoramas. The only drag on the proceedings is Aragon's love triangle, which feels like something between a distraction and a place-holder.
Movie Details
Studio: New Line Cinema, Director: Peter Jackson
Run time: 179 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/18/2002, DVD release: 8/26/2003
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images
Run time: 179 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/18/2002, DVD release: 8/26/2003
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for epic battle sequences and scary images
Our Members Say
See all 50 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
Good for teens, but not for any younger.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
The Lord of the RIng: The Two Towers
Even better than the first one with a lot more war and violence. Great epic battle scene in Helms Deep. Grade A film that deserves 5 stars and nothing less.
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Good Message Bad Violence
This movie is the worst of the series.
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I rate this title on for age 2 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
- Negative role models
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
LOTR Hasn't Disappointed Me Yet!
OMG! I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS MOVIE! I am a fantasy geek and I love LOTR. I like when the orcs head is on the stick. I called him a "shish kabob" My dad started cracking up. Gollum's eyes kinda creep me out though. :P
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Really good movie, but very violent
This movie is outstanding and the battle sequences are all top notch. The music, voice acting, make up etc. are all much better than most movies and the messages and characters are very uplifting. As can be assumed, battles are fairly graphic. This movie is not too bad with blood and guts and usually just show people being stabbed and then falling without showing the after-effects of the inflicted wound. However, in one particularly gross scene, an orc is pretty much torn to shreds by other orcs and organs can be seen flying through the air. If you can ignore that scene though, this is a really good movie. Watch it.
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I rate this title on for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
loving it
great movie and it has great action in it it is violent but ok for mature kids
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I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give it
my least favorite of da series but still totally cool!
this is my least favorite of the series but still deserves five stars.it gets pretty violent but not that grafic (not that much blood, but just the idea can creep u out). and gullum is creapy but not really scary. so i saw it when i was about ten and i wanted to cover my eyes sometimes but now im not scared at all and i love it! this is a must see.
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I rate this title on for age 17 and give it- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Excessive consumerism
some stuff has the R rated range
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
AWESOME!!
I like the ending battle
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I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
A Must see!! 12+
I really think this film is awesome!! Of course, it has epic scenes and battles, which is too violent for young audiences, just like any other battle scenes in other movies. The character of Gollum is very impressive, and interesting. This movie is certainly better than the first, but the 1st one is also amazing. I recommend this film for those who are thinking about what to watch, but I again about the intense killing, though it's not like blood and guts spill everywhere. Just some head chop and sword stabbings. Anyways, over all, it's a 5 star oscar-worthy film, with great acting and well done directing (specially effects)!
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I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Great movie i loved it lots of action lots of fun lord of the rings rocks!!!!!! the return of the king is my favorite (some of the movie may be to violen for some kids)
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I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND SCARY SCENES
Again, an outstanding film, like the first, but contains too much violence for a PG-13 rating. Scenes that contain this type of violence include: a man ripped open slightly with bloody, mortal wounds (the gory site of the massacre of him and his men is seen); a scene for an orc's head is chopped off (blood gushes out for about three seconds), then the uruks rip out his intestines and devour them; an uruk's head is staked on a spear; a dwarf digs through bits and pieces of dead, burnt corpses; an orc is smashed so hard, the leaves around him are bathed in blood; a man is thrown down a flight of stairs (and spits blood on another man's hand); a creature breaks a rabbit in half and pulls out the flesh with his teeth; a man is devoured by a warg, an orc's throat is slit, blood comes out; a battle, many are killed and eaten, bloody ground, screaming wounded; an orc's neck breaks; a man had many bloody wounds but lives; a creature is beaten graphically (for about thirty seconds); a collosal battle, thousands die; (an uruk violently slices a man's face apart), a man is stabbed several times, he lies next to other gory bodies; (a man is crushed by a battering ram, the one next to him slices the assailant's arm off, leaving him to suffer); a man is stabbed by a pike, which he thrusts into an orc's throat; a man is hit by ballista; a huge cavalry charge causes enemy infantry to be massacred gorily. There is also plenty of scary and disturbing scenes. Other than that, its a great film.
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I rate this title off for age 12 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
well done but very very violent
again great movie very violent
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
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I rate this title pause for age 14 and give it
really creepy
I first saw it when i was 8 and my irrisponsible babaysitter let me see it at my house. i woke up crying in the middle of the night and i didn't get comforted until 10:30pm when my parents came home.
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I rate this title pause for age 10 and give it
great movie, but not for little kids
first i watched the special features of this movie and then I saw the movie. But the only reason I saw the movie was because my babysitter let me watch it. It was kind of creepy. In the beginning the close up of golum's face is very startling. THere are a lot of battle sequences. Some parts of hte movie had arrows going into Orc's heads and mouths. When Sauron comes out and his fingers get cut off, everybody falls down and on of the most gruesome parts is when Golom eats the live rabbit. I would not recommend it for young kids, even though i saw it when I was seven
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
Awesome, but more violent than the first one
This movie is not quite as good as either the first or the third one, but still this movie is better than nearly any movie you'll ever watch. The violence, like the fellowship, is pushing the PG-13 limits, but isn't deserving of an R rating. Sex is limited to kissing, and though there is violence and some blood there is not much gore. Sensitive 12 and 11 year olds will not do very well to watch this movie, but non sensitive ones will enjoy it incredibly much. I reccomend this movie for kids ages 11-12 and up!
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I rate this title on for age 8 and give it
One of the Best Fantasy Movies Ever
This is a very intense Fantasy movie that will please almost everyone not scared by the intensity of monsters and battle.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
An unbelievable film - better than the first!
Whether you've read Lord of the Rings or not, this movie is sure to please. Make sure to see it on the big screen because it will transport you to another land and another time. The magic and beauty are engulfed in a sense of suspense. There are many scenes that would not appeal to young children as the make-up of the Orks (bad guys) is so realistic that they are really quite scary to look at. There are also some very vivid battle scenes that may leave a child with nightmares. However, for anyone over 13, this movie is sure to thrill and satisfy!
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Ratings at a Glance
| 80% | of parents say it's too violent |
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