So. The day has finally come. I saw "The Two Towers" last night.

My initial impressions are mixed, but getting better the more and more I think about it. The movie seems to depart quite a bit from the books, which is a little disturbing to me. Furthermore, the book (obviously) has so much more depth in just about everything that it's hard for the movie to do it all justice. I think that was easier in the first movie, which is much more plot driven and much lighter on character development.

There were some definite high points, which mostly correspond to my expectations from the book. Gollum simply rocked, and I loved his arguments with himself (Gollum vs. Smeagol). I liked the battle at Helm's Deep, once I got by the changes from the book.

There's so much to digest. I'm all in a tizzy. I need to see it again.