Opus-16

This is a review of the DVD release, as I was not one of the lucky ones near the limited release screening of the movie.

If you are a longtime maiden fan, the film is a love letter to you and your brethren, shot by documentary crew consisting of fans. Not surprisingly, the band is shown in an almost reverent regard. Nothing controversial to see here, folks. For people that have more than a passing interest in the band, unfortunately, there is not much here that you don't already know or have already seen. If you own or have seen the "Death on the Road" documentary disc you will not gain any new insights to the band and what makes them tick. If not, you will be in for a treat if you have an interest in maiden and/or what it takes to bring off an audaciously planned and executed world tour to thousands of dedicated and psyched fans.

Shot with high-def cameras and lots of them, the concert scenes are great (more on this later). The fan scenes and band/crew interview scenes are entertaining and well edited. You really get an idea what an undertaking this tour was and how much the fans appreciated the effort. Compared to the dedication shown by some of these fans, my own interest seems trivial, though I have been a fan since I first heard "somewhere in time" back when I was a sophomore in high school. You can tell the band is at times awed of, bemused, frustrated by, and proud of this loyalty they inspire.

By the time we make the trip with them from India, through Australia, North and South America, you are exhausted. I can't imagine how Steve and the boys felt after suffering jet lag, food illness, hangovers and sleep deprivation. Yet they still managed to put on kick-ass, crowd pleasing shows. This is why they have the live following and the pro rep they do.

As for the bonus concert disc, it alone justifies the price of the DVD purchase. This, friends, in my opinion is their best live concert release yet. Better than the legendary Live After Death you say? Hell yes, I say. High def camera work. Wonderfully captured and mastered 5.1 surround in Dolby and DTS. Consistently great performances from Bruce and the boys. Great crowds. A killer set list. The edits are quick but not dizzying like on Rock in Rio or Death on the Road. Honestly, what's not to like?

Overall a must have for maiden fans, and even of hard rock fans in general, if you ask me.

I debated with myself somewhat on whether or not I wanted to pay to see this in the theater due to the mixed reviews. Now that I have actually watched it, I'm glad I didn't listen to the naysayers. I can see why this is not some people's cup of tea, but I really got into it. It is one of the most interesting moviegoing experiences I've had in some time.

The movie IS somewhat schizophrenic, the first half being broodingly intense and character driven, while the second half focuses more on straight action with even a little bit of humor thrown in. I for one enjoyed both sides of its personality. I think Danny Elfman's musical style, which I sometimes find somewhat annoying as in "Men in Black" fit extremely well in "Hulk". Ang Lee gets great performances from his lead actors as well. I liked "Crouching Tiger" but didn't really see what all the fuss was about. With this film, I can see why he is hailed as a visionary director. The film itself is beautifully shot. Lee's decisions and fingerprints are present and evident in every scene, but the techniques he employs are never overtly intrusive. He obviously experiments somewhat in this film, to good result in my opinion. Love or hate what he does here, but you've got to admit to and admire the vision, determination, and just plain guts it took to make this film the way he did.

As for the green guy, he is hit or miss. In some scenes he feels so real you can almost feel his breath. Others are laughable. For the most part, however, I was able to accept the result and suspend my disbelief. I felt for the big guy, and that's what counts in the end.

I saw this film a day ago, and I am still sorting out my feelings for it. Whew! With a year to build up anticipation and expectation, it had a lot to live up to. Exactly like my reaction to The Fellowship of the Rings when I first saw it, I left the theater with my expectations both rewarded and dashed. I have read the novel several times, and again the the week before The Two Towers opened nationwide. I kept thinking, "wow! that's incredible!" followed by "wait a minute--- that's not right!" due to my own vision of what should have been left alone and what should have been changed for the theatrical version. Any 1000+ page epic like the Lord of the Rings novel leaves each person with their own interpretation, focus, and feel for what they read. Peter Jackson took on the un-envious task of creating a CINEMATIC vision that would appeal to hard core and casual readers of the novel as well as those who have never picked it up. I'm sure some hard core fans that can't let go of their own vision will be disappointed or even angry, while some non-readers will be befuddled or uninterested. So be it. I myself left the theater dazed and amazed, and with a positive yet somewhat jumbled opinion due to the changes made. Now that I've had some time to adjust to the changes and contemplate the film, however, Jackson's vision is growing on me. I was vaguely disappointed with "Fellowship" at first, also, but that initial disappointment has given way to great admiration for Fellowship. I now love the first film for it's own sake, separate from the novel. I think the same is going to apply for me with The Two Towers, especially if the altered story arc comes to a unified and satisfying end in the next part.

The visuals, sets, musical score, and costuming are beyond reproach. The pacing is perfect in my opinion. The acting is superb once again. The dialog itself is a mixed bag, but serves its purpose, and is spoken with authority. You can nitpick a few things, such as blue screen lines being visible in some scenes, but for me they never distracted from the overall look of and feel of the film at all. Overall, it is an incredibly crafted film, and superior to most of the so called "blockbuster" films of late. It is full of action, drama, humor,love, hate, beauty, ugliness, hope, and despair. It's all wrapped up in a visual treat that is compressed into 3 hours of movie magic that if anything feels too short. Unless they have no interest whatsoever in the action/fantasy genre or are Tolkien purists, I can't see anyone outright disliking what the Two Towers gives.

I, for one, am really looking forward to how Jackson is going to wrap up his vision in the third installment. Bring on The Return of the King! Now another year of anticipation and expectation.....