After the endless noise of battle and fervour, to take the movie back to a personal moment of one-on-one with such a majestic tracking shot is a masterstroke of confidence and allows us to remember that Frodo is (mostly) alone on his quest and that the support of Sam is crucial to the success of the task they’ve been given.
Jackson is renowned for his rollercoaster camera moves and it is the almost silent shot of Frodo being hunted by Shelob, who straddles some rocks above the unwitting protagonist, that is possibly my favourite shot in the whole movie. It’s only then, when the tension is unbearable does the battle begin, itself a great sequence, but for me its effectiveness is all in the subtle build up.Ī scene that I knew was coming after friends kept saying this will be something special and although Frodo’s first encounter through the webbed caves is a solid chase sequence as he finally realises he’s been tricked by Gollum, it is the follow up episode involving her stinger and Sam’s return that cements this part of the film for me. Then finally, we see THAT arrow from an inexperienced elderly soldier which slips from his bow and takes down the first orc. The orcs begin their spear chanting (an off-the-cuff action made up by bored extras apparently) as the rain begins to pour which gives the whole scene an ominous atmosphere.
As Jackson cuts between the Orcs getting closer, the women and children in the catacombs below and the masterful use of humour (Legolas lightens the mood by asking if he can get the diminutive Gimli a box to stand on so he can see over the wall) before the tension is ratcheted up as they stand off against each other. After the forest fight and loss of Boromir to the “army of Orcs” in the first film, Jackson goes large in this finale to the second movie as the men of middle earth call upon the Elves to help them protect the final bastion that is the stone-walled Helm’s Deep.
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