23. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002)
The middle film of a trilogy tends to be equal to the sum of its two other parts(see: Empire Strikes Back, Spider-Man 2. Although, Temple of Doom is an exception to the rule) and Two Towers exhibits the greater parts as a middle as opposed to the humble beginnings of Fellowship and the 18 different wrap-up endings of Return of the King.
The film exhibits a greater strength of story as Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship split apart after the death of Gandalf. As Aragorn(Man), Gimli(Dwarf) and Legolas(Legend of Zelda character) set out to save Merry and Pippin from a pack of Uruk-hai, Frodo and Samwise are still on the trail to Mt. Doom to destroy the ring of power with a strange, schizophrenic little creature named Gollum who has one personality that wants to help his new Hobbit friends and the other that simply wants to murder them and take his "precious"(the ring) back.
I've never been one to focus so much on CGI, but Peter Jackson knows how to wield it better than anyone. The centerpiece of the film, the battle for Helm's Deep is one of the most expansive, jaw-dropping scenes I have ever seen in my life and it's basically one of the first of its kind. As 10,000 Uruk-hai storm the Rohan stronghold of Helm's Deep, a massive fight ensues for what seems like forever. There is so much going on in that scene that it's absolutely amazing.
And of course, there's Gollum, who I've written about before. It seems odd that what could have been a shoddy, dead-eyed CGI character(Zemeckis), but look at that face up there. It's absolutely amazing the way Jackson and his team(including actor Andy Serkis who provided the motion-capture and voice of Gollum) were able to fully flesh out a character who exhibits the oldest conflict of man(well, former Hobbit) vs. self. Gollum is able to garner our simultaneous sympathy and hatred, especially in the scene where the innocent half, Sméagol makes a desperate attempt to banish the Gollum personality.
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