What is the iRankMovies score for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers?

Name: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: adventure, fantasy, action
Released: 2002
Duration: 2 h 59 min
Rating: 8.8

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has an iRankMovies score of 89.2/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The journey continues.

Release:2002

Runtime:2h 59m

Country:New Zealand

Director:Peter Jackson

Language:English

Genre

AdventureFantasyAction

See the best adventure movies →

Keywords

MissionArmyBased On Novel Or BookElvesDwarfmagic ObsessionAllegory

iRank89

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.8/10· 2M votes

Rotten Tomatoes95%

Metacritic87%

TMDb8.424/10· 24K votes

With 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.8/10 on IMDb and 87/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.

Cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Elijah Wood
as Frodo
Ian McKellen
as Gandalf
Viggo Mortensen
as Aragorn
Sean Astin
as Sam
Andy Serkis
as Gollum
John Rhys-Davies
as Gimli / Treebeard (voice)
Orlando Bloom
as Legolas
Bernard Hill
as Théoden
Miranda Otto
as Éowyn
Dominic Monaghan
as Merry
Billy Boyd
as Pippin
Christopher Lee
as Saruman

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers facts

Budget: $79M
Box office: $926.3M
Collection: The Lord of the Rings Collection

Our take on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The middle chapter of Jackson's trilogy splinters the fellowship across three fronts — Frodo and Sam edging toward Mordor with the treacherous Gollum, while the others rally for the colossal siege of Helm's Deep. Darker and more propulsive than its predecessor, it balances dread with breathtaking battle. If its scale and momentum swept you up, The Fellowship of the Ring precedes it and The Return of the King completes the quest, with grand fantasy epics chasing the same grandeur.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Peter Jackson translates complex fantasy allegory with admiring attention to detail
•Awestruck audience response to grand-scale fantasy adventure across multiple storylines
•Based on beloved novel with army sequences and epic dramatic confrontations

What the audience disliked

•Extended sequences sometimes prioritize spectacle over emotional narrative pacing
•Multiple concurrent storylines create uneven character development throughout film

Saga: The Lord of the Rings Collection