If Frodo is the lamest, weakest protagonist in literature, Sauron matches his lameness as the main antagonist. Saruman does all the heavy lifting in the first two movies until his defeat at the end of the second film of the trilogy while Sauron does nothing but LOOK AT STUFF! He never even regains physical form. The most evil thing he actually does throughout all three movies is blink.
The story splits into three narratives here. There's the Pippin/Merry/Treebeard tangent, The Frodo/Sam/Gollum tangent, and then the main action involves the trio of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli trying to defend Rohan from Saruman's Urak-hai army.
The Pippin/Merry/Treebeard tangent is boring as shit until the trees get all pissed off and kick the holy hell out of Saruman and Isengard, which Saruman in all his infinite wisdom left totally unguarded. The tangent does develop the theme of nature vs. industry that is prevalent throughout the trilogy. Tolkien served in the first World War, the last war where horses were used and the tank made its debut in warfare. It's obvious which side of the argument he was on. While the ogres make use of the fires of industry to fuel their war machine, Treebeard and his Ent army come and stomp all over it using wood and water.
The most exciting tangent is Isengard's invasion of Rohan that culminates in the Battle of Helm's Deep. Best name in the entire series: Grima Wormtongue. Man is that guy creepy! The movie is all about the final Battle of Helm's Deep, a battle that is fairly insignificant in the novel, but it's the main event of the second film. It's siege warfare at its finest with the humans barricaded behind the walls of Helm's Deep while tens of thousands of Urak-hai attempt to destroy the human population. Really the huge disadvantage the humans have in terms of numbers doesn't seem to matter because Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli seem to be in GOD MODE. Do these guys even get a scratch? Anyways, it's still badass. Only nine total humans survive until Gandalf miraculously returns to save the day.
The final tangent involves the bromance of Frodo and Sam being invaded by the walking baby fetus, Gollum. Wow. How great a job does Andy Serkis do in this? How was he not nominated for an Oscar? Of course, this is the WORST story tangent. Frodo succeeds at doing exactly one thing in this movie: getting captured. Man does he suck. It is entertaining to watch the Sam/Gollum rivalry escalate as they battle for Frodo's affection. So gay...
Storyline-wise, this is the worst of the trio, but action-wise, it's easily the best. It sends Saruman packing and sets up the final War of the Ring as Frodo stumbles and whines his way toward Mt. Doom.
Why It's Awesome:
How satisfying is it to watch TREES kick someone's ass? Almost as satisfying as watching Aragorn and Gimli dive off a ladder into THOUSANDS of Urak-hai and survive. God Mode engaged!
Best Quote (the now legendary):
Gollum: My precious...
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