Tower power

The Lord of the Rings movies are fast becoming smash-hit classics, with The Two Towers having surpassed $200 million in its first 12 days of release. "To say it's this generation's Star Wars is almost an understatement," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., which tracks box-office totals. And it's not the only movie based on serious theology to come out of Hollywood this season | Gene Edward Veith

THEY SAY FANTASY IS escapist. So why do the Lord of the Rings movies—made long before 9/11—keep reminding us of the war against terrorism? Last year, The Fellowship of the Ring depicted ordinary folks going about their everyday lives, when they suddenly were confronted with overwhelming evil, which, however reluctantly, they had to deal with. That was the year the terrorist struck.

This year's installment, as the nation prepares for war with Iraq, is The Two Towers, a tale of epic battles. More than that, it is about the nation of Rohan, a land that had lost its nerve. In denial about the evil that grows closer and closer to its borders, Rohan refuses to do anything about it until its people are, literally, backed into a corner fighting for their lives.