Lady of the Rings

First, New York, then Paris and now London. Liv Tyler thrilled movies fans by choosing three stunning outfits on a whirlwind international tour to promote the new Lord of The Rings blockbuster The Two Towers in which she stars as elfprincess Arwen.

She was a knockout in New York in a backless and almost frontless black-and-white floorlength gown. She captivated Paris in a satin and lace Cinderella-style dress with a tight-fitting bodice laced up the back.

And she flattered London by choosing a design by one of Britain's most famous designers. It just had to be Stella McCartney's black satin trouser suit for the British premiere in Leicester Square.

Tyler, 23, the daughter of Aerosmith rocker Steve Tyler, was delighted as fans chanted her name outside the cinema. "That's the most people I've ever heard screaming my name in my life - I can't take it all in," she said.

She was accompanied by her British fiance Royston Langdon, singer with rock band Spacehog, whom she plans to marry next year.

Cate Blanchett, who plays Galadriel, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, who play the hobbits Pippin and Merry, were also at the premiere, as was fellow Briton Andy Serkis, who is being tipped for an Oscar nomination even though he is not seen in the film.

He plays Gollum but he is masked out by computer-generated images and only his movements and voice remain in the film. "It was quite physically exhausting to do. If they made the decision that Gollum would fall then I would fall and I was doing that for two and a half years. I got a bit battered," he says.

Celebrities present included Jay Kay, Eddie Izzard, Rhys Ifans, Sophie Anderton, Rick Mayall, Bob Geldof with daughter Pixie, Rachel Stevens, from S Club 7, and Carol Vorderman. Celebrity Big Brother's Mark Owen and Goldie agreed with everyone else that director Peter Jackson had pulled off another thrilling coup after the success of the first film.

At the premiere party at the Empire club in Leicester Square, decked out like JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth, Jackson said: "I'm so overjoyed. The audience got all the gags - which is a really good indicator - especially since it's darker and more intense than the first film."

The Two Towers picks up where The Fellowship Of The Ring left off with Frodo and Sam carrying on their journey into Mordor to defeat the forces of evil.

Evening Standard film critic Alexander Walker says the film left him "shattered, shaken, stirred, even worshipful."

The Daily Mail's Chris Tookey describes it as "head and shoulders above the other films of 2002". He adds: "It is going to inspire a whole generation of moviegoers and filmmakers with the magic only the cinema can create."

Anthony Quinn of The Independent says it is "darker, richer and precisely one minute longer" than the first film.

In The Guardian, Fiachra Gibbons compares it favourably with Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. "The Two Towers packs a punch that may prove too strong for a mere boy wizard and his wand to withstand".

The Sun's new film critic, TV presenter Johnny Vaughan, says: "This is a truly great film, and that's coming from someone who never read the book and, like many of you, only saw the first film on video."

However, James Christopher of The Times is a voice of dissent. "Half a dozen fractured storylines gallop along in tandem. What we don't get is close and consistent tension. Like most trilogies The Lord of the Rings sags in the middle."

The film will be released nationwide on 18 December and - like its predecessor - is set to become a huge box office hit.