All 9 Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, ranked worst to best
3) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
This could be a controversial decision, but I stand by it.
Let’s be clear: The Fellowship of the Ring is a spectacular film; there’s quite in quality from An Unexpected Journey to here. This film brought Tolkien’s classic story to life on a screen 40 foot tall, for the first time in vivid live action. The core dynamic of this movie, the Fellowship themselves, works spectacularly; the chemistry between the actors, the banter between the characters…it’s all perfect. Had that fallen flat, the film wouldn’t work, but because that’s locked in so well, it’s a joy.
Quite simply, the reason this film is number three is because the other two Lord of the Rings films are better. That’s it. It is not a criticism of this film whatsoever. The Fellowship of the Ring sets up the world very well, and establishes why we have to save Middle-earth from Sauron. While the stakes feel high, we still don’t’ understand just how wide this world is. It doesn’t feel as though Sauron and his orcs, or Saruman and his Uruk-Hai, post much of a threat to anybody in Middle-earth beyond the Ring bearer (Frodo) and those who defend him. It’s terrifying, but it had further to grow.
The Fellowship of the Ring perfectly sets up the rest of the Lord of the Rings story while bringing the arc of the first book to a faithful and emotionally compelling end. And the best is yet to come.
2) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
As opposed to The Hobbit trilogy, which in my opinion gets progressively worse with each film, part of what makes The Lord of the Rings so compelling as a film trilogy is how it goes from strength to strength.
Once you reach The Two Towers, you are already invested in these character dynamics and this world. You understand why the characters are split up, and that their separate storylines are all important and intertwine. The world becomes bigger; the war Sauron is waging on Middle-earth now feels tangible and far-reaching; a distinct threat. By making our protagonists meet more characters — Sam and Frodo teaming up with Gollum; Merry and Pippin joining forces with the Ents; Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Gandalf going to Rohan and aiding the world of men with their fight — we become aware of just how crucial this war is, and how far Sauron’s hand of evil has reached.
The humor from The Fellowship of the Ring is present and the chemistry between the characters remains strong, but Frodo’s story which keeps everything together and emerges as the beating heart of the story.
Additionally, The Two Towers features arguably one of the best battle scenes of all time: The Battle of Helms Deep. (Today’s directors should take note, as the battle takes place at night and yet the audience can actually see what’s going on the whole time.) The battle is chaotic, intense, dramatic and even funny at times (Legolas and Gimli have a running count of orc kills); it all comes together to serve as a masterpiece of a third arc climax.
The Two Towers is in second place, but not because it’s bad. It’s because the number one film is just that good: