Best Lord of the Rings & Hobbit Movies, Ranked

Returning to The Lord of the Rings is always timeless, and engrosses audiences with superb fantasy, incredibly detailed worlds, and exceptional performances. It’s always a good time to look back on the cinematic journeys of Middle-earth that brought J. R. R. Tolkien’s work to life. The Lord of the Rings is beloved both as a set of novels and movies.

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With over 6 movies set in The Lord of the Rings series, and more well on the way, how do they rank against each other? The best Lord of the Rings movies feature stellar characterization and sets, but their chronological order is hard to beat unless they are ranked on pure spectacle and enjoyment.

Updated on January 4, 2025, by Jake Fillery: With the release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and the anticipation for Andy Serkis’ The Hunt for Gollum, audiences are rewarded with their patience and love for The Lord of the Rings through a new library of movies that will release throughout the 2020s. Yet, how do these movies rank as the best Lord of the Rings films, and which movie will be the one to rule them all?

7

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

A Strong Female Lead Doesn’t Save Unique Animation and an Odd Plot

Hark back to a time before an adventure of Hobbits and the destruction of the One Ring to uncover the truth behind the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, and the importance of their ancient strongholds of Helm’s Deep. Yet, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim showcases its history through a new and unexpected legend of Hera, the daughter of Helm who leads the resistance herself as a strong protagonist with her own story yet written.

While there’s nothing too wrong with the story, and Hera makes for a great protagonist, it’s the animation where The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim falters the most, and the odd mixture of 2D and 3D, along with an anime-inspired art style, makes it hard to follow, and it’s hard to invest in characters that only exist to serve as a backdrop and memory to the series moving forward.

6

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

A Never-Before-Seen War That Goes On for Too Long

With the city of Erebor within the grasp of Thorin, and the dragon stone well within the clutches of greedy hands, war finds its way to the Lonely Mountain as dwarves, elves, man, and orcs come seeking riches and salvation. It’s the finale of The Hobbit trilogy and features new stories that were unseen and mentioned only briefly in the book.

It’s hard to judge the Battle of the Five Armies due to the production issues it faced, but the movie feels far too bloated and lacks cohesive ideas that were aided by Tolkien’s work. The Battle of the Five Armies isn’t supposed to be seen due to the fact that Bilbo is unconscious for the majority of it in the book, but the film tries to present a more epic-scale battle that just feels a tad messy and at times ridiculous.

5

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A Welcome Home to Middle-earth to Follow Bilbo’s Adventure

Leaving the lavish and safe life of a Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins joins the company of the wizard Gandalf and the group of dwarves led by Thorin who wish to reclaim their city of Erebor in the Lonely Mountain from the dreaded dragon Smaug. It’s a dangerous journey for a Hobbit, but an adventure that many would dream to face.

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Returning to Middle-earth after all these years for the prequel story of The Hobbit was a lovely concept, even if splitting the tale into three parts to replicate the success of the Lord of the Rings was an odd choice. The Hobbit had its fair share of issues, but An Unexpected Journey was still a joyful adventure back to Middle-earth, with Martin Freeman acting as a true standout as Bilbo Baggins, whilst the dwarves are a lot of fun with their own identities. It might not be the freshest of experiences, but it’s always nice to see familiarity within this movie’s tale.

4

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Expanding the Original Story with Captivating Intimidation to Smaug

As Bilbo Baggins and the company of dwarves continue their journey to Lakedown, they face further obstacles with orcs and elves, all halting their path to the Loney Mountain to meet the fearsome dragon Smaug. Meanwhile, Gandalf is set on his own journey to uncover the secrets of dark forces and necromancy.

The best part of The Hobbit trilogy belongs to the second movie of the story for its adventuring spirit involving Thorin’s dwarf company and Bilbo. The escape from the elves is a lot of fun. Benedict Cumberbatch’s work as Smaug is terrifyingly intense, and the battle for survival between the dwarves and Bilbo creates a heart-pounding epic that delves deeper into the original book.

3

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Fractured Fellowship Embarks on Personal Victories

The Fellowship is fractured and broken, and Sam and Frodo continue their lengthy journey to Mordor to accomplish the task of destroying the One Ring. With devious company at their side, seeds of debt spread, all whilst Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas track down Merry and Pippin and come across a number of new allies, and a familiar face that can turn the tides of Sauron’s war.

The second part of the Lord of the Rings epic holds strong, and the Two Towers is a rewarding experience for fans and first-time viewers. The narrative is stellar, and seeing the chemistry between the Fellowship as they face harder challenges as a fractured group is well maintained with tensity and humor. Every character has a distinct story, and the battle of Helm’s Deep is lengthy and memorable, as is Gollum’s cunning in Frodo’s story which provides great intrigue and a break from the action.

2

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

A Perfect Introduction to Tolkien’s Middle-earth Brought to Life

A young hobbit, Frodo, is burdened with a ring with the ultimate power to amass armies and shape Middle-earth into Sauron’s image. Tasked with destroying the One Ring, Frodo must endure pain and perilous journeys aided by the wizard Gandalf along with fellow Hobbits, a dwarf, men, and an elf to save Middle-earth from doom.

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Peter Jackson’s first entry into The Lord of the Rings in live-action is tremendously beautiful. The adoration for the source material and the respect for visuals help to create an immersive fantasy world that is both comforting and terrifying. The Fellowship of the Ring does a perfect job of introducing the lore of the series and the characters that will harbor such importance and tragedy in the movies to come from this grand beginning.

1

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

The Rewarding and Ultimate Finale

The Fellowship prepares for the final battle against Sauron’s armies, amassing all the swords they can to take the fight to the orc hordes whilst Frodo takes the final steps into Mordor to cast out this ancient evil. Seeded in treachery and whispers of doubt, Frodo will be tested in ways unforeseen whilst Aragorn stands up to his destiny as the king of men.

It’s not always that a sequel can outdo the original, but Return of the King holds strong as one of the greatest finales to a trilogy of all time. Return of the King is incredibly rich and rewarding as a conclusion to The Lord of the Rings. It’s an emotional triumph to see two movies of build-up lead to this moment of war against the forces of Sauron. There’s a plethora of memorable moments among the split crews of Frodo and Sam, Gandalf and Pippin, and the remainder of the Fellowship.

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