The Lord of the Ring Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

Lord of the Ring Movies Ranked From Worst To Best

With its sublime landscapes and grand narratives, Tolkien's work has huge potential on the big screen, as Peter Jackson proved three times in a row. But, it can also be used to produce CGI-ridden trash, which, again, Peter Jackson proved three times in a row. But moving past the truism that the LotR trilogy was a better than the Hobbit trilogy, how do the individual movies stack up against one another? And where do the Ralph Bakshi films sit?

8. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

By this point, all hope was lost. The Hobbit was not going to redeem itself, and the only thing we could do was ride it out to the bitter end. Unless you're really into CGI action sequences, there's nothing in this movie for you. | © New Line Cinema

7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

I have An Unexpected Journey ranked every so slightly higher than Five Armies, because when I first watched it, I was at least able to hold onto the hope that they were going it around by the end of the trilogy. They did not.

Extra hate should be awarded here for how appallingly unlikeable the dwarves are. As in the book, they are rude and unkind to Bilbo, but at least in the books they become somewhat endearing. Oh, and the depiction of Radagast is insulting. | © New Line Cinema

6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

We're almost at the good Tolkien movies! But first, we need to talk about the Desolation of Smaug. In fairness, this was definitely the strongest movie of the Hobbit trilogy, but we can't in good faith rank it any higher on the list because of Tauriel and Kili. The idea that an elf and a dwarf can fall in love is fine, but why did it have to be this cringy? | © New Line Cinema

5. The Lord of the Rings (1978)

If you can't afford to put up the monumental budget required to do a live-action Lord of the Rings movie, this is the best option. A cute, condensed animated version, that still holds up and will be my children's first intro to LotR on the screen. Also, the voice acting is outstanding. | © United Artists

4. The Hobbit (1977)

Everything great about Bakshi's Lord of the Rings, can also be said about The Hobbit, including the excellent voice acting. But in this case, the original text is even better suited to a single, animated movie, and the dwarves here are infinitely more likable than in the Trilogy. | © NBC

3. The Two Towers (2002)

Now we get to the obvious top three, and in third place we have The Two Towers. There are parts of this movie, like the destruction of Isengard and Helms Deep, that are some of the best moments of the entire trilogy. But quite naturally, it's going to struggle to compete with the beginning and the end of this grand narrative. | © New Line Cinema

2. The Return of the King (2003)

Yes, I have The Return of the King in second place, which understandably might shock you. There are countless fantastic scenes, with Théoden's speech to the Riders of Rohan being perhaps the best in the entire trilogy, and the film serves its role as an ending perfectly. But, the very end of the film and the return to the Shire is too brief for my liking. I'm glad Jackson didn't go with the original ending from the text, The Scouring of the Shire, but I would have adored an extended chapter on Samwise Gamgee and his happily ever after. | © New Line Cinema

1. The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

As you can probably tell based on my reasoning for having The Return of the King in second place, I love the Shire and the Hobbits more than anything else in the work of Tolkien. More than wild landscapes, grand histories, and glorious battles, the comfort of the Shire is real and important to me. And in the extended version of the Fellowship, we get a good half an hour in that idyll. Of course, all the LotR films are superb, but there's a reason I can always watch The Fellowship, over and above the other two. | © New Line Cinema