We ranked the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies from worst to best

The cast of Lord of the Rings
New Line Cinema

It’s hard to believe it’s already been over 20 years since Peter Jackson’s first The Lord of the Rings film graced theaters all over the world. The screen adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s revolutionary fantasy novels remains an epic film event that lasts a lifetime, a timeless story of perseverance, friendship, morality, teamwork, and courage. These themes help ground a plot that is filled with creatures that are truly fantastical, such as hobbits, orcs, wizards, and goblins.

A decade after the first trilogy, Jackson adapted The Hobbits for the big screen, also breaking the story up into three separate films. While this move might have been more financially motivated than anything else, these movies are still enthralling and entertaining. Improved CGI helped to make the special effects of Middle Earth more modern, a decision that some didn’t always agree with.

One unanimous opinion has got to be that the world of movies has never been the same since these six pictures were created. The scope, scale, and aspirations behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbits deserve infinite adulation, and we’ve decided to honor their legacy by counting them down from six to one to declare which film is the best of the bunch.

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