Ranking the Franchise - The Lord of the Rings

When I was visiting some friends, we started talking about “The Lord of the Rings” and ever since that evening I’ve been wanting to rewatch the trilogy. So I did and also found the opportunity to rank the three films. And there is simply no bad movie in this series. Here is my ranking of the films, and it was very hard to do, since it comes down to very little details.

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
After the fellowship fell apart, our heroes go their own way in this dark sequel to the first film. Frodo and Sam are accompanied by the ambiguous Gollum. And the genius behind Gollum is born in the incredible performance of Andy Serkis. The themes of the trilogy become much more explicit and moving, because the countries of Middle-Earth realize that they have to stand together to defeat this great evil. The film is most memorable because of the impressive battle of Helm’s Deep.

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Frodo and Sam finally complete their journey to destroy the One Ring in the conclusion of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. For some, the film may take a little too long, after all it is over 3 hours long. But you can’t blame Peter Jackson for taking the time to find the right note to finish his magnum opus. Moving and emotionally driven, “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is a perfect finale to an amazing fantasy film trilogy.

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The film that started a phenomenon. This first “Lord of the Rings” film introduced moviegoers to iconic characters such as Gandalf, Frodo Baggins and Aragorn. A group of nine companions embark on a dangerous search for Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring before the dark Lord Sauron takes control of Middle-Earth and director Peter Jackson imbues the story with enough atmosphere, sharp images and epic stories to have created a film that can easily be considered the “Star Wars” of his generation, in terms of cultural impact. The first film is, and always will be, my favorite in the series.

00s Movie Review - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Director: Peter Jackson
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Runtime: 179 minutes
Year: 2002
Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortenson, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monoghan, Christopher Lee, John Rhys-Davies, Andy Serkis, Miranda Otto, Karl Urban, David Wenham

Description: While Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) adge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum (Andy Serkis), the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron’s new ally, Saruman (Christopher Lee), and his hordes of Isengard.

Review: In “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” we saw how the fellowship was split in groups. In “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” we see all those separate groups on their journey. There is Frodo and Sam. By foot they have to bring the ring to Mordor. Frodo feels the power of the ring more and more, but het gets help from Sam and the shifty creature Gollum. Gollum knows he has to help the Hobbits, else the ring will fall into the hands of Sauron.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli can’t help Frodo and Sam anymore, so they decide to go on a rescue mission for the other two Hobbits Merry and Pippin. They have been taken by the Uruk-Hai.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” is again an amazing adventure. And close to being a masterpiece. The film doesn’t have the buildup like the first film. This is of course because it’s the middle part of the series. But it does have some great fight scenes, like the battle of Helm’s Deep. It looks spectacular and is exciting. I didn’t like the romance part of the film, the scenes between Arwen and Aragorn feel a bit unnecessary.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” is a good film, although probably my least favorite of the franchise.

Rating: 4/ 5