Best Lord of the Rings film

[Runa216]

Machina said:
They're all very evenly matched, so it's hard to pick one. I'd probably have to rewatch them again and see how I feel now, some 10 years since I last watched them, but I was always very fond of the Ents and the Wizards (the two key ones being played by the absolutely perfect choice of actors in Ian McKellen and the late Christopher Lee) in the novels and the films, so I voted for Two Towers.

That said, Return of the King includes my favourite scene in the entire series - the Mouth of Sauron.

The Hobbit movies have come up, so I'll add my view of those: I don't think they were bad; they're definitely watchable. But they're not even close to being on the same level as The Lord of the Rings trilogy (LotR films I all gave 9 to, The Hobbit films are all 7s). They're much more childish and child-like, with sequences that stretch credibility (the escape from Goblin Town). The characters aren't as interesting, likeable, or as well developed either, despite the films being stretched to like 9 hours. The content they're based on is much weaker, so I'm not sure I place much or even any blame on Peter Jackson. It'd be interesting if they were remade with a whole new director and production team and if that made any difference. I'm not sure it would, but who knows.

The Lord of the Rings is epic filmmaking at its finest

The Hobbit is light-hearted popcorn fare.

Both have their values and I'm fond of both, but they're very different in scope, style, and goal. That said, I agree with pretty much everybody that The Hobbit could have and should have been one movie. I liked it, and I was completely okay with the added content, but I definitely feel that being edited down to one three-hour movie would have been plenty. hell, two and a half hours would be enough for The Hobbit. Regardless, I still quite enjoyed the movies, all six of them. I just acknowledge that each trilogy was made with vastly different tones and goals in mind. I think that's what people need to understand; the hobbit was never going to be an epic, Lord of the Rings style masterwork, it was always going to be light and fluffy, just like its source material.