(Photo by New Line/Everett Collection)
Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movies and Shows Ranked
J. R. R. Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, was hesitant about seeing his beloved Middle-earth adapted for the movies, with filmmakers themselves skeptical whether The Lord of the Rings could ever be faithfully created on-screen. That certainly didn’t stop people from trying during Tolkien’s lifetime, with Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick, George Harrison, and John Boorman among the artists in the adaptation orbit.
It was after Tolkien’s death in 1971, with his personal protections and safeguarding removed, that we began to see film and TV works sprout. The first was the Rankin and Bass TV special from 1977, followed a year later with Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings animated film, which depicted The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. In 1980, Rankin and Bass completed this ad hoc series with a Return of the King special.
The Peter Jackson trilogy beginning in 2001 set the standard upon which all other Tolkien adaptations will be judged for generations to come. Epic in scope and unlike any film project taken on up to that point, The Lord of the Rings movies featured groundbreaking CGI while existing at the tail-end of the practical effects era of filmmaking. With a perfect cast reaching across unknowns and legends, Howard Shore’s involving and moving score, and exemplary production design, the melding of Jackson’s craft and Tolkien’s high fantasy was to be the perfect escape in the chaotic, frightening immediate aftermath of 9/11 when Fellowship debuted in December 2001. Along with the Harry Potter franchise (Sorcerer’s Stone premiered just a month earlier in November), the movies were instrumental in the rise of fantasy in pop culture and the mainstream. The three films would win 17 Academy Awards over 30 nominations, with The Return of the King taking Best Picture in 2003.
After Guillermo del Toro left The Hobbit project in 2008, Jackson returned to the franchise, expanding the planned two films into three. The films didn’t quite reach the same level of box office or critical acclaim but did achieve an additional six Oscar nominations for the franchise.
The Lord of the Rings returned to television in 2022 with The Rings of Power, set millennia before the rest of the franchise. In 2024, we got a second Power season, and a return to theaters, though by way of an unexpected journey: the anime The War of the Rohirrim.
#1
Critics Consensus: The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter.
Synopsis: The sequel to the Golden Globe-nominated and AFI Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "The
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#2
Critics Consensus: Visually breathtaking and emotionally powerful, The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King is a moving and satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy.
Synopsis: The culmination of nearly 10 years' work and conclusion to Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based on the timeless J.R.R. Tolkien
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#3
Critics Consensus: Full of eye-popping special effects, and featuring a pitch-perfect cast, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring brings J.R.R. Tolkien's classic to vivid life.
Synopsis: The future of civilization rests in the fate of the One Ring, which has been lost for centuries. Powerful forces
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#4
Critics Consensus: It may not yet be the One Show to Rule Them All, but The Rings of Power enchants with its opulent presentation and deeply-felt rendering of Middle Earth.
#5
Critics Consensus: The Rings of Power's sophomore season discovers new virtues while retaining some of its predecessor's vices, overall making for a more kinetic journey through Tolkien's world.
#6
Critics Consensus: While still slightly hamstrung by "middle chapter" narrative problems and its formidable length, The Desolation of Smaug represents a more confident, exciting second chapter for the Hobbit series.
Synopsis: Having survived the first part of their unsettling journey, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and his companions (Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage)
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#7
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of the adventures of a hobbit on a quest to regain a dwarf
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#8
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Hobbit faces the powers of darkness as he tries to destroy the Ring of Doom. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's
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#9
Critics Consensus: Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth is an earnest, visually resplendent trip, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty.
Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) lives a simple life with his fellow hobbits in the shire, until the wizard Gandalf (Ian
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#10
Critics Consensus: Though somewhat overwhelmed by its own spectacle, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ends Peter Jackson's second Middle-earth trilogy on a reasonably satisfying note.
Synopsis: Having reclaimed Erebor and vast treasure from the dragon Smaug, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) sacrifices friendship and honor in seeking
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#11
Critics Consensus: Ralph Bakshi's valiant attempt at rendering Tolkein's magnum opus in rotoscope never lives up to the grandeur of its source material, with a compressed running time that flattens the sweeping story and experimental animation that is more bizarre than magical.
Synopsis: This animated film by Ralph Bakshi presents the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's renowned fantasy tale. The wise old wizard,
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#12
Critics Consensus: This animated deep cut from The Lord of the Rings mythos has plenty of spectacle, but its clichéd characters and uneven animation resemble middle of the road more than they do Middle Earth.
Synopsis: Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, "The Lord of the Rings: The War
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