Lord of the Rings Reviews: Every Film Judged

Lord of the Rings movie reviews on Cinvibe cover seven films, and the easiest way to read them is by group: Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings films, his three Hobbit films and one animated spinoff. Every verdict is my opinion, hedged where the film earns it, and each film links to its own page for cast, plot and facts. Full reviews with our own star ratings will follow, so for now the verdicts are in words only.

Yes, the Lord of the Rings films are good, and the first trilogy is very good, but the question hides a second one: good against what? I judge each film on whether the story moves at the right speed, whether the set pieces carry weight, and whether the changes from Tolkien's novels (which I describe in my own words and never quote) serve the screen. That is a matter of taste, and you may weigh it differently. If you want the full league table rather than the notes, the lord of the rings movies ranked page sets the order out.

Fellowship of the Ring (2001), directed by Peter Jackson, is a good film and, in my opinion, the best of the six main films. It opens with a prologue that explains how the Dark Lord Sauron made a master Ring and lost it, then moves to the Shire, where Bilbo leaves home on his 111th birthday and Frodo inherits the Ring. That is a great deal of setup, and it never feels like homework, partly because Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, turns the plot into a mystery before it becomes a quest. The Black Riders, who hunt the hobbits from the moment Frodo leaves the Shire, give the first act real menace.

The physical craft is why it has aged well. Hobbiton was built at Matamata in New Zealand, and the production shot for 274 days over 15 months with nine units, on Super 35 film with digital grading, according to American Cinematographer. Elijah Wood won the part of Frodo after sending an audition tape, as the Christian Science Monitor reported at the time. Howard Shore's score and Enya's May It Be are the sound of the series for most people. The film cost $93 million and earned nearly $898 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, a large result for the first of three films shot together. Who should watch it? Anyone, and first.

The Two Towers (2002) is the middle film of the trilogy, and in my opinion it mostly succeeds at a difficult job. The Fellowship has broken apart, so the story splits into three strands: Frodo and Sam with the creature Gollum, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chasing the Orcs who took Merry and Pippin, and the two hobbits themselves in Fangorn Forest with the Ents. Splitting a story in three can leave each strand thin, and I think the Fangorn material suffers most, being the slowest of the three.

The Gollum strand is the high point, in my opinion. Andy Serkis plays Gollum, who tracks and captures Frodo and Sam and then agrees to guide them toward Mordor, and that uneasy partnership gives the Frodo and Sam scenes their tension. Bernard Hill as Théoden and Miranda Otto as Éowyn make Rohan feel lived in before the battle begins. The film cost $94 million and took about $945 million worldwide. It runs 179 minutes, the same as the first film, and it feels shorter. If you like the lore of the Ring itself, gollum has his own page.

Return of the King (2003) is the grandest of the three, and it earns its length of 201 minutes. It opens with the story of Déagol and Sméagol, which shows how the Ring turned one man into Gollum, then moves toward the assault on Minas Tirith. John Noble's Denethor and David Wenham's Faramir give the city a family tragedy to go with its siege, and Aragorn has to decide whether to claim his place as king of Gondor.

It won all 11 of its Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, according to the Academy. It also made more than any other film in the series: about $1.14 billion worldwide on a $94 million budget. My one hedge is the ending, which has several goodbyes in a row, and some viewers find that too slow, but, in my opinion, a story of this size has earned a long landing. The film's song is Into the West by Annie Lennox. The money side is covered on the lord of the rings box office page.

The hobbit an unexpected journey (2012), directed by Peter Jackson, is a warm, loose and overlong start to the second trilogy. Martin Freeman is exactly right as the young Bilbo Baggins, a homebody whom Gandalf chooses as the burglar for thirteen dwarves led by Richard Armitage's Thorin Oakenshield. The Misty Mountains song, set by Howard Shore, gives the company a sound of its own.

The trouble is pace. Guillermo del Toro was originally lined up to direct and left, and Jackson stepped in, shooting in 48 frames per second and 3D in New Zealand. The film cost $200 million and earned just over $1 billion worldwide according to The Numbers, which is more than the first Fellowship film, though a good deal less per dollar spent. My verdict: enjoyable, uneven, and a slow start to the journey.

Desolation of Smaug (2013) is the best Hobbit film, in my opinion. The company shelters with Beorn, a man who can turn into a bear, and he guides them to the edge of the dark forest of Mirkwood and warns them to keep to the path. Lee Pace plays King Thranduil, Evangeline Lilly joins as Tauriel, and Luke Evans appears as Bard.

Benedict Cumberbatch plays Smaug, and in my opinion the dragon is the reason to watch; smaug has his own page. The film cost $250 million and earned about $959 million worldwide. Its song is I See Fire by Ed Sheeran.

Battle of the Five Armies (2014) is the shortest main film at 144 minutes and, in my opinion, the most uneven. It picks up with Smaug attacking Laketown and Bard trying to stop him, so its opening is really the end of the previous film. Then Thorin falls under a sickness of greed in the treasure hall and becomes obsessed with finding the Arkenstone. Richard Armitage plays that decline well, and it is the strongest thing in the film.

The war itself is large and very busy, with Billy Connolly as Dáin Ironfoot among the new arrivals, and some of it is difficult to follow. The film was retitled before release, and the final title is a better description of what is on screen. It cost $250 million and made about $940 million worldwide. The film's song is The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd, who played Pippin in the Fellowship, a graceful link back to the earlier trilogy. My verdict: worth seeing for Thorin and for Gandalf, less so for the battle.

War of the Rohirrim (2024) is an animated spinoff directed by Kenji Kamiyama, and it is a smaller and more focused story than any of the main films. Éowyn, voiced by Miranda Otto, narrates a tale from Rohan's past about King Helm Hammerhand, voiced by Brian Cox, and his strong willed daughter Héra, voiced by Gaia Wise. The Dunlending lord Freca wants Héra to marry his son Wulf, voiced by Luke Pasqualino. When Helm refuses and kills Freca in a fight, Wulf swears revenge.

It runs 134 minutes, cost $30 million and earned about $21 million worldwide, so it fell short of its budget. Stephen Gallagher wrote the score and Paris Paloma sings The Rider. I think the film asks the viewer to care about Rohan already, and so, as a first Middle-earth film, it is a hard sell, though the familiar voices of Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan in the cast are a pleasant touch. Chronologically it comes before everything else, which the lord of the rings timeline explains.

The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum has no verdict because it has not been released. Warner Bros. and New Line have dated it for 17 December 2027, and Variety Australia reported on 15 July 2026 that filming was under way in New Zealand. Its status is tracked on the next movie page for the hunt for gollum, and any footage will appear under the hunt for gollum trailer. For the series as a whole, the lord of the rings movies hub is the place to begin.

Start with The Fellowship of the Ring, then watch the other two Lord of the Rings films in release order, and decide afterward whether you want the Hobbit films. Chronological order puts The War of the Rohirrim first and the Fellowship fifth, which is a poor way to meet the series for the first time. The lord of the rings movies in order guide sets out both lists, and where to watch lord of the rings shows which service has each film in the US, UK and Australia.