Ranked: Middle Earth Films 

So while in Lockdown I have gone back and watched all of the films in The Middle Earth franchise - The Lord Of The Rings & The Hobbit and here are my rankings from the weakest film to the best (no guesses for the best three films). 

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 

 

It says a lot about me that this film is the weakest film in this franchise, despite the fact that I quite like it. Martin Freeman & Sir Ian McKellen are great and Andy Serkis shines as Gollum in the small time he is on screen. It is just this film is way too long and literally takes a good 45 minutes before it gets going. It uses cheap nostalgia from the original trilogy and has a bunch of Dwarves you won't care about, but it does enough to be a likeable film, but falls into the bottom place on this list. 

5. The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014) 

Next on the list is the final film in The Hobbit trilogy, again it has some good parts, Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Luke Evans are all great in their roles and the stakes are certainly raised here in cool ways. But the majority of this film is just one big battle scene that has so much poor CGI it is crazy. The only reason it isn't the lowest on this list is that it ends some of the characters well, has some decent action scenes and is much shorter then any of the other films on this list which is a blessing. 

4. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)

And to nobody's surprise the second Hobbit film is the next film on this list and it is easily the best film in that trilogy. It is just much more fun then the other two films, the characters are better developed and the action is well done. It also includes Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and he steals the show and portrays one of the most memorable characters in recent memory. This film continues the story pretty well and does a really good job of making you care about The Hobbit films. 

3. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 

Now onto the Epic films - meaning The Lord Of The Rings trilogy starting with The Two Towers. This film has a couple of really interesting plot lines and balances them really well, whether it be Aragorn and the Rohan stuff, Frodo, Sam & Gollum doing there thing or Merry & Pippin's story, it all flows really well and is really exciting. This film also includes one of the greatest battles in film history with Helms Deep and is amazing to watch. I mean the only reason that this is number 3 is because one of these films has to be third, it is epic like the next two films. 

2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

The film that started it all, The Fellowship of the Ring is a truly epic film with one of the greatest crews ever established. Every member of the Fellowship is interesting and you care about them all for different reasons, the film has great action scenes and just does an amazing job in bringing you into this world and getting you established with these characters. Even though this is 3 hours long, it is action packed throughout and really focuses on its story and characters to an amazing level that is a must watch. 

1. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003) 

I mean what more can I say, it is The Return Of The King, possibly the greatest epic film ever created. The characters are at all time high, the stakes are at its highest and it manages to finish this trilogy perfectly to give every character a satisfying ending. The action scenes are epic and you will feel the epic nature of this film and exactly why it is one of the greatest cinematic experiences ever created and why it is the best film in this franchise. 

Overall

Overall, The Hobbit films are entertaining enough and The Lord Of The Rings are possibly the three greatest films ever made for the cinema so it is a must watch. To be honest all these films have merit and if for some reason you haven't watched the Middle Earth films, go out of your way and do it as soon as you can, especially with a new Lord Of The Rings show coming to Amazon in the next few years.