Every Lord Of The Rings & Hobbit Movie, Ranked By Action

The Lord of the Rings movies are best known for their world-building and epic lore, but like any good high fantasy series, they also have plenty of action. The original trilogy by Peter Jackson follows the source material by J.R.R. Tolkien fairly closely and delivers on the visuals and immersive storytelling throughout each installment. When Jackson followed up his successful adaptation with a trilogy based on The Hobbit, he had to expand the original story and take some liberties with the text. Though The Hobbit movies are not as well regarded, they still have plenty of exciting sequences.

Watching The Lord of the Rings movies in order means beginning with The Hobbit movies since Bilbo’s epic journey came before Frodo ever set out for Mount Doom. However, even though the events of LOTR couldn’t have happened without The Hobbit, it’s universally acknowledged that the escalation of action in LOTR is more intense. Like LOTR, it takes time for Bilbo’s adventure to become dangerous and full of action, and even then, the battles within the book never reach the level of LOTR. However, Jackson’s updated interpretation of the story in the films changes everything.

6 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The first installment of Bilbo’s quest

It surprised many audience members that Jackson decided to split The Hobbit adaptation into three parts, as with LOTR. Even though there isn’t as much ground to cover, Jackson managed to incorporate enough intrigue in each installment to warrant the trilogy. Unfortunately, the first outing of the series is widely considered the weakest overall, and the lack of action is a large part of why. Full of set-up about Biblo’s backstory and exposition about Middle-earth during the period before Frodo was born. Due to this, it takes a long time for the plot to get started.

It’s important to watch
An Unexpected Journey
to get context for the more exciting sequels.

There are a lot of questions about what went wrong with The Hobbit trilogy as, despite the strong box office performance of An Unexpected Journey, the critical reception was mixed to poor. Since so much of the action happens later in the book, Jackson had to extend the scenes that are heavy with dialogue and leave out almost everything that could have quickened the pace and engaged the audience further. Though this isn’t a ringing endorsement of the first movie, it’s important to watch An Unexpected Journey to get context for the more exciting sequels.

5 The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (2013)

Both Bilbo and Gandalf’s stories up the level of action in the prequel trilogy

In The Desolation of Smaug, the story finally reaches the point where there’s significant visual intrigue through the battle sequences. After being warned about the fearsome dragon Smaug in An Unexpected Journey, Biblo and his allies come face to face with the cunning villain, and Jackson brings an explosive conflict to life on screen. Additionally, The Desolation of Smaug opens on a much more engaging note, with Bilbo’s fight against the giant spiders taking place not long after the beginning of the story. While Biblo continues on his quest, Gandalf’s journey makes for a compelling secondary plot.

Gandalf teams up with Radagast, another Istari, to investigate Sauron’s return, adding to the prequel’s connection to the later films and providing action and Easter eggs. Though Smaug is the only dragon in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit because the other dragons had died out by the Third Age, he’s a terrifying foe in the third act. Thanks to the final battle with Smaug, The Desolation of Smaug was considered a greater success in terms of quality. It’s clear that Jackson listened to the critics and fans and turned the volume up on the excitement.

4 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

The incredible movie that started it all

If The Fellowship of the Ring hadn’t been a resounding success, there would be no LOTR franchise. Like An Unexpected Journey, The Fellowship of the Ring bears the brunt of exposition and set-up, but it’s handled much more skillfully in this film. Even the quiet moments in the Shire feel propulsive, as Jackson cuts to the meat of the story quickly, getting Frodo up and out the door and being chased by the Nazgûl as soon as possible. Though the stakes are lower than in the later movies, The Fellowship of the Ring keeps the audience engaged with bated breath.

The biggest moments of action in The Fellowship of the Ring are Frodo’s initial chase scene on his way to Rivendell and Gandalf’s faceoff with the Balrog in Moria. Each of these are pivotal moments, as they determine the ultimate outcome of Frodo’s journey and change the course of his destiny forever. Without these comparatively smaller conflicts, The Fellowship of the Ring wouldn’t have been able to lay the groundwork for the groundbreaking battles that come later in the series. From this point on, every member of the Fellowship is on their own path with new perils ahead.

3 The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies (2014)

The most recent addition to the movie franchise

Before The Rings of Power premiered on Amazon Prime, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was the last that fans had seen of LOTR in film and television. The Battle of the Five Armies is a strong conclusion, and it’s impressive that Jackson managed to make a fight sequence that takes place after the book’s climax into a feature-length movie. However, there’s little question that this movie diverges strongly from the source material and takes liberties with how action-packed The Hobbit is in these final pages.

Almost the entirety of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies takes place during the titular conflict, with Dwarves, Elves, men, and wizards battling each other for the sake of both safety and treasure. Greed is a major motivating factor behind the actions of many of the characters, as the treasure in Smaug’s mountain is incredibly tempting and places Bilbo at odds with people he considers his allies. Additionally, the movie includes the conclusion of Gandalf’s early encounters with the newly forming Sauron.

2 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

After the major beats of conflict, The Return of the King wraps up quietly

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the climax of the original trilogy, and many of its iconic moments are fast-paced and full of action. Despite this, there’s actually a good deal of time spent laying the groundwork for these battles and then tying up loose ends at the end of the narrative. Once Frodo and the Fellowship have completed their quest, Jackson takes his time showing what happens to each of the characters and where they go in the aftermath of their journey, especially Frodo, considering his intense trauma.

Frodo and Sam’s ascent to the peak of Mount Doom and the surrounding battle in Mordor is a sight to behold.

The Return of the King is widely considered one of the best fantasy movies of the 2000s and of all time. However, just because it’s arguably the best movie within the franchise, this doesn’t mean it holds the title of most action-packed. Frodo and Sam’s ascent to the peak of Mount Doom and the surrounding battle in Mordor is a sight to behold, but this doesn’t warrant the top spot for fight sequences within the six films. While Frodo’s encounter with the spider is also terrifying, much of the movie is dedicated to amassing armies for the coming fight.

1 The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

The sometimes overlooked second film holds the most action

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is in a tough position. It doesn’t have the gathering of forces and establishment of the first movie and also doesn’t reach the incredible climax like the last. However, many critics and audiences know that The Two Towers is actually the most action-packed addition to the franchise and is the film that best demonstrates Jackson’s ability to choreograph and stage an epic fight scene. From the Ents storming Isengard to the battle of Helms Deep, there’s a lot to unpack in The Two Towers.

Part of the reason that this installment of The Lord of the Rings might not initially seem the most action-oriented is because much of Sam and Frodo’s storyline is stagnant and focuses on the development of their dynamic with Gollum. While this is psychologically exciting and does a lot for their character arcs, it simply doesn’t capture the imagination, like the swordplay and visual effects of the battles. However, it’s the quieter moments in the movie that make the incredible action sequences so memorable and the best of the franchise.