Which Movie was best overall?

[Boo Radley]

Originally Posted by Lush

The Old Forest & so on is one of my favourite pieces of Tolkien's writing as a whole - but I'm glad they didn't film that bit. Something tells me it would have been a disaster. I couldn't see them handling it very well - and I'm one of those people who bow before PJ's talent.

See? This is something I thought about quite a bit.
For the most part, I think PJ is the bees knees when it comes to directing ability, but I was afraid that these parts (Especially T. Bombadil) might come out appearing a bit cartoonish or hokey.
Tom is very enigmatic and to this day, I cannot picture him in my mind in such a way that he appears real.
(I'm sorry, I had this whole thing worked out in my head about how I was going to explain myself, but then somebody walked into the room and completely derailed my train of thought. Now it's gone. I hate when that happens!)

[blood of angels]

i would have to agree that the TT was the best movie out of the 3, it did have the best battle scene even though Pj put the elves as helms deep which i thought was really good and i know some people would disagree with me there but thats what i think anyway. I enjoy watching the second movie best out of the 3 and there is also the fact that we see the ents and are introducd to fangorn forest and meet the other ents and the fight scene with them was fantastic.

[Andsigil]

I enjoyed The Fellowship the most, and it was all because of the last 20 minutes of the film.

The Ring whispering Aragorn's name as he quietly rejects the temptation and closes Frodo's hand over it, telling him that he would have gone with him to the end had a quiet and implied dignity about it that few films had before.

Boromir's rescue of Merry and Pippin as he puts himself between them and the uruk-hai, yelling "Run! Run" as he makes his last stand, as well as his death scene, were enough to make the eyes well up.

[Morthoron]

The Fellowship of the Ring, without a second thought. It captured Tolkien's narrative best (save for perhaps the ludicrous presentation of Arwen invoking the waters at the Ford of Bruinen -- sorry, the original plot where Frodo squares off alone against the Nazgul is far more chilling). Perhaps it mirrored the book better because of its more linear progression, but I firmly believe that the other two movies were lessened by Peter Jackson's hamhanded efforts to subvert the plot to his evil will (as if it were the Ring itself).

If you really parse out the scenes in each movie, it is the unadulterated dialogue (even where another character speaks the lines) and scenes from the original plot that outshine the reinvented and reconfigured sensationalizations and muddled reinterpretations that characterized the scripting of Boyens and Jackson. One finds themself saying over and over, 'Well, that wasn't necessary' (the defamation of Faramir and Denethor, the breaking of Gandalf's staff, Aragorn falling off a cliff and frenching his horse, Frodo breaking faith with Sam, the Elves appearing then disappearing at Helm's Deep, etc.), or "Well, that's plain silly" (Legolas's shield surfing, Legolas's trunk surfing, the green Scrubbing Bubbles scouring Minas Tirith, Frodo showing the Ring to a Nazgul in Osgiliath, etc.).

FotR has far less digressions and unnecessary filler than the other two movies, and I believe the acting (thanks to Sean Bean, Sir Ian Holm, Cate Blanchett and Sir Ian McKellan) is a cut above the other movies as well.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

the green Scrubbing Bubbles scouring Minas Tirith

That's indeed a thing I've been wondering. Why couldn't they spare three or five seconds to show the people of Minas Tirith to see the rohirrim to come for their aid and make the effort? I mean it begged for those shots... the Gondorian soldiers on the walls feeling themselves doomed and betrayed by the rohirrim as Denethor put it and then seeing the cavalry gathering on the hill and blowing their horns to charge! What film would that have made!

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

I liked all of them although TTT had my favourate scenes it was less like the book than the other two. Darn PJ.

[Lady_Arwen]

Hmmm, hard to say. Either Return of the King or The Two Towers, but I think I liked ROTK better.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

If you really parse out the scenes in each movie, it is the unadulterated dialogue (even where another character speaks the lines) and scenes from the original plot that outshine the reinvented and reconfigured sensationalizations and muddled reinterpretations that characterized the scripting of Boyens and Jackson.

Much agreed. And to think at the time of first viewing FotR I wasn't happy that the 'unadulterated diagogue' flowed from the wrong lips. By TT and RotK, if only...

The Fellowship of the Ring cause it was the closest to the books and the characters.

All the films are well done. but the Fellowship had the essence of Lord of The Rings and I think some of it was lost in the last two films.

I think the first one is probably the favorite of fans of the books. Those who never read the books would probably like the Return of the king the most.