The Lord of the Rings: 5 Things Fans Don’t Want To Admit About the Original Movie Trilogy

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There’s a good reason The Lord of the Rings is so popular, whether you’re talking about J.R.R. Tolkien’s books or Peter Jackson’s films. The stories and characters are widely loved, with the novels often ranked among the greatest fantasy books and the movies considered some of the best fantasy films ever made. Despite its success, though, even The Lord of the Rings has parts that don’t quite come together.

The Hobbit movies and the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series have faced criticism, but fans are fiercely loyal to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. While those films are widely considered masterpieces, there are five truths about them that many fans prefer to overlook.

The Movies Are Too Long To Entice Casual Viewers

As a huge movie fan, I always appreciate when a director really gets the source material, and Peter Jackson totally did with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. You could tell he put so much love and effort into capturing all the little details from the books. He didn’t include everything – I remember reading that the Fog on the Barrow-downs section was cut from The Fellowship of the Ring – but for the most part, he was really committed to staying true to Tolkien’s original stories, and I respect that.

While the movies are fantastic, they’re quite lengthy, potentially deterring viewers who aren’t already dedicated fans. The original theatrical releases of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers were just under three hours long, while The Return of the King exceeded three hours. The extended editions add another full hour to each film. This extra length is a plus for devoted fans, but it can be a barrier for those who are new to the series or just want to casually watch a movie.

Frodo’s Age Makes More Sense In The Books

Elijah Wood gave a fantastic performance as Frodo, which is likely why he’s returning for at least one of the new Lord of the Rings projects, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. However, it’s worth remembering that Wood was very young when he first took on the role – only 18 years old when he began playing Frodo.

While it’s great acting, casting Elijah Wood as Frodo makes him much younger than the character in the books, who’s in his fifties when the adventure begins. This doesn’t diminish Wood’s performance, but it’s a common critique fans sometimes don’t like to acknowledge about the films.

The Lack Of Women Is Actually A Problem

A common criticism of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is the limited number of significant female characters. While Arwen, Galadriel, and Éowyn are all well-developed and admirable characters, their small number remains a problem for many viewers.

Some people believe the films simply followed the original story, limiting Jackson’s options for including more female characters. Even if that’s true, it doesn’t diminish the fact that the movies noticeably lack women, and that’s a real issue.

The Army Of The Dead Makes Things Too Easy

Aragorn becoming King of Gondor in The Return of the King is a powerful and moving moment, and his ability to enlist the help of the Army of the Dead was crucial to achieving that. While the Army of the Dead storyline is compelling, it does somewhat simplify the challenges he faces.

Up until that point, the war had been a grim struggle for survival. This attack on Gondor was Sauron’s last, desperate attempt, and the defenders were facing overwhelming odds. However, the arrival of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli with the Army of the Dead quickly turned the tide. The ghostly army swept through the battlefield, defeating the enemy with ease. Even viewers familiar with the story might agree that the victory felt somewhat anticlimactic and came too quickly.

The Franchise Is Never Going To Be Exactly What It Was

Ultimately, the most difficult thing for fans of The Lord of the Rings to accept is that the franchise can’t recapture the magic of the first three movies. While new projects are definitely interesting, what fans really crave isn’t necessarily more stories, but rather a continuation of the original trilogy they loved.

It became obvious when fans campaigned for Viggo Mortensen to reprise his role as Aragorn in The Hunt for Gollum, a request that wasn’t feasible. It’s understandable that people are finding it hard to accept that the original films are over and it’s time to look forward. The initial Lord of the Rings trilogy was a uniquely magical experience, and while future installments can still be excellent, they won’t be able to recreate that same feeling.

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2026-06-05 00:42