The Lord of the Ringshas remained one of the most popular entertainment franchises to date, with each continuation of the seriesexpanding its reachand impact on pop culture. J.R.R. Tolkien’s creation wouldn’t be the same without its visuals, which completely transport its audience into his world.New Zealand’s Wētā FX, previously called Weta Digital, has contributed phenomenal visual effects to each of the installments within the series. Their work continues in many modern pieces of media recently released as well, likeThe Last of UsandBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. In the world ofThe Lord of the Rings, viewers expand their imaginations thanks to the best visual effects in the Lord of the Rings franchise. Here are the top examples, ranked.
10Middle-earth’s Landscapes
Collectively and individually, the landscapes ofMiddle-earth throughout the storiesare genuinely jaw-dropping. They appear so realistic that it’s surprising to find out that much of the splendor that audiences perceive doesn’t actually exist within reality. Expansive areas such as Erebor, Rivendell, and Isengard are each distinctly conveyed visually, standing out from the more realistic landscapes that were fully filmed in New Zealand. And Hobbitton eventually became a permanent spot in New Zealand tourism. The more peaceful areas within Tolkien’s stories are just as stunning as the spaces that host battles and betrayal.
9Udûn and Ostirith
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris filled with incredibly impressive visual effects. The first season’s sixth episode, “Udûn,” peppers its harsh storyline with a realistic aesthetic. The episode details a fight between Orcs, the series’ main cast proceeds, and those caught in the crossfire.TheOneRing.netreported that the episode (plus otherRings of Powersegments) earned recognition from the Visual Effects Society.“Udûn” wonfor both Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project and Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode. In addition, “The sentinel citadel of Ostirith was modeled and placed digitally on the spectacular shores of Lake Quill in Southland, New Zealand,” according toan article from Wētā FX.
8The Battle of the Five Armies
As the finale to theHobbitfilm series,The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armiesof course completes the conflict among Middle-earth’s races… for the time being. Multiple groups come together and fight against one another, making for an extremely large battle that creates many more casualties than a two-sided skirmish would. The long-awaited battle sequence is one of the most involved in Tolkien’s universe, which of course means that the making of it was just as nuanced. An article and its corresponding videofrom Wireddiscusses the “massive—and massively striking—battle sequences for the film,” in which Wētā FX “used crowd-simulation and other software to make the powerful clashes.”
7The Hobbit’s Goblins
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeyis the first movie to kick off the second film trilogy, this time stemming from Tolkien’s single novel. Stretching the story into an intricately detailed series is part of the reasoning why this seriesisn’t as fondly rememberedas the originalLord of the Ringsfilms. As Bilbo’s expedition progresses along with the rest of Thorin’s company and Gandalf, they’re swept away into Goblin Town underground, against their will. The dozens – maybe even hundreds – of goblins congregating below are ruled over by their burly leader, the Great Goblin. Joe Letteri, the director of Wētā FX when the film came out, said that a decent amount of goblin content was filmed through motion capture; this info was initiallycovered by Collider.
Related:Every Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Movie, Ranked by Box Office Results
6Mount Doom
When Frodo and Sam finally make it to Mordor and Mount Doom inThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the journey that the original Fellowship undertook finally reaches the moment that characters and audiences alike have been anticipating. While the scenes that took place on and around the mountain did include real-life landscapes in New Zealand, the progression of it required some post-production manipulation. When Frodo and Gollum fight one another over the Ring, with Frodo being invisible for much of the time, the filming processincluded motion capture. Obviously, Elijah Wood couldn’t really hang from the edge of a boiling volcano, so the rest of the surrounding scene must have been computer generated to a significant extent.
5The Balrog
Towards the final few sequences ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, things take a scary turn. The Fellowship’s encounter with the Balrog results in Galdalf’s apparent death and eventual transformation. It also encourages the rest of the Fellowship to move on without him, ultimately pushing their individual and collective character development forward. The Balrog’s gigantic, fiery form is pretty formidable within the world of Middle-earth, and the being appears to embody all things hellish. Its creation behind the scenes was multifaceted, including the utilization of a model and then animation afterward,according to Inverse.
4The Battle of Helm’s Deep
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towersis a powerful continuation of the Fellowship’s journey as its members approach Mount Doom and confront their enemies.An article from Inversestates that the film did indeed win one of its two Oscars for Best Visual Effects, partially because of the impact of this unforgettable battle. Writer Paul Moore details the creative process that helped to construct the fight: “Using a mix of miniatures and a fully-functioning set to bring the fortress of Rohan to life, the castle was built at a quarter scale, with the miniature version used for wider shots.” In the article, Liz Mullane adds, “There would be around 1,000 people per night on set, which was buffed up with special effects.”
3The Battle for Minas Tirith
The Battle for Minas Tirith, also called the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the Siege of Gondor, is one of the most important fights within the original trilogy. It takes place at the climax ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, bringing everything to a close eventually as the Dark Lord Sauron is finally vanquished, and the world is righted again when it’s all over. Jim Rygiel, the visual effects' supervisor for the film,told CGWthat “a big chunk of the film is the Pelennor Fields battle, where we have digital Mumakils attacked by digital riders on digital horses who are attacked by digital Orcs coexisting with practical horses, riders, and Orcs.” This combination proved to be pretty realistic, especially when viewed from a distance.
Related:Lord of the Rings: Where Do Orcs Come From?
In each of theHobbitmovies, Smaug’s increasingly oppressive presence drives much of the films' conflict. As the story progresses, he transforms from a looming antagonist into an active force of disaster by the time the first movie ends. The videos of Benedict Cumberbatch’s motion capture work utilized to create Smaug are somewhat funny to watch without any visual effects added in yet, but once the computerized version of the dragon takes center stage, the viewing experience becomes simultaneously magical and frightening.Through the Hollywood Reporter, David Clayton from the company now known as Wētā FX stated, “As animators we had to transpose the elements of Benedict’s performance that were critical to the shot, such as head nuances and facial expressions. We then built up the majority of his motion with keyframe animation.”
1Gollum and Sméagol
Gollum and Sméagol are two of the most important personas within both storylines within theLord of the RingsandHobbitfilms, especially in terms of the One Ring itself. Through motion capture, Andy Serkis has brought a number of essential non-human roles into reality, but his dual role as the decrepit and obsessive creature is one of his most significant portrayals. Apparently, playing these charactersgave him some flackdue to the funny appearance of the filming process, though his presence in Tolkien’s stories and his talent in this style of acting is completely essential.
