A unique mention goes to Peter Jackson's film adaptation of Tolkien's entire trilogy: The Lord of the Rings (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003).

In fact, Jackson's work can be considered a single monolithic work, both for its stylistic consistency and narrative homogeneity, and for the philological love with which Tolkien's language has been transposed.

It is not just philological love; the real miracle here is how Jackson managed to translate Tolkien's prose, often abstract, interior, and mythological, into a visceral language. He made the feeling of the book tangible. The massive use of practical effects, WETA's “bigatures” (giant-scale miniatures), and meticulous prosthetic work gave Middle-earth a “lived-in” weight that CGI alone could never have achieved.

Peter Jackson tackles an endless work and does so in a sublime way, managing to find the right balance between cinematic vision and a taste for the fantastic. A film divided into three parts, faithful to Tolkien's format, shot mainly in New Zealand.

In the first film, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the Fellowship of the Ring is formed.

The Hobbit Frodo, on the advice of Gandalf the Grey, his wizard friend, leaves the Shire for the city of Brea in the company of Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Frodo carries with him the mysterious ring found decades earlier by his uncle Bilbo in the dark recesses of the Misty Mountains, stealing it from the creature Gollum; a piece of jewelry that grants the gift of invisibility when worn.

This introduction is fundamental. Jackson immediately establishes the Ring not as an object, but as a character. The sound design (the whispers, the heartbeat), the oppressive weight it seems to have, and the visual distortion it creates (the “world of shadows”) are purely cinematic tools. Furthermore, the casting is perfect: Ian McKellen does not play Gandalf, he is Gandalf, embodying that mixture of wisdom and irascibility. And Elijah Wood's wide eyes are the ideal mirror for the corruption that the Ring will inflict.

On their trail are the fearsome Black Riders, mysterious and terrifying creatures seeking a Hobbit named Baggins and his precious ring to return it to its rightful owner: the wizard Sauron, who in spirit form inhabits the remote black tower of Barad-dûr, in Mordor in the far East. The ring contains all the power of the evil wizard, with which he would overwhelm all the free countries of Middle-earth if he came into possession of it.

Frodo, arriving in Brea, will find Aragorn, a wanderer who will prove to be a valuable ally in his escape. Aragorn advises the four Hobbits to head for Rivendell, the home of King Elrond's elves, and offers to guide them there. The journey will be fraught with danger, and the nine Black Riders will prove to be formidable hunters.

Here, Peter Jackson's horror roots emerge. The Nazgûl are not mere soldiers; they are portrayed as supernatural slasher entities. The sound editing (their screams), the subjective shots from the Hobbits' point of view (the Windy Hill sequence), and the way they are perpetually shrouded in shadow is pure cinematic terror. The transition from the idyllic Shire to this immediate threat is a masterful tonal shock.

Once they arrive at Rivendell, the Fellowship of the Ring is officially formed, which, in addition to Gandalf, Aragorn, and the four Hobbits, includes Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, and Boromir, the man of Gondor, son of Steward Denethor, current regent of the city of Minas Tirith, the last bastion in the East against the power of Mordor.

The Fellowship will set off eastward through the dark mines of Moria, a labyrinth of tunnels swarming with orcs and inhabited by the powerful Balrog, an ancient demon from the past who drags Gandalf into an endless abyss, while the Fellowship manages to escape and take refuge in Lothlórien, the forest of the elven sorceress Galadriel, who welcomes the survivors and gives them new hope.

The Moria sequence is a technical and narrative masterpiece. It perfectly blends physical sets and CGI, culminating in the Balrog. This is not just a monster; it is the personification of shadow and flame, a visual triumph for WETA. And we must mention Howard Shore's soundtrack: the leitmotifs are already working their magic. The funeral and dwarf choir in Moria, the ethereal sound of Lothlórien: the music is doing as much world-building as the images.

The film ends with the dissolution of the company: Sam and Frodo continue their journey to Mordor alone, their arduous goal being to throw the ring into the flames of Mount Doom in order to destroy it once and for all, freeing the free world from the hideous presence of Sauron. Merry and Pippin are captured by a group of Uruk-Hai orcs sent by the wizard Saruman, once an ally of Gandalf, now a traitor to the cause out of lust for power. Boromir, the valiant warrior of Gondor, is killed after desperately attempting to save the two Hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas set out in pursuit of the Uruk-Hai to free their two captured companions.

In the second film, “The Two Towers,” we witness the great battle of Rohan, the land of the horse lords, to counter the armies of Sauron. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find the group of Uruk-Hai slaughtered by a squadron of Rohirrim knights commanded by Eomer, nephew of the king of Rohan, Theoden. But Merry and Pippin escaped the massacre by taking refuge in the enigmatic and impenetrable forest of Fangorn. Here they are saved by Treebeard, an arboreal creature called an Ent, the shepherd of trees.

The real protagonist of The Two Towers, however, is a technological leap forward: Gollum. This is the moment when motion capture became a legitimate tool for dramatic performance. Andy Serkis' contribution is immeasurable. The ‘split personality’ scene (Smeagol versus Gollum) is pure theater, driven entirely by Serkis' voice and movement, proving that a CGI character could not only be believable, but deeply empathetic and terrifying.

Meanwhile, Aragorn and his companions meet Gandalf who, having escaped the titanic struggle with the Balrog, has crossed the dark regions of Death, returning to the land of the living and taking on the new epithet of Gandalf the White. The four set off for Edoras, the city of King Theoden, to free the king from the spell cast on him by Sauron through his devious advisor, Treebeard.

Once Théoden is freed from the spell, an army of Rohan knights is formed to entrench themselves in the fortress of Helm's Deep and resist the final wave of Saruman's armies. The Battle of Helm's Deep, one of the most epic and fascinating moments in the entire story, sees the two armies face off: men against orcs in a merciless battle at the walls of the fortress. Thanks to the help of Gandalf, who arrives with new reinforcements, the battle is won and Saruman is finally defeated. Aragorn, Gandalf, and their companions are reunited with the two Hobbits, Merry and Pippin.

The Battle of Helm's Deep changed the rules of cinematic sieges. It is not just spectacle; it is legible spectacle. Jackson maintains perfect spatial geography: we understand where the wall is, where the gate is, where the keep is. He balances the “hero shots” (Legolas surfing on the shield) with the muddy, claustrophobic terror of the soldiers in the breach. The interlude with the slow, deliberate, and inexorable march of the Ents on Isengard is the thematic core of the film: nature itself rebelling against Saruman's industrial “machine.”

Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo, on their lonely journey towards Mordor, meet Gollum, the former owner of the ring, who offers to guide them through the mountains into the kingdom of Mordor. However, the devious creature sets a trap for them, dragging them into the lair of the giant spider Shelob. While Frodo is paralyzed by the spider and kidnapped by a group of orcs, Sam heroically sets out to find him and free him.

In the third film, “The Return of the King,” we witness the epic siege of Minas Tirith and the coronation of the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor: Aragorn. While Théoden leads his knights to Gondor's aid, Gandalf precedes him and arrives at the citadel with Pippin, organizing the defenses.

The siege by Sauron's endless armies is truly impressive: legions of Orcs, Uruk-hai, Easterlings, the nine Nazgûl (the nine Black Riders from the first film) with winged Wyverns, and then creatures of all kinds, Wargs, Trolls, and Oliphants, to name but a few. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli cross the borders of a terrifying land inhabited by the spirits of warriors once bound to the King of Gondor by a promise. Thus Aragorn, who is the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor, binds this spectral army to honor that promise, securing a powerful ally in the war against Sauron.

If Helm's Deep was a siege, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields is total war. The sense of scale here is, even today, almost overwhelming. Jackson uses the Olifants to arm the scale itself. But the genius of The Return of the King is how it balances this spectacle with the true heart of the story: the micro-tragedy of Frodo and Sam. The film understands that the charge of the Rohirrim is breathtaking, but the real battle is Sam carrying Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom. That is the thematic climax: loyalty and hope in the face of utter despair.

The situation in Minas Tirith is critical, and the city is about to fall despite Gandalf's superhuman efforts, when King Theoden makes his triumphant entrance onto the battlefield with his large army of Rohan knights. They will descend upon the besieging armies like a deadly tide that sweeps away everything in its path. With the help of Aragorn and his ectoplasmic allies, the war will be won and the enemy driven back into the shadows.

But the decisive battle is fought in the East by two small creatures who are approaching, amid a thousand difficulties, Mount Doom to destroy the ring. So Aragorn, the new King, gathers an army of survivors to present themselves at the Black Gate of Mordor in the hope of distracting the Eye of Sauron by diverting its gaze from the two Hobbits.

While the handful of brave souls are surrounded by Sauron's armies, Frodo manages, with superhuman effort, to throw the ring (and Gollum, who had tried to take it back) into the magmatic chasm of Mount Doom, putting an end to Sauron's reign of terror once and for all.

And finally, the “endings.” Many criticize the multiple epilogues, but this is a misunderstanding. The goal is not only to win the war, but to show its consequences. The book's “Purification of the Shire” is missing, but its emotional weight is all here. The heroes cannot simply “go home.” Frodo is permanently scarred (a metaphor for PTSD). The final, heartbreaking shot of Frodo at the Grey Havens is not a victory lap; it is the acknowledgment of trauma. It is the profound, bittersweet conclusion that elevates the entire trilogy from mere fantasy epic to true mythological masterpiece.