This Unlikely LoTR Movie is Elijah Wood's Favorite
Picking favorites between one of the greatest movie franchises ever created, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, is not easy.
Some might say it is not even a task worth doing. And yet we all seem to have our slight preferences over which film is best between Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and the penultimate Return of the King. It may therefore come as a surprise to some fans to learn that Elijah Wood (also known as ring bearer Frodo Baggins) has announced his favorite of the series. And his choice is definitely an unlikely one.
Wood announced his preference on the ReelBlend podcast, admitting for once and for all… Fellowship is his favorite film of the trilogy. To die-hard fans of the films this may come as a surprise for several reasons. Fellowship is a phenomenal film, no doubt about it.
But Frodo himself achieves so much in the other films. Whereas the introduction to the franchise served very much as an introduction to the story and characters, the hobbits didn't have a lot to do. It's not until the sequels do we see the growth of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Not to mention the last film culminates in its greatest point, as Frodo finally gets the chance to destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom.
Fellowship's sequels are also often voted as the better of the series between fans and critics. All three films, for example, receive above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. Yet Fellowship falls last at rated '91% certified fresh'.
Return of the King performs slightly better with 93%, and Two Towers gets rated a high 95%. IMDB sees a similar set of results. The final movie is rated 9/10, with the second and first rated at a joint 8.8/10.
Interestingly, Return of the King was the first fantasy film to win the best picture award. And if you search variations of #bestlotr on Twitter, you barely see Fellowship recognised at all.
So why does Elijah Wood rate Fellowship above the others? He heartfeltly admits it is because of working with his fellow actors in such a close-knit way that brings back fond memories for him. As if we needed a reason to love Elijah Wood more.
Wood goes on to explain that a lot of the scenes together with the likes of Orlando Bloom, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Bean, and of course the other hobbits Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd, were filmed in the earlier days of production.
Working together at the very start of the story, before the characters separate almost entirely, creates a beautiful and magical film, which is why it is his favorite. With such a gracious and poignant answer to his preference, it's clear that you can take the hobbit out of the Shire, but you can never take the Shire out of the hobbit.