Fantasy movie face off: The Lord of the Rings vs Harry Potter

[Gizz]

Harry Potter was what I voted for not really a fan of Lord of the Rings at all.

[MechaGodzilla]

This is such an easy choice. The Lord of the Rings movies are great all around while the Harry Potter series mostly just falls into the "nice enough time waster once in a while but doesn't provide any form of deeper emotional stimulation" category for me. The first two movies had a certain charm to them I like, but when it tried to go all "dark" with Prisoner of Azkaban and on it kind of lost me.

[FrellingFrakker]

I love the Harry Potter series, however there is no contest here, LOTR wins hands down.

[wonkavision]

Eh...they're both fantasy films based on literature. Total escapism even though they are different stories. I can take either one, no preference.

[Galactus]

The Lord of the Rings, the only movie I liked in the Potter series is Chamber of Secrets.

[qb2333]

Not a fair fight reflected in poll

[L.J.]

Originally Posted by Canada

For some reason I could never get into Harry Potter although most of them got great reviews. Lord of the Rings for me

LOTR's for sure.

[Ray_Rogers]

I now enjoy both but The Lord of the Rings all the way for me.

[Lord Method Man]

How is this even a question

[Kryptonic]

On both the page and screen, Rings is vastly superior in every possible way.

[chcknhwk68]

Originally Posted by Kryptonic

On both the page and screen, Rings is vastly superior in every possible way.

Nobody can argue with that .

[seamus11]

Harry Potter with no doubts.
LOTR never had such a huge emotional effect on me as Harry Potter films did...

[SummerParadise]

This movie

[,deeii]

The Lord of the Rings.

[Brother_Dobby]

Genuinely didn't have the emotional investment in Rings that I did with Potter. I've really tried to get into it the way most everyone else has, but I just see them as bloated and cluttered. At least, in terms of the action scenes of the last two in my opinion (Fellowship balanced the story with the action a lot better I thought.) But in the case of the last two films, I feel that the plot gets lost in most the battle scenes and they feel too stretched out for me to be completely invested. (And those damn endings in Return of the King!) I'm very much in the minority here, but I genuinely preferred the first Hobbit movie to all of the Lord of the Rings films because I could follow the story a lot more, there was less "epic" action scenes which meant that I more closely followed the characters (plus I very much enjoyed Bilbo's performance here where many of the LOTR's performances were far more serious.)

On the other hand, and I know I'm in the minority when it comes to this, but I genuinely see Potter as superior. I feel that keeping up a consistent quality over eight films and ten years, keeping the same cast together (except for one passing actor), along with the ability to grow up with their audience is remarkable in itself, most of my respect for Potter just comes from the fact that it gripped me from the start. Lord of the Rings I didn't see to the end until years after the hype of the films. It's strange, as most of the reasons that I love Potter so much should apply to Lord of the Rings as well (the characters, the world, the soundtracks, the atmosphere, etc.) , but it just doesn't click with me in LotR in the way it does with Potter and I think it comes down to the length of the LotR movies and how too much time is given to the action in them in my opinion.

So, in short, I can sit through a complete Potter marathon no problem (still have yet to do so, though!). I get halfway through a LotR Edition and I say "I'm done!" So yeah, in the minority, but I genuinely prefer Potter all around.

[JackKnightStarman]

As a fan of Rings since discovering the Ralph Bakshi film and then discovered the books when I was old enough to read. Every version of those books and films has resonated with me, with exception of the Hobbit trilogy by Jackson. Rings has so much weight to it.

Potter on the other hand, I lost interest after Goblet book and movie. Just tried way to hard. Rowling is definitely not Tolkien, in any shape. I also felt the relations between everybody felt forced and not natural. And after seeing DH parts 1&2, they could have made one three hour movie. All that build up for the Harry and Voldemort showdown, and there was no "punch" to it. Very deflating moment in cinema.

[Hellraiserfan]

I prefer the more adult oriented style of The Lord of the Rings. All of the Harry Potter films are enjoyable but I wouldn't watch them as often as the LotR trilogy.

[Thoix]

I prefer The Lord of the Rings. I really like the Harry Potter films but some of them are not that great, nor do they compare to anyone of the The Lord of the Rings films.

The Lord of the Rings:
1. The Fellowship of the Ring - 10/10
2. The Two Towers - 10/10
3. The Return of the King - 10/10

Overall: 10/10

Harry Potter:
1. Prisoner of Azkaban - 9/10
2. Half-Blood Prince - 9/10
3. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - 8/10
4. Order of the Phoenix - 8/10
5. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - 7/10
6. Goblet of Fire - 7/10
7. Chamber of Secrets - 7/10
8. Sorcerer's Stone - 7/10

Overall: 8/10

[Cremildo]

I prefer the Harry Potter books, but I'll take the LotR movies any day.

[hockeyshark91]

Easily LOTR.