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Imagine – almost 15 years have passed since the premiere of the last film of the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy! However, how time flies…
This project is considered one of the largest in the history of cinema. All films – “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “The Two Towers” (2002) and “The Return of the King” (2003) – were filmed simultaneously for 8 years (!) against the backdrop of the magnificent landscapes of New Zealand. By the way, this is the birthplace of the director of The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson. That is why so many roles in the trilogy went to Australian and New Zealand actors, many of whom were little known to the general public until that moment.
But let’s remember – after all, there are other very good films shot in the same genre and in approximately the same artistic style. We have collected 10 great films that are very similar to The Lord of the Rings and will definitely appeal to its fans.
10 The Hobbit (trilogy)
Actually, this is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings and a free adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Director (ta-dam!) Peter Jackson created from a rather thin children’s book as many as three large-scale and very spectacular adult films: An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The trilogy tells about the journey of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire, in the company of 13 dwarves, to the Lonely Mountain, where the dwarf kingdom of Erebor once flourished, and where the terrible fire-breathing dragon Smaug now guards the treasures accumulated by the dwarves. (And also about how Bilbo got the Ring of Omnipotence).
The events that we saw in The Lord of the Rings take place exactly 60 years after the plot of The Hobbit, and therefore Bilbo aged noticeably there (after all, hobbits live “only” 120-130 years), but, for example, Gandalf, and all the elves have not changed at all – they are practically immortal. Well, what is 60 years old if you just turned exactly 2 thousand last Monday?
9. Game of Thrones
Oh yeah! This series can already safely be called a cult! Perhaps only those who live in a dense forest have not heard of him.
Since April 2011, 7 seasons have already been shown, the eighth – final – will be released on screens in April 2019. We are waiting with great impatience!
The Game of Thrones series is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novel series by George R.R. Martin, but in fact follows the original plot very little (only the most general outline), to the point that even the appearance of many of the main characters in the film is the opposite of the book.
The action of the series takes place in a fictional world, very reminiscent of the European Middle Ages. But there is magic here, and living dragons, and strange and cruel creatures – “white walkers”, and even quite healthy gods.
In one narrative, many storylines are intertwined with a huge number of characters. Chief among them: the struggle for the Iron Throne – the throne of the kingdom of Westeros. And my God, how beautifully filmed it all is!
By the way, people on the Internet call George Martin a “maniac” – for his habit of suddenly (and in large quantities) “killing” even the main characters.
8. Harry Potter (8 films)
Series about the “boy with a scar” Harry Potter – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (2001), “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (2002), “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (2004), “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Part 1 “(2010),” Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Part 2 ”(2011) – based on the books of the writer Joan K. Rowling. By the way, in 2016 another film was released – “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”, which tells about the events that happened 65 years before the “Potteriana” itself. They say that this will also be a five-part series about the world of magicians and Muggles, invented by JK Rowling.
In “Potterian”, of course, there are no mighty warriors and hordes of evil orcs, but there is a school of young wizards, strange and cute magical animals, strong friendships, desperate courage and even real battles with magic wands.
7. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Another fantasy film starring Nicolas Cage. The action begins in 740, in the legendary era of the great wizard Merlin. Merlin transfers magical knowledge to his students – Balthazar, Veronica and Horvath – and dies at the hands of the evil witch Morgana (due to Horvath’s betrayal). As a result, Morgana takes possession of the spell to resurrect the dead and, of course, is going to conquer the whole world. Veronica manages to connect her soul with hers in an attempt to contain evil, and Balthazar locks them in the Grimhold – a vessel for souls. Soon he places Horvath there as well. Dying, Merlin gives Balthazar the Dragon Ring, which can point to his successor. Since then, Balthazar has been stubbornly looking for this very successor.
Finally, in the year 2000, in New York, the ring suddenly “chooses” the boy Dave, whom Balthazar meets in an antiques store. At the same time, Dave accidentally releases Horvath from the Grimhold. And thus begins another epic battle of magicians (but in the modern world)…
In general, it would be difficult for an adult to perceive a rather pathos story about saving the world from evil magic if it were not seasoned with excellent humor. The modern “nerd” from the Faculty of Physics looks very funny in the role of a sorcerer’s apprentice.
6. Airbender
Night M. Shyamalan directed this film based on the plot of the 1st season of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Events take place in a world similar to the Far East of the Middle Ages. The painting widely uses elements of Asian mythology, art, different styles of martial arts. The main plot is that 4 peoples – the Air Nomads, the Water Tribe, the Kingdom of the Earth and the Fire Nation – have long lived in the neighborhood, controlling their elements. Consent and peace between them is supported by the Avatar, who knows how to control all the elements. But one day, the incarnation of the Avatar disappears without a trace, and the Fire Nation unleashes a war. Only the airbender Aang, the future new Avatar, can stop her…
5. The Chronicles of Narnia (three films)
A series about the magical land of Narnia, which can be reached through the most ordinary-looking wardrobe – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), Prince Caspian (2008) and The Dawn Treader (2010) – is based on the first three of the seven short stories by British author Clive Staples Lewis. (By the way, Clive S. Lewis and John R.R. Tolkien were friends.) From them we learn about the adventures of four ordinary children – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie – in a country where animals can speak and generally behave like people, where you can meet centaurs and fauns, where magic is the most common occurrence, and good , of course, always fighting evil.
With the help of the lion Aslan, the faun Mister Tumnus and other residents of Narnia, the Pevensie brothers and sisters first save the magical land from the White Witch and the Long Winter sent by her (which lasted for a hundred years). On their next visit to Narnia, the children help the rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian, defeat the insidious usurper Miraz. And in the third film, they set sail with Caspian, who wants to find 7 lords – friends of his father – expelled by Miraz, and meet with many different miracles and dangers.
4. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Directed by Chris Columbus, the film is based on the book of the same name by Rick Riordan. Do you even know that the ancient gods (and their half-breed children), as well as other mythical creatures – satyrs, furies, cerberuses and others – still live among us? Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon (however, for a long time he does not even suspect that “dad is not so simple”). Together with friends (the satyr Grover, Athena’s daughter Annabeth and the son of Hermes Luke), Percy embarks on a dangerous adventure to return the lightning bolts stolen from Zeus. And, of course, he performs this difficult task.
3. Star dust
A very beautiful and romantic film (filmed with a great sense of humor) based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. The village boy Tristan Thorne recklessly promises the first beauty Victoria Forester that he will bring her a real star that has fallen somewhere behind the ancient wall, where the villagers are strictly forbidden to go. And then it turns out that Tristan is the son of Princess Una from the magical land of Stormhold, which is located behind that wall.
The young man goes beyond the wall to find his mother, but first he finds just the star, who turned out to be a girl named Yvain, and then gets into the most amazing adventures. Rescuing Yvaine from three old witches who want to eat her heart in order to rejuvenate again, as well as from the four princes – the heirs of the king of Stormhold (who want to take away the Ruby of Power from the star girl, who got to her by accident), Tristan, of course, falls in love with her …
2. Solomon Kane
A very dark (but atmospheric) film by Michael Bassett based on stories by American science fiction writer Robert Howard. The action takes place at the beginning of the XNUMXth century. Former cruel privateer (and suspected of killing his brother) Solomon Kane is trying to hide in a monastery in the south of England from the Devil’s Reaper, who demands his soul as payment for some “deal” that Solomon does not even know about.
The abbot of the monastery tells him that in order to atone for his many sins, Kane needs to return home. And Solomon sets off on his journey, through the lands where the people are mowed down by the plague, and where robbers with black eyes are outrageous. Wounded and abandoned in the woods, Kane is found and nursed by Crowthorne’s Puritans, who are trying to get to the New World. Soon they are again attacked by robbers, killing almost the entire family, and young Meredith is kidnapped. Now Solomon must save her, and at the same time not let the Devil Reaper into the world …
1. Warcraft
The film takes place in the Warcraft universe, known to fans of this series of computer games. Under the influence of Filth – demonic magic – the home world of the orc race is fading away. The Ork Horde must “evacuate” to another world suitable for life as soon as possible. And so the leaders of the orcs gather their tribes in front of the Dark Portal and begin the invasion of the kingdom of Stormwind. But for some reason, people and the magicians protecting their world strongly disagree with this state of affairs. Let the battle break out!
I think most Internet users have seen Warcraft commercials with battle cries “For the Alliance!” and “For the Horde!”, and many even personally tried on the “skin” of the characters in this series of games. Therefore, the film was received all over the world (except, for some reason, the USA) very favorably.
And by the way, “Warcraft” is just the case when orcs sometimes cause much more sympathy than some people.