The Hobbit vs The Lord of the Rings

4. The Misty Mountains

It's fair to say that, having ventured through them in both An Unexpected Journey and The Fellowship of the Ring, no one in their right mind would willingly enter the Misty Mountains. From balrogs to goblin kings, via trolls, giants and just about every orc that isn't present in Mordor, the Misty Mountains are a perilous array of treacherous death traps.

Of course, where there's adventure there's danger, meaning each story naturally pays a visit to the mountain range. In An Unexpected Journey, we were treated to the sights of the Goblin Town - a vast stretch of filth-ridden caverns and crevices. More impressively, however, the dwarven halls of Khazad-dum were impressed upon us in The Fellowship of the Ring. Not only was Khazad-dum the venue for two of the most memorable battles in The Fellowship of the Ring, it was also the site of one of the greatest architectural kingdoms of The Lord of the Rings.

By the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, Khazad-dum went by the more widely known name of Moria - a place with dark connotations. Regardless of which, it proved to be a highlight of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, ousting its appearance in An Unexpected Journey due to its epic scale and less comic approach.

Winner - The Fellowship of the Ring