Why The Fellowship Of The Ring Is The Best Lord Of The Rings Film
4. The Fellowship
The clue is in the title... 'The Fellowship of the Ring.' This film is the only entry in which our nine companions are together.
By the end of this film, Gandalf has fallen into shadow, Boromir has redeemed himself through noble sacrifice and Frodo and Sam have buggered off to Mordor on their lonesome (I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time). This leaves Aragorn, Gimili and Legolas to go 'hunt some orc' and rescue Merry and Pippin from the vicious Urak Hai.
Although each of these plot threads is interesting and allow new situations and locations to be introduced, we are denied time with the characters we have grown to admire and respect. Fellowship works because of the character dynamics and seeing how these strangers grow together through the adversity they face.
They are the main players in the story and elevate it above the latter two entries.