10 Fantasy Movies Better Than The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy helped shape fantasy filmmaking and continues to resonate years later. But plenty of other films have made their own mark on the genre. Here are 10 fantasy films we would place above the trilogy.

10. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Directors: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley
Cast: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant

The Dungeons & Dragons movies released in the early 2000s gave viewers little reason to expect a successful Hollywood adaptation of the game. Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley changed that with Honor Among Thieves in 2023.

The film combines the playful chaos of a D&D session with a story that feels like the work of a long-suffering dungeon master. Pine is a charismatic bard, and Rodriguez, Page, Smith, Lillis, and Grant make the adventure even more enjoyable. A sequel would be welcome.

9. The Green Knight (2021)

Director: David Lowery

Runtime: 130 minutes

Cast: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, and Anaïs Rizzo

Arthurian mythology has inspired many epic stories, but few adaptations are as poignant or visually striking as David Lowery’s The Green Knight. Dev Patel plays Gawain, who sets out to test his courage and confront the mysterious Green Knight.

The film earned critical acclaim for Patel’s performance and Lowery’s moody, somber approach to the myth. It is also set at Christmastime, though its sex and violence make it an unusual holiday film.

8. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Runtime: 120 minutes

Cast: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, and Álex Angulo

Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish fantasy-horror film shows how unnerving the genre can be. Set in Francoist Spain in 1944, Pan’s Labyrinth follows Ofelia, played by Ivana Baquero, as she faces the horrors of a divided, war-torn world.

Ofelia discovers an abandoned labyrinth where a mysterious faun tells her she may be the reincarnation of a fairy-tale princess. The tale that follows is far from comforting.

7. Stardust (2007)

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Runtime: 128 minutes

Cast: Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O’Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert De Niro

Stardust is an underrated fairy tale about magic, community, and love, with a cast to match. It is less solemn and epic than Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, but its embrace of whimsy is part of its appeal. Robert De Niro in drag is another.

6. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

Director: Andrew Adamson

Runtime: 143 minutes

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, and Liam Neeson

For anyone looking to revisit Narnia alongside Greta Gerwig’s Netflix adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s 1955 novel The Magician’s Nephew, Andrew Adamson’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a rewarding choice.

Adamson adapts the Pevensie children’s first visit to Narnia with affection for Lewis’s book. The story has a natural sweetness, and Narnia remains a visual marvel. The two films that followed are less satisfying, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe holds up on its own.

5. The Odyssey (2026)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Runtime: 173 minutes

Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, and Charlize Theron

Homer’s roughly 2,800-year-old The Odyssey has inspired many translations and interpretations. Christopher Nolan’s adaptation follows Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca and considers the toll of war on individuals and communities.

With witches, harpies, and cyclopes along the way, the story offers a scale of fantasy adventure comparable to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

4. The Princess Bride (1987)

Director: Rob Reiner

Runtime: 98 minutes

Cast: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, Robin Wright, Peter Falk, Billy Crystal, and Carol Kane

William Goldman adapted his novel for Rob Reiner’s fairy-tale film. Cary Elwes plays farmhand Westley, who sets out to rescue his kidnapped love, Buttercup, played by Robin Wright, from Prince Humperdinck, played by Chris Sarandon.

The film lets its audience know they are watching a story being read aloud. Its characters have a heightened, fable-like charm, and the broad performances suit the tale.

3. The Dark Crystal (1982)

Directors: Jim Henson and Frank Oz

Runtime: 93 minutes

Cast: Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, and Percy Edwards

Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s dark fantasy follows Jen and Kira, two Gelflings trying to restore a powerful crystal and bring balance to Thra. Their journey takes them through a dangerous, uncertain world where good and evil are not always easy to distinguish.

The Dark Crystal received a mixed critical response when it debuted in 1982, with some finding it too grim. Henson and Oz nevertheless created a thrilling tale without human actors. It has some of the appeal of The Muppets, with a darker edge.

2. Dragonheart (1996)

Director: Rob Cohen

Runtime: 103 minutes

Cast: Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Dina Meyer, Julie Christie, and Sean Connery

Rob Cohen’s Dragonheart gives its dragon a central place in an emotional fantasy adventure. Dennis Quaid plays Bowen, a disillusioned knight who hopes to pass his values on to his ward, Prince Einon, played by David Thewlis.

Einon becomes a tyrannical ruler, and Bowen believes the dragon Draco, voiced by Sean Connery, has corrupted him. The resulting story is more affecting than the sequels, which lose much of what made the original work.

1. Princess Mononoke (1997)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Runtime: 133 minutes

Cast: Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori, and Hisaya Morishige

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke tells a fantastical story about war, capitalism, and nature. In Muromachi-era Japan, Prince Ashitaka searches for a cure for his cursed arm and becomes caught in a bitter conflict between a mining town and San, a human girl known as Princess Mononoke.

Miyazaki blends the wonder of fairy tales with harsh realities. His depiction of industrial activity and its effects on nature and communities remains powerful.

 

Source: Polygon