25 modern book-to-screen adaptations that didn’t let us down

The Lord of the Rings

While on the topic of epic fantasy series, we’d be remiss not to mention Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which hit theaters back in 2001. Much like with Game of Thrones, Jackson took Tolkien’s story and made it his own, while keeping the most important details of the trilogy intact.

Of course, Jackson’s changes helped pick up the pace of Tolkien’s novels, which often took time to focus on descriptions of landscapes and side stories that didn’t necessarily factor into the overall plot. And while gorgeous prose is part of Tolkien’s signature writing style, they wouldn’t necessarily translate well into film — something that Jackson managed to work around. The movie versions of The Lord of the Rings certainly still have a few shots of stunning landscapes, but something is always happening to keep viewers engaged and entertained.

Through the acting and writing of the films, The Lord of the Rings fans also get to know Frodo and his companions a bit better than they do in the books. Not only does having an adaptation allow us to put faces to the characters, but the movies enable us to feel what they’re feeling alongside them. While Tolkien’s characters in the books are undoubtedly fleshed out, the emotions sometimes get lost in the less-modern writing. Jackson’s interpretations don’t suffer from this problem, especially with talent like Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen leading the way.

The Lord of the Rings films have become modern classics, and their popularity has even sparked a television prequel series from Amazon Prime, which is currently expected to arrive sometime in 2020.