17. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

As Gandalf falls down a pit fighting the incredible power of the Balrog, the Fellowship manages to escape the mines of Moria. No one knows what became of Gandalf, and the fellowship becomes divided as the hobbits Frodo and Sam leave to go to Mordor alone as they fear the power of the ring may corrupt the other members. The Two Towers is when the story really heats up, as the Battle of Helms Deep and the battle Isengard both occur in this film. It goes without saying that the fight scenes are just stupendous and is the definition of movie magic. You really feel the clang of swords and the whooshing by of incoming arrows. There has to be tens of thousands of actors in each of the battles and how Peter Jackson managed all of it still baffles me. Either way, while this is the middle of the story, and is bound to leave you on a cliffhanger, it doesn’t even matter because you’re enjoying the ride the whole way through. I mean, how can you not love a giant tree army destroying a bunch of orcs?