Ian McKellen's 8 Best Movies, Ranked

Ranked by movie.guru score, not nostalgia. Two X-Men, two Hobbits, three Rings, and one tiny Soderbergh movie you definitely skipped.

Number one has more goodbyes than a family reunion. It still wins.

1. 8
   X-Men (2000)7.4

   Magneto is the only grown-up in this whole movie.

   82% on Rotten Tomatoes and $296 million worldwide on a reported $75M. The sets look like a nice dentist's office. McKellen makes a metal helmet look like a crown.
2. 7
   The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)7.4

   A dinner party wearing a fantasy movie's cloak.

   Critics gave it 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave it an A CinemaScore and $1.017 billion worldwide. The dwarves sang about dishes and the crowd paid anyway.
3. 6
   The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)7.6

   Better than the first Hobbit, and it's not close.

   Metacritic jumps from 58 to 66 and Guru's Take climbs to 7.1. Benedict Cumberbatch voicing a dragon is worth most of that 7.6 on his own.
4. 5
   The Christophers (2025)7.8

   The best McKellen movie almost nobody bothered to see.

   95% on Rotten Tomatoes, Soderbergh directing, McKellen opposite Michaela Coel. Domestic gross: $1.8 million. Guru's Take is 8.4, higher than every Hobbit and both X-Men.
5. 4
   X2 (2003)8.2

   The best X-Men movie, and Magneto's plastic cell is why.

   8.2 on movie.guru, 0.8 higher than the original, plus $407.7 million worldwide. A sequel that got smarter instead of just louder. Rare.
6. 3
   The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)9.0

   The one you actually rewatch, and it lands third.

   Metacritic 92, IMDb 8.9 from 2.2 million votes, on a reported $93M. Gandalf at Bilbo's party is the warmest McKellen has ever been on screen.
7. 2
   The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)9.4

   The middle chapter that refuses to act like one.

   Ties for the top score at 9.4, with audiences beating 96% of movies. $945 million worldwide on a reported $94M. Helm's Deep in the rain still holds up.
8. 1
   The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)9.4

   Too many endings. Still number one. Fight me.

   Tied at 9.4, but Metacritic 94, IMDb 9.0 and an A+ CinemaScore break the tie. $1.138 billion worldwide. Audiences sat through every goodbye and still clapped.

$1,114 says someone in the comments types "You shall not pass" and genuinely thinks they're the first.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it