Best Mythological Movies: 10 Films That Transport You to Ancient Worlds

The Lord of the Rings Series (2001-2002-2003)

The Lord of the Rings series consists of 3 parts:

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

After his 111th birthday party, Bilbo Baggins gives the ring to his nephew Frodo. Some time later, the wizard Gandalf the Grey begins to suspect that Bilbo’s magic ring may be the One Ring, which has been lost for more than three thousand years, and goes to Minas Tirith to distinguish and confirm this suspicion – he is taken to a small room filled with many books and historical documents.

After months of studying ancient documents, he finds an account of where the One Ring is. Gandalf learns that the Ring has a few lines of Black Speech written on it that can only be seen when heated with fire. He returns to Bag End to learn that the ring Frodo holds is actually the One Ring of Sauron. Gandalf tells Frodo to leave the Shire immediately with the Ring.

While listening to Samwise Gamgee at the window, Gandalf catches him and decides to send him along with Frodo. Gandalf goes to Isengard to meet with the White Saruman, who says that he has left Minas Morgul to capture the Ring and kill the bearer. Gandalf tries to escape to warn Frodo but is imprisoned at the top of Orthanc Tower by Saruman, who has already succumbed to Sauron’s cause. Gandalf then has to watch as Saruman orders the Isengard Orcs to build war machines and produce a new type of Orc warrior called Uruk-hai.

The Golden Compass (2007)

The film tells the adventures of Lyra Belacqua, an orphan who lives in a parallel universe where a dogmatic ruling power called the Magisterium opposes free inquiry. In a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua travels to the far North to save her kidnapped friend and other children from a mysterious organization that performs terrible experiments. Children in this world are being kidnapped by an unknown group called the Gobblers, supported by the Magisterium. Lyra joins a seafaring tribe on a journey to the land of armored polar bears to search for the missing children.

In an alternative world, a powerful church called the Magisterium tightly controls people’s beliefs and teachings. In this world, every person’s inner soul exists partly outside the body and manifests as an animal companion called a daemon. The daemon communicates with its person and must remain in close physical proximity. However, witches have bird-like creatures called daemons that can travel long distances away from their bodies.

Lyra Belacqua is an orphan raised in Jordan College, Oxford. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, a renowned explorer and scholar, is absent as he investigates Dust, a mysterious cosmic particle that the Magisterium has forbidden the study of. When Asriel returns to Oxford, Lyra saves his life by identifying an unidentified poison added to a wine served by a visiting Magisterium agent. Asriel then gives a presentation to other scholars about his discovery that Dust in the North Pole connects infinite worlds. Asriel receives a grant for another expedition. If his theory is proven, it could seriously undermine the control of the Magisterium.

Eragon (2006)

Arya, the elven princess of Ellesméra (Sienna Guillory), escapes with a strange stone pursued by the dark sorcerer Durza (Robert Carlyle) under the command of King Galbatorix (John Malkovich). When Durza corners Arya, he uses magic to teleport the stone far away. Eragon (Ed Speleers), a farm boy living in the land of Alagaësia with his uncle Garrow (Alun Armstrong) and cousin Roran (Chris Egan), who witnesses the appearance of the stone, goes deer hunting in hopes of bartering it for food.

Eragon brings the stone home, hoping to trade it for food, but realizes it is actually an egg when a blue dragon hatches from it. When he touches the dragon, a magical mark appears on his palm. It is shown that Arya, Brom (Jeremy Irons), and several others react to this event, including Galbatorix himself.

Eragon harbors and nurtures the dragon, who he names Saphira (Rachel Weisz), as she gradually grows to full size and teaches him how to fly. He communicates with her through his thoughts and gives her the name Saphira. When they venture outside, the Ra’zac, Durza’s monstrous servants, come to the village to search for the dragon and rider, during which they kill Eragon’s uncle.

Blaming Saphira for his uncle’s death, Eragon drives her away. Brom appears, takes Eragon away from the village, warns him about the importance of Saphira, and insists that he must seek her out. Eragon searches for Saphira through his thoughts, and Saphira returns, forgiving him for what he previously said.

Brom leads the group to the Varden, rebel freedom fighters who oppose Galbatorix. Along the way, Brom informs Eragon about the dragon riders, Galbatorix, Durza, and the Ra’zac. He also trains Eragon in sword fighting. In a small village, Eragon meets a fortune teller named Angela (Joss Stone) who tells him about a girl in need of help and a dangerous path ahead.

When Brom and Eragon are attacked by Galbatorix’s servants, the Urgals, Eragon attempts to imitate Brom and destroys the entire group with a magical blast of blue fire, then collapses from the strain. Saphira saves him. Brom reveals that he was once a rider and that his dragon was killed by Morzan, a rogue rider allied with Galbatorix.

Durza sets a trap for Eragon using Arya as bait. Hearing his telepathic calls, Eragon finds him, but is ambushed by Durza. Though Eragon is overpowered and fatally wounded in the process, Brom comes to his aid.

In a fit of anger, Eragon revengefully impales Durza’s head with an arrow, causing him to disappear. The trio escapes, and Brom dies from the wounds he sustained while flying on Saphira. Eragon retrieves Zar’roc, the sword that previously belonged to Morzan. Eragon confronts a hooded figure who has been following them, who reveals himself to be Murtagh and directs them to the Varden.

At the Varden, Murtagh is imprisoned because he is the son of Morzan. Shortly after, Durza and his men besiege the rebel camp. Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and the Varden prepare for battle and fight against the forces of Galbatorix. During the battle, Murtagh frees himself and aids the Varden, saving King Hrothgar, the Dwarf King, and proving his loyalty.

Eragon and Saphira engage in an aerial duel with Durza, who is riding his own monstrous creature. They eventually kill him, but Saphira is severely injured. Eragon uses magic to heal her and faints once again from the strain. The next morning, Eragon wakes up with Murtagh by his side. He fears that Saphira may have died, but he finds her fully healed.

As the impending war against Galbatorix approaches, Arya, who is going to lead the elves, is captured. She names Eragon as the “Shade Slayer” and promises to meet him again before parting ways. Meanwhile, in his castle, an enraged Galbatorix attacks a hanging map of Alagaësia, revealing his massive, black dragon, Shruikan.

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

In 1944 Falangist Spain, the bookish stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into a terrifying but captivating fantasy world. In 1944, in Falangist Spain, a girl who is fascinated with fairy tales is sent to live with her pregnant mother and her new stepfather, a merciless captain in the Spanish army.

Stardust (2007)

The English village of Wall is situated next to a stone wall that surrounds the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guardian prevents anyone from crossing the wall. Dunstan Thorne tricks the guardian and crosses over to a marketplace on the other side of the wall.

He meets a slave girl named Una and gives her a kiss in exchange for a glass snowdrop. They spend the night together. Nine months later, the Wall guardian delivers a baby to Dunstan, telling him that the baby’s name is Tristan. Eighteen years later, a dying Stormhold King throws a ruby into the sky and decides that one of his sons, who will be the first among them to retrieve it, will become his successor.

The gem strikes a star and they both fall from the sky, landing in Stormhold. The remaining princes, Primus and Septimus, search independently for the gem. In Wall, Tristan and Victoria see the falling star. In exchange for her hand in marriage, Tristan vows to retrieve it for her. Tristan learns that his mother is from beyond the wall and acquires a Babylon candle, which can transport the user to any desired location. He lights it and is transported to the fallen star, which has taken the form of a beautiful woman named Yvaine.

He uses a magical chain to capture her and take her back to Victoria. Three elderly witch sisters decide to eat Yvaine’s heart to restore their youth and powers. Their leader, Lamia, previously consumed the heart of another star and sets off to find Yvaine.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010)

The film begins with the camera hovering over New York City, passing through Coney Island and along a pier. The rising water from Brighton Beach merges into a towering, humanoid figure that appears to be a man but is actually the god Poseidon.

Poseidon walks calmly along the pier, seemingly oblivious to a gawking fisherman, and steps onto the streets of contemporary New York City, where his clothes change to resemble modern attire.

He reaches the observation deck of the Empire State Building and encounters another man dressed similarly—Zeus, the king of the Greek gods. Zeus instructs Poseidon to look up at the sky.

Poseidon notices the ominous thunderclouds and remarks that Zeus has lost his lightning bolt, the primary bolt that controls the skies. Zeus confronts Poseidon directly, convinced that Poseidon’s son is responsible for the theft. Poseidon insists that he doesn’t know who his son is, and warns Zeus not to cross a line, threatening to wage war if Zeus harms his son. But Zeus remains unyielding, telling Poseidon that if the bolt is not returned to him by midnight on the summer solstice (June 21), a war will begin.

The Hobbit Series (2012-2013-2014)

The Hobbit series currently consists of 3 films.

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012): Bilbo Baggins, a reluctant Hobbit, embarks on a journey to the Lonely Mountain with a generous group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home and the treasures within it, including the dragon Smaug.
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013): The dwarves, along with Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey, continue their quest to reclaim their homeland Erebor from Smaug. Bilbo Baggins possesses a mysterious and magical ring…
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014): Bilbo and the company are forced to fight against a host of combatants to prevent the rising darkness from taking hold of the Lonely Mountain.

Seventh Son (2014)

Master Gregory, a hunter of supernatural creatures, traps the queen of witches, Mother Malkin, in a pit atop a mountain. Years later, she escapes from that pit and Master Gregory, along with his apprentice Tom Ward, sets out to pursue her.

However, Mother Malkin kills Tom’s master and escapes to an abandoned castle that she has restored with magic. There, she reunites with her sister Bony Lizzie and her niece Alice, planning to destroy Master Gregory and begin their reign of evil. Meanwhile, the old hunter recruits Tom Ward, a pure-hearted farmer who is the seventh son of a seventh son in the Ward family, to join forces with him and his partner, Tusk, to hunt down Mother Malkin.

Tom, who secretly possesses the powers of a good witch, is given a magical amulet by his mother to protect him. He goes to the village where he meets Alice and falls in love with her. But what are Alice’s true intentions? Will they be able to succeed in destroying the powerful Mother Malkin?

Warcraft (2016)

The orc homeland of Draenor is being torn apart by a mysterious power known as fel magic. Gul’dan, an orc warlock, unites the orc clans in the Horde and opens a portal to the world of Azeroth using fel magic to drain the life force of captive draenei.

Gul’dan leads a small war party through the portal to capture and sacrifice prisoners to allow the rest of the Horde to enter Azeroth. Durotan, the chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan, his pregnant mate Draka, and his friend Orgrim Doomhammer join this initial war party.

When the orcs arrive in Azeroth, Draka goes into labor, and Gul’dan saves the dying baby named Go’el by draining the life force of a nearby deer and infusing him with fel magic. The orcs raid several human settlements in Azeroth. Anduin Lothar, the commander of the human forces of Stormwind Kingdom, discovers an unauthorized mage named Khadgar investigating the bodies of the slain men and reveals that they bear traces of fel magic.

King Llane Wrynn of Stormwind sends them to the wizard Medivh in Karazhan to inform him of the presence of fel magic in Azeroth. Lothar, Khadgar, and Medivh join a scouting party that follows the traces of fel magic but are ambushed by orcs.

Medivh uses a spell to kill the corrupted orcs and leaves Durotan and Orgrim to escape. The group captures the half-orc slave Garona but Llane, in exchange for her loyalty to Stormwind, sets her free. Garona leads them to spy on the orc camp where they learn about Gul’dan’s plan to bring the Horde to Azeroth.

While examining a book in Medivh’s library, Khadgar realizes that Gul’dan has been aided by someone in opening the portal in Azeroth. Despite Orgrim’s objections, Durotan secretly meets with Llane to unite the Frostwolf Clan and the humans against Gul’dan, but the group is ambushed by Blackhand. Medivh creates a magical barrier to protect the retreating humans, but Llane’s son Callan leaves the group and is killed by the orc Karaz.

Medivh becomes weakened, and Garona and Khadgar take him to Karazhan to heal. After noticing Medivh’s eyes glowing green, Khadgar realizes that he has been corrupted by fel magic and has been the one aiding Gul’dan. In the orc camp, Blackhand eliminates the Frostwolf Clan.

Orgrim helps Draka escape and sends Go’el down a river in a basket, but he is found and almost killed. Durotan challenges Gul’dan to a duel called Mak’gora, which is a fight to the death for leadership of the orcs. During the fight, Gul’dan uses his magic to drain and kill Durotan, violating the honorable rules of combat and empowering Blackhand with the same magic.

Medivh begins opening the portal to Draenor and starts sacrificing captured human villagers to allow the rest of the Horde to enter Azeroth. Lothar and Khadgar fight against Medivh and manage to defeat the demon that is starting to manifest, while Llane leads the human army in an assault on the orc camp.

Medivh is mortally wounded and, using his last bit of power, closes the portal to Draenor and instead opens a portal to Stormwind, allowing Llane to evacuate most of the released prisoners. Medivh dies, and the portal is closed, leaving only a small number of human soldiers behind to fight against the orcs.

Llane secretly orders Garona to kill him, bringing her honor among the orcs and placing her in a position to bring peace between the two races.

During Llane’s funeral, the leaders of other human nations, along with the high elves and dwarves, declare an alliance against the orcs and pledge their support to Lothar as the leader of the Alliance. Elsewhere, Orgrim takes a tooth from Durotan to one day give to Go’el, and the basket containing the baby is found by a human.

The Dark Tower (2017)

Roland Deschain, a gunslinger, is locked in an eternal battle determined to prevent the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together, from being toppled by the Man in Black, also known as Walter O’Dim. As the fate of worlds hangs in the balance, good and evil collide in the ultimate battle because only Roland can protect the Tower from the Man in Black.