re: Best Lord of the Rings movie and why

Fellowship for a number of reasons, many already listed.

Most importantly, Fellowship is the only one of the movies that made me feel transported to a fantasy world. The green grass and bright colors of Hobbiton, the fading Autumn of Rivendell, the bleak empty black of Moria. The latter 2 movies were dingy and dirty and visually boring as all hell.

The interplay of the characters, especially the 4 Hobbits, sparkles in Fellowship. Once everyone separates it is a grim, morose affair (hence Jackson's decision to introduce dumb comic relief to break up the sullen monotony).

I also agree Gandalf the Gray > Gandalf the White, Strider > Aragorn, and frankly I never gave 2 shits about Rohan in either the books or the movies.