User blog:Triforcer/The Hobbit - Review Roundup

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins returns to the screen in a prequel of epic proportions. As the home-loving Hobbit lives his quiet life eating out of antique china and reading, he gets interrupted by Gandalf the Grey with quite the proposition. Gandalf's Fireworks were all the Hobbit remembered of the wizard when he was a lad, and while he dismissed all that Gandalf would say, he did not account for the resulting adventure when the Dwarves started to show up. Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro take the reigns of direction in this one.

Most of the reviews that have come out already are very mixed indeed, some citing that there's not enough source material to make it as epic as the first trilogy of middle-earth movies. The Hobbit is one small book, the smallest, being stretched into three movies that end up being spread too thin. Another controversy added to the mix derives from Jackson's use of 48 Frame-Per-Second filming in order to capture hyper realistic settings and characters; the lack of visuals make this an unnecessary addition to present scenes more realistically as most of these scenes don't exist in the first place.

Aside from the two nuances, everyone seemed to enjoy it regardless, if not for a chance to step into Middle-Earth once more. Some enjoyed it, some were displeased, and some just thought it wasn't great. We gathered some of the critical reviews for you, but be sure to leave your own reviews in the comments below!

CinemaBlend
Score: 4 out of 5 stars

When Jackson took on The Hobbit after Guillermo del Toro dropped it in 2010, it seemed like an obligation more than the passion that drove him to make the original trilogy. But for its occasional moments of excess and unhurried pace, An Unexpected Journey is proof that Jackson still has a knack for stories in this world, and that he may have more surprises in store as the rest of this new, unexpected trilogy unfolds.

Entertainment Weekly
Score: B+

Tolkien's full title is The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. I'm holding the filmmaker responsible for getting us all back again — to feelings of excitement and delight. Vital as they are, Gollum and Bilbo can only do so much to keep us enchanted. Is Jackson able to sustain the magic in two more installments? I peer into Tolkien's Misty Mountains and embrace the journey.

ScreenRant
Score: 4 out of 5 Stars

In the long run, The Hobbit prequels could be weakened by Jackson’s expanded three film plan, but if Part 2 and Part 3 are as enjoyable as An Unexpected Journey, it’ll be hard for moviegoers to complain. The film includes everything that made the original Lord of the Rings trilogy so memorable – action-adventure, charm, humor, and breath-taking fantasy battles. Sure, a few extemporaneous Lord of the Rings elements slow things down and distract from the core Hobbit storyline, but overall, the director has once again presented audiences with a captivating and exciting trip to Middle-earth.

NY Times
No Score Given

Over all, though, the shiny hyper-reality robs Middle-earth of some of its misty, archaic atmosphere, turning it into a gaudy high-definition tourist attraction. But of course it will soon be overrun with eager travelers, many of whom are likely to find the journey less of an adventure than they had expected.

IGN
Score: 7.9 out of 10

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey almost attains greatness yet despite so many moments of epic fun, greatness remains just out of its reach. This is a very good and entertaining movie even if it never quite recaptures the wonder or mystique of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Flaws and all, though, it was just nice to be back in Middle-earth again.

Examiner.com
Score: B

Overall, the biggest setback of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is that the film is split into three parts, which is sheer lunacy as The Hobbit is literally the shortest of Tolkein's novels. While it is a fun film, it lacks any of the serious nature in The Lord of the Rings which is fine, its more a children's story for adults. Most of the important and memorable scenes from the first portion of the book are there: the scene with the mountain trolls, the riddle game with Gollum, etc. For what its worth, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a fun film but if your a hardcore Tolkein fan you'll probably walk away with a mixed bag of emotions as the credits roll.

Rotten Tomatoes
Score: 66%

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth is visually resplendent and features strong performances from Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty.

Rolling Stone
Score: 2.5 out of 4 stars

What saves the day is the spidery, schizoid Gollum, again performed by the great Andy Serkis through the craft of motion capture. Though Serkis works on set with the actors, he has been denied Oscar recognition because of the computer-animated involved. Fie on you, Academy! Serkis equals and surpasses most of what passes for award-caliber performances. Here, playing a game of riddles with Bilbo, who has stolen the ring Gollum calls "my precious," Serkis helps turn The Hobbit into everything you wished for—a fantasy with the power to haunt your dreams. Too bad it takes the movie so damn long to get there.

Filmdrunk
Score: C-

Hey, it got me into the theater. And what was I rewarded with once inside? Goiters, mean dwarves, an inept wizard, and a guy with bird sh*t on his face, all putting aside their differences so that they could walk part of the way to somewhere.

SF Chronicle
Score: No rating

"The Hobbit" is like looking over Peter Jackson's shoulder to watch a computer screen. Occasionally, when the smoke clears, we get a glimpse of what "The Hobbit" might have been, had Freeman's quirkiness and humanity been given a chance to set the tone. The movie really springs to life only when Freeman dominates, as when Bilbo falls into a cave and discovers Gollum, looking like James Carville but acting like Peter Lorre. If you loved the earlier films, these are moments you will hold on to, but they're very few, and they're not enough.

Chicago Tribune
2.5 out of 4 stars

Extracting three generously proportioned films from Tolkien's books made sense. But turning the relatively slim 1937 volume “The Hobbit” into a trilogy, peddling seven or eight hours of cine-mythology, suggests a better deal for the producers than for audiences. When, in Jackson's film, someone describes a character's “love of gold” as having become “too fierce,” you wonder if the warning might apply to “The Hobbit” in other ways.

Wikian Reviews
What did you think of The Hobbit? Too many frame rate issues Loved it Too Long, Little Content Thought it was okay... I hated it!