The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Movie Review

Posted by Charmaine Blake on Dec 13th, 2012 in Action Adventure, Adapted from a Book, Fantasy, New Releases | 0 comments

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Movie Review

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will come to theaters this Friday, December 14th 2012. The prequel to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Hobbit will bring everyone back to the story where it all began. Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey earned 73% fresh ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. Other critics on the other hand where a bit apprehensive when it comes to Peter Jackson’s use of 48fps technology in this film rather than the standard 24. Let’s check out a couple of movie reviews for The Hobbit below:

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on 48fps Technology

It seems like just yesterday, but it’s been eleven years since Peter Jackson unleashed his vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga in theaters and now he is back giving us a prequel of sorts: The Hobbit. Taking place decades before the events of Fellowship of the Rings, The Hobbit follows the story of Bilbo Baggins (Freeman) as a young halfling who is recruited by the wizard Gandalf (McKellen) to join him and a group of rowdy dwarves who wish to rescue their home from a giant dragon who has taken up residence there.

There is no doubt that this is an adventure that fantasy-lovers have wanted to take for some time. I remember as a kid watching the old Warner Brothers animated version, never dreaming that a live-action Hobbit could ever become a reality. But then after Jackson released the third Lord of the Rings film, fans started screaming for him to recreate the book that started it all.

So does it live up to the hype? In ways yes, but in other ways it is disappointing.

The good news is that Jackson’s vision delivers a wonderfully written and directed story with the same production values everyone expects. If you’re not familiar with the tale, you might be a little surprised at how playful the movie is, but this is with good intent.”

You can read the rest of the review at Crunch on This

Here’s another review from film critic, James Berardinelli:

“The Beauty of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

In 2001, only a few months after the fall of the World Trade Center, Peter Jackson swept us away to Middle Earth with The Fellowship of the Ring. It was a wondrous three-hour achievement: the first major attempt at serious, big budget epic fantasy. It succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest imagination (“imagination” being the key term), and Fellowship, along with its follow-ups, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, convinced Hollywood that there was unexplored ore in the fantasy mine. Now, nine years after closing the book on The Lord of the Rings, Jackson has returned to the scene of his greatest success. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of a three-part adaptation of Tolkien’s first Middle Earth adventure, is both more and less of the same. There are numerous concrete reasons why An Unexpected Journey fails to live up to the standard set by The Lord of the Rings, but the most critical is also the most intangible: the magic is gone (or at least muted). An Unexpected Journey is a competent, entertaining effort but it neither enthralls nor amazes in the way its predecessors did. There’s no question that Jackson is attempting to recapture something elusive and, although there are stretches when he comes close, he never quite attains that goal.”

Click here to continue reading at Reel Views

Don’t miss The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at theaters near you this Friday, December 14th 2012.

Check out the latest “Fantasy” films right in this blog

Charmaine Blake loves movies, musical theater listening to music and taking pictures of anything that she finds interesting. She is a voracious reader and writer, and enjoys her time writing for New Movie Launches. Charmaine loves spending time with her pets and currently has a Siberian Husky, a toy poodle and a cat.