A great movie, "official" critics are being too critical as if they never seen prequels in the past... I loved to get back into the LotR universe and highly enjoyed the quality and budget of the movie. Dwarfs storyline is quite interesting. Movie is quite predictable yet not that much to give it score of 4-5.

I'm looking forward to next The Hobbit movie. Also badass ending song, this is probably the only movie in the world that forced me to sit through credits scene.… Expand

I was quite weary beforehand knowing that it would be a trilogy. However, all the narrative threats tie together and is pertinent to the wider middle-earth mythos. The vsiual and sound quality is top notch, and the active above reproach. It has neatly set up the story for the next installments and I am definitely looking forward to it.

Please don't pay any attention to the idiot critics over there on the left.. This movie was amazing, and as a LotR fan myself, I was pretty impressed by how it exceeded my expectations. The different fascinating locations, the interesting characters, the intriguing plot, it all comes together to form a great retelling of part of Tolkien's book. I began watching the Hobbit with slight caution as I wasn't sure it would meet my expectations, but boy, was I in for a surprise. And so will anyone else who isn't sure whether to pick this one up or not, but all I have to say is: Whether you're a Lord of The Rings fan or not, watch this, NOW.… Expand

I don't get why everyone is so negative about this movie. This movie is really a great one, not so good as the Lord of the Rings-trilogy, but Peter Jackson did again excellent work. It's a good and sometimes funny movie. This is a must-see-movie for the whole family. Peter Jackson never disappoints me by far. I am really looking forward to the next movie, I'm very curious about the outer movies of the trilogy.… Expand

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey is a masterpiece just like lord of the rings fellowship of the ring but better. Bilbo Baggins is one of the best actors to date. way better then frodo was. Smeagle making a suprising return was amazing and at the end of this movie Bilbo now has the ring.. I can't wait to see how this goes in the next 2 installments.. This is a fantastic story.. better then the entire lord of the rings trilogy! It seems Peter Jackson is making better movies every time! this movie is a 10/10 just like the last 3.… Expand

I loved every second of it, except for a few shamelessly obvious (i.e., lacking in subtlety) bits. Like Jackson's LOTR trilogy, The Hobbit's CGI is superb (unlike 99% of films that rely on CGI) and its hair/makeup, production design, and visual effects would have been worthy Oscar winners. I also appreciate the film's thematic reverence for nature, which ironically and unfortunately is at odds with the production's real-life abysmal treatment of some of its animal actors.Oh well, nature lovers should definitely see it anyway, but let's hope the production team learned its lesson this time. Highly recommended, and looking forward to the next two installments.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. An excellent work from both PJ and his Weta which beyond my imagination. Different from LOTR in genre, the Hobbit is an Adventure but not an Epic. While they all rank the top marks in the field of Fantasy Movie!… Expand

Yes, this film can be very cheesy at times, but it has some of the most honest emotion and most blatant adventuring that I have seen from a film in a LONG time.

I bought this version for my 3-d blu-ray player and I must say that it was impressive to watch in 3-d. The world was alive and had the familiar feelings that The Lord of the Rings had. This movie was a lot of fun to watch and if you are a fan of TLOTR series, you will not be disappointed. The movie did get a bit long, but it was to build the story and provide all of the necessary back story to make the rest of the movie flow. Very good film.… Expand

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is another great entry into the Lord of the Rings series. It's lighter than the previous trilogy, but that lightness brings with it a sense of fun and adventure. This is a very promising start to a new trilogy and it sits right alongside Fellowship and Two Towers in the quality department... And several rungs above Return of the King, obviously.

The average hobbit review is SHOCKINGLY PICKY. Complaints of "Its too long" or "Its like Lord of the Rings" or "Its CGI overkill". This is all COMPLETE BULLCRAP. First off, these mistakes have been made in hundreds and hundreds of other movies, and no one seems to care. the hobbit 146 minutes long, and everyone hates it for that, and yet Django: Unchained was about 200 minutes long AND NOBODY CARED. You see where i'm coming from here? People are being horribly biased towards this movie, and i don't understand why. To those who say it's not very good, i say "You're not very good". This is a fantastic movie, brilliantly made, with an absolutely stunning soundtrack, The Hobbit: An unexpected journey deserves a meta score of over 9000.… Expand

The best movie on earth was called the Hobbit and I recommend everyone this movie and but it and hope you have the chance to read and watch it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Peter jackson is a monster, the return is surprising! Fill completely of incredible special effects, with big actions, and the only soundtrack they do that the hobbit turns into the classic one forever!

Before watching this movie, I had never seen any of the lord of the rings movies. I was totally new to the whole "middle earth" universe, and I loved the hell out of this movie. It's filled with great characters, amazing adventures, beautiful landscapes, and awesome action sequences. Some of the special effects are a little dodgy, but that's one of the only complaints I have. (Note that I watched this at home in 24 FPS and no 3D) Don't listen to the critics.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. THE HOBBIT AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
DIRECTOR PETER JACKSON SCREENPLAY: PETER JACKSON PHILLIPA BOYENS GUILERMO DEL TORO FRAN WALSH

RATING PG-13

MUSIC : HOWARD SHORE MOVIE GRADE A+

Often analyzing a movie of one’s beloved franchise is quite difficult. Hence this review is written months after its release. Peter Jackson’s new installment has already rained box office with a whopping $1.02 billion despite several division between film critics and the series of controversies that dwelled around this movie right from the beginning from bankruptcy of MGM to PETA accusations of Animal mistreatment. One would have to say from a critics point of view Jackson is the perfect Talisman and he has pulled through an amazing cinematic display that he has done thrice before. The movie begins with the familiar notes of Howard Shore that has now if not earlier embedded itself in the world of Middle Earth. Our first glimpse of the Hobbit comes with seeing Bilbo in the present age on the day of arrival of Gandalf. Deciding to write a book on his entire adventure that he had sixty years ago he gave an account of the once epic dwarven kingdom of Erebor before it was smothered by the dragon Smaug. Following the prologue we see Bag End and Frodo talking with Bilbo about the Party Invitations. Later on Bilbo recollects the days when he was young.
The scene moves now to 60 years earlier and it now shows Young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) letting out smoke rings before being stopped unwarily by Gandalf. The story moves at a slow pace where Gandalf invites thirteen dwarves to Bilbo’s place where they begin the planning of a quest to reclaim Erebor. After much negations Bilbo finally agrees and he decides to join the dwarves. There adventure begins with an account of Thorin’s past with the Orc Leader Azog after which they encounter trolls, orcs and wargs before they reach the Elven Kingdom.
In Rivendell we see some of the lord of the rings characters in unity as the White council takes place with issues discussed of a unseen power in the forest of Mirkwood which was seen by Radagast, the brown wizard. The dwarves then leave Rivendell and takes the road of the misty mountains where they fall in a thunder battle between the mountain sized Stone Giants. Bilbo gets separated from the dwarves as the latter are caught by the mountain goblins and they face the Goblin king. Bilbo on his account meets Gollum and discovers a ring that in due course of time would change the fate of all in middle earth but is all unknown to Bilbo at that time. Escaping the mountains they are being chased by Orcs lead by Azog when the Eagles rescue them The film ends in the company seeing the lonely mountain from a distance and waking of the dragon.
Although the film contains 1/3 of the content of the book “The Hobbit” it none the less expands the chapters beautifully as well as adding some extra scenes that took place that time but where not included in the book. The film is as enchanting as it can be and more than anything else is a perfect blend between cinematic sequences and music The epic features of the movie are being shown exceptionally and one can say confidently that we cannot imagine middle earth without Peter Jackson now. The small children’s classic tale being turned into an epic journey that asks for less but sure delivers a lot. Despite being on the slower side the pace gradually picks up and ends in a blast much the fireworks of Gandalf. This is a must watch for all movie goers as it is filled with literary artistic and entertainment values.… Expand

I don't see how this awesome movie can get a "58". You can't expect this movie to have the same feel of the previous installments because the book had a whole entire different feel to it. This was a very good movie, but the critics seem to have glass up their ass or something when it comes to this movie.

Great movie all around! I have no idea why the critic score is so low but this movie is fantastic! This is just as good to me as tlotr. I cant wait to see the other two that Jackson puts out. If you can watch the movie in 3d its some of the best 3d that you will see in movies!

Great movie, great acting and great directing the hobbit once again shows why Peter Jackson is one of the best directors around. I have to admit that I was a little sceptical about splitting the hobbit into three movies, but all I can say that if the next two follow in the footsteps of the first it will be well worth the long three year wait.

The first Hobbit movie in the franchise is not only exciting, it takes you on a thrill ride with not only some new creatures, but some old memorable character such as Gollum. At times, the story is distracted some cheesy humor, mostly caused by the dwarfs. But other than that it's a great start to the Hobbit trilogy.

This is one of the few movies I wanted to see in the theatre, but skipped it cuz I was just too busy..and now after watching it on blu ray with all the hype gone I must say, best movie I've seen all year..hype kills movies these days..every movie I've waited to watch on blu ray has allowed me to view it on its own merits instead of stacking it up against hundreds of other big budget movies we've seen in the past 20 years..same thing happened when i watched Total Recall and Lincoln Vampire Hunter..critics and fans alike all seem to hate movies that don't innovate to the point of reinventing the wheel..what about just being a well executed and fun movie… Expand

Rewritten review. After watching the video. I have to say this movie is just plain fun. The over the top action sequences are short and even though when I saw the movie in the theatre the late movie action seemed like the Bridge at Khazad Dum scene repeated, after watching the video they are not out of place. Just a little indulgent. Some parts deserve a ten but overall a 9.

58 are you kidding me. The Hobbit was almost as good as The Fellowship of the Ring. If I could I would give this a 12 and LOTR a 20. Thats how much I love Middle-Earth.

great movie, that is length wise the same as lord of the rings. focusing more on a character and his well adventures. but the overall story seems more about dwarves trying to reclaim their lost kingdom...sometimes i get confused to who is the main character, thorin or bilbo. do the characters seem overpowered..or the orcs ARE overwhelmingly stupid as they were made to be. the fight scene between the dwarf and that orc leader was hilarious fail. gandalf does nothing in the early parts so just an old guy walking around with a stick basically. there are some familiar faces in this movie from the lord of the ring movie series. the movie is a bit long, but fills up time with great visuals. it doesn't have that dark antagonist, like smeegul in the lord of the ring series, that would add some nice twists to it.… Expand

A funny, witty, and imaginative film that is a cheerful experience and fun to watch. Maybe while not on the epic scope as the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy, I found it to be incredibly entertaining as well as visually beautiful. I would watch this again and will buy it on dvd or blu ray.

Like so many other people I can't believe the critic's score.

I watched this in iMax with my 10 year old son and both of us were utterly enthralled from start to finish. Yes, the HFR cinematography takes a little getting used to, but once you are acclimatised then you find yourself sucked into the Middle Earth universe hook, line and sinker.

So lush are the visuals, the storytelling and the attention to detail that you can't help but devour every second. Despite the length of the movie I was left begging for more when it ended.

Roll on December 2013!… Expand

Great movie! I miss a bit of the Lord Of The Rings atmosphere because it plays in the same universe. But ok, this movie is better to watch for kids. Lord Of The Rings was much more complex. Iam fine with this the movie was awesome on its own, the humor (especially the dwarfs and ogre). I also must say that the movie is not to long it runs like 2,5h. Its interesting until the end.

The great first part of the trilogy. What a wonderful movie. You'll kidnap in this world and you won't want to get out. HFR is perfect for this film it shows this world so beautiful and dangerous,so real. 9/10 because sometimes it is a bit illogical that the dwarfs always escape from every dangerous situation without that one hurts or one dies.

I found that if you decide to view the movie as a movie, of itself, and not compare it to the novel or the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, you will get a lot out of it. I did that and was able to realize that I’ve never seen a more believable fantasy world. I’m 19 but when sitting in front of the big screen I got to feel like I was ten years old again, like watching the dark crystal or sta star wars for the first time. This movie is the most beautiful movie I’ve ever seen. It has an applicable, sentimental message coupled with a classic fantasy-adventure premise, fun, new characters, familiar old ones, a beautiful original soundtrack, exiting action, and bold, impressive visuals that made me question the value of CGI. This is one of those rare films that has the power to bring you a little out of your depression, a little like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or the Goonies. It has enough movie magic to feel timeless I’m sure that after people’s biases wear down a little over the years it will be recognized for what it is; an imaginative masterpiece epic that’s never quite been captured this believably or beautifully before in cinema history. It’s so finely made, it seems to make some people uncomfortable. I absolutely loved it. It is one of those films that if it plays on a screen in the corner of a crowded public area, it still somehow absorbs your attention, and you have to at least stop and watch it for a few seconds, whenever it’s on in my home, that’s exactly what I do, I can’t help it. Critics have done it a severe injustice, I can detect no outright flaws with this film, if there are flaws, they’re so inconsequential to the films strengths they’re not worth mentioning. People who dislike this movie fly first class to Hawaii for free and complain about the expiration date on the peanut packages. There’s no shame in admitting beauty, it isn’t over-hyped, it’s fantastic and deserving of all praise. People who dislike this film are not at one with their inner child and probably hate Disneyland and don’t have kids or have altogether forgotten what it was like to be a kid, that’s how I feel about people who talk bad about this movie. Movies don’t get more magical than this, it’s perfect for kids, and the inner-child in everyone.… Expand