The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

Director:

Peter Jackson

Writers:

Fran Walsh (screenplay), Philippa Boyens (screenplay),

Stars:

Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage

Top 250 #199 | Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian McKellen	...	Gandalf
Martin Freeman	...	Bilbo
Richard Armitage	...	Thorin
Ken Stott	...	Balin
Graham McTavish	...	Dwalin
William Kircher	...	Bifur / Tom Troll
James Nesbitt	...	Bofur
Stephen Hunter	...	Bombur
Dean O'Gorman	...	Fili
Aidan Turner	...	Kili
John Callen	...	Oin
Peter Hambleton	...	Gloin / William Troll
Jed Brophy	...	Nori
Mark Hadlow	...	Dori / Bert Troll
Adam Brown	...	Ori

Storyline

Bilbo Baggins is swept into a quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers. Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum. Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's "precious" ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities ... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to ...

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Plot Keywords:

mountain | ring | journey | dragon | goblin | 

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Taglines:

From the smallest beginnings come the greatest legends.

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Genres:

Adventure | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of intense fantasy action violence, and frightening images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Blog Official Facebook

Country:

USA New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hobbit: Part 1

Filming Locations:

Piopio, Waikato, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$180,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$84,617,303 (USA) (14 December 2012)

Gross:

$303,001,229 (USA) (19 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), WingNut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

169 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

WILHELM SCREAM: When the group are fighting their way out of Goblin Town, one of the goblins knocked off the gangway.

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Goofs

Bilbo's height in comparison to Gandalf's changes throughout the movie. This is also visible in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

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Quotes

Balin: Ohhh! Evening Brother.
Dwalin: By my beard, you're shorter and wider than last time we met.
Balin: Wider, not shorter. But sharp enough for the both of us.

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Connections

Follows The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Blunt the Knives"
Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien from "The Hobbit"
Music composed by Steve Gallagher (as Stephen Gallagher)
Produced by Steve Gallagher (as Stephen Gallagher)
Performed by Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Graham McTavish, James Nesbitt, Dean O'Gorman, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner

User Reviews

A visual feast but yet I wasn't gripped by the story or characters as much as I should have been

When I heard that there was to be a film version of The Hobbit, I was quite looking forward to it as the big finish of Lord of the Rings was still in my mind and, unlike LotR, I had actually read The Hobbit several times many years ago. When I heard that it might be two films I wasn't surprised but the news that it was to be three did rather dampen my spirits as I don't know if I had the interest for this story to be concluded as 2016 rolls into town. Regardless I did of course watch the film because it is still a large blockbuster and, at a time of the year normally filled with overly earnest Oscar contenders, I did quite like the idea of returning to this world again.

With this in mind I did wonder why I watched it with a surprisingly detached air and why I wasn't able to get into it like I should have done. I had some reservations with the first film in the LotR trilogy but this seemed different because it certainly wasn't a lack of action and forward motion that gave me a problem here. Quite the opposite actually because, once the first 45 minutes or so are out of the way then the action set-pieces come thick and fast and noisy. The opening hints at the power of the dragon to come before settling down for a gentle reintroduction to the Shire and then the characters we will follow; this section I found a little longer than it should have been and I could have done with a bit less noisy banter from the Dwarfs, since the film would provide much more from them. The majority of the film is the journey (or at least that bit of it that this film covers) and it produces plenty of action with great special effects really well integrated into the live action. So visually and technically there is plenty here. Problem is that little of it felt urgent or tense and actually the delivery of the constant action does rather detract from it.

With Fellowship of the Ring, the group was smaller and the development of the plot better; additionally the action was more scaled down and comparatively simple. Here we have set-pieces where it feels like everything has been thrown at the screen and every inch of every frame has been filled with movement wherever possible. This tended to overwhelm me rather than draw me in though and in effect the noise prevented me really getting into it. Likewise by the time I had seen the characters survive impossible situations and defy gravity for the third or fourth time, the film sort of lost the ability to make me believe there was danger involved – which is a problem given I was already being pushed away by how busy and noisy it all was. Tellingly the scene that worked the best for me was with Gollum; this scene had tension, had uncertainity, had threat and did it all with small movements and dialogue; also worth noting that while Gollum is of course another special effect, you don't notice it in that scene because you are focused on the content instead of the visual.

The cast sort of fit into this approach as well. While everyone is fine and does as required, at times they do tend to become part of the noise and effects rather than being characters. Freeman is a good Bilbo and his mannerisms work well (which helps negate his limited range) while of course McKellen is always welcome. The dwarfs didn't make much of an impression on me though, even if they all looked the part and delivered a few laughs. The rest of the cast are all fine but to be honest the effects are the main stars here and technically it is very impressive even if it is a bit overdone at times.

I didn't dislike The Hobbit but at the same time I was disappointed in it. The action is noisy and busy but there isn't enough to draw me into the story or to make the action thrill me so much as it did overwhelm me. Hopefully the second film will see the characters and plots grow me on so that I am more emotionally bought into the films, but for this first one I must confess to being surprised by how much the film seemed content to have me watch from a distance rather than draw me in and engage me.