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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Play trailer Poster for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey PG-13 2012 2h 49m Fantasy Adventure Play Trailer Watchlist
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64% Tomatometer 302 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Bilbo Baggins lives a simple life with his fellow hobbits in the Shire, until the wizard Gandalf arrives and convinces him to join a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. The journey takes Bilbo on a path through treacherous lands swarming with orcs, goblins and other dangers, not the least of which is an encounter with Gollum and a simple gold ring that is tied to the fate of Middle Earth in ways Bilbo cannot even fathom.
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

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Critics Consensus

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth is an earnest, visually resplendent trip, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty.

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Critics Reviews

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J. Hoberman The New York Review of Books 03/28/2017
There is a good deal to be said about Peter Jackson's long-awaited and exceedingly long adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, most of it bad. Go to Full Review
Christopher Orr The Atlantic 12/14/2012
It frequently seems as though Jackson was less interested in making The Hobbit than in remaking his own fabulously successful Lord of the Rings series. Go to Full Review
Perri Nemiroff Shockya.com 12/14/2012
3/5
Two thirds is so packed with charming characters, stellar visuals and sense of adventure, it makes that other third come across as much more of a failure than it really is. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Apr 26
It’s big, bloated even, impressively produced but overburdened with import and foreshadowing. Go to Full Review
Don Shanahan Every Movie Has a Lesson 10/17/2024
4/5
Patience is exactly the virtue required. Go to Full Review
Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review 09/20/2022
3.5/4
This is a cinematic world so fully realized that leaving it is a sad prospect. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jan 10 Great intro to The Hobbit world! See more 02/06/2023 Good family movie. Loved it. See more Ricky L @ricky707 4d It’s hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice but let’s see if Peter Jackson can do it See more stefan C 5d It's a family version of lord of the rings and a very good one! See more Benjamin W @Code70 6d The Hobbit trilogy was really doomed from the start. While I don’t think this movie is terrible, and am probably towards the trilogy that some, there’s no denying the great amount of problems here. The biggest being that, inherently, this movie is way too long (as are all three in the trilogy). Most of this is cinematic fluff, where they sing at the Shire for way too long, and the adventure that they are on is padded out because the section of the book they are covering is not meant to cover an entire 2.5-hour movie. Which again, is the biggest problem with the entire Hobbit trilogy, and once you realize that, it’s hard to look past it. I think it’s okay; the visuals are great, Martin Freeman is of course great, and it’s undeniably charming to be back in Middle-Earth. But at the core of it, this trilogy, and every installment, is just fundamentally flawed because the Hobbit book was not meant to be a LOTR epic! See more Catherine D @CatherineOrozco Jan 2 The hobbit trilogy is for certain geared more for a younger audience. The books are absolutely better BUT we still love this movie!! Great family adventure movie with laughs and great moral conversation seeds throughout! One we revisit a few times a year! See more Read all reviews
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Bilbo Baggins lives a simple life with his fellow hobbits in the Shire, until the wizard Gandalf arrives and convinces him to join a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the kingdom of Erebor. The journey takes Bilbo on a path through treacherous lands swarming with orcs, goblins and other dangers, not the least of which is an encounter with Gollum and a simple gold ring that is tied to the fate of Middle Earth in ways Bilbo cannot even fathom.
Director
Peter Jackson
Producer
Fran Walsh, Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner
Screenwriter
Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
WingNut Films
Rating
PG-13 (Intense Action Violence|Frightening Images|Intense Fantasy Violence)
Genre
Fantasy, Adventure
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 14, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 11, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$303.0M
Runtime
2h 49m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital, SDDS, Datasat
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