The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: December 14, 2012 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
18
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Total FilmMatthew LeylandDec 5, 2012
Charming, spectacular, technically audacious… in short, everything you expect from a Peter Jackson movie. A feeling of familiarity does take hold in places, but this is an epically entertaining first course. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumDec 9, 2012
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. Read full review
83
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezDec 3, 2012
As epic, grandiose, and emotionally appealing as the previous pictures, The Hobbit doesn't stray far from the mold, but it's a thrilling ride that's one of the most enjoyable, exciting and engaging tentpoles of the year. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichDec 11, 2012
A mesmerizing study in excess, Peter Jackson and company's long-awaited prequel to the Lord of the Rings saga is bursting with surplus characters, wall-to-wall special effects, unapologetically drawn-out story tangents and double the frame rate (48 over 24) of the average movie. Read full review
80
EmpireDan JolinDec 10, 2012
The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman's Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one. There is treasure here. Read full review
75
NPRBob MondelloDec 13, 2012
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey isn't "unexpected" at all, though between its lighter tone and a decade's worth of improvements in digital film techniques, there should be enough of a novelty factor to delight most fans. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanDec 13, 2012
Jackson imposes a sense of grandeur but mostly loses Tolkien's sense of fun. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsDec 13, 2012
At nearly three hours long, "An Unexpected Journey" has moments when the caravan seems both overstuffed and out of balance, but it's such a scenic trip that only a stubborn homebody could complain. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezDec 12, 2012
There will be opportunities to see the picture in regular 24 frames per second, but I recommend going the whole hog and sampling what Jackson has come up with - a new way to watch movies and a new take on a universe that seemed to have exhausted its narrative possibilities. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickDec 11, 2012
Piles on enough eye candy and action sequences to please fans, plus more humor than the three "Rings" films - even if it only occasionally achieves the trio's grandeur. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliDec 10, 2012
It isn't as delirious a journey as we experienced a decade ago, but it's still filled with wonder, monsters, and thrills. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineEd GonzalezDec 8, 2012
The film, still only clearing its throat, hints at a wellspring of emotional riches to come. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnDec 3, 2012
If you're willing to just go with it, An Unexpected Journey is a competent ride, but as a whole it lacks purpose, giving the impression of a television program in its later seasons still chugging along while full aware that it has peaked. Needless to say, "Hobbit" fans will find plenty to soak in; others may get the feeling of being bludgeoned by deja vu. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 13, 2012
An overlong adventure enlivened by wonders. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonDec 12, 2012
By comparison with the other Rings movies - the extremely high bar Jackson has already set for himself - Unexpected Journey falls short and feels muddled, yet too eager to please its fan base with an obligatory swordfight every few scenes. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyDec 14, 2012
In this fitfully engaging, but often patience-straining preamble to Hobbit adventures to come, there is one transporting 10 minutes of screen time. It happens when Bilbo meets the freakish, ring-obsessed creature Gollum. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 13, 2012
What saves the day is the spidery, schizoid Gollum, again performed by the great Andy Serkis through the craft of motion capture. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsDec 13, 2012
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. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia PuigDec 12, 2012
While the production design is impeccable and the journey intermittently involving, The Hobbit is overlong and lacks the enchantment of the Lord of the Rings films. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrDec 12, 2012
The downside is that "The Hobbit" no longer looks like a movie at all. It looks like a video. Read full review
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