10 Best Opening Scenes From Movie Prequels

The first instalment of the Lord of the Rings prequel trilogy of Hobbit flicks marvellously juggled the nostalgic feel of those prior Peter Jackson epics whilst also beautifully setting the events of the three-film Middle-earth history lesson in motion during its prologue.

As Bilbo Baggins delivers an opening monologue designed for the pointy ears of his nephew Frodo, the iconic Hobbit goes about scribbling and delivering the story of how the kingdom of Erebor and town of Dale fell.

Everything from the way the mighty Dwarf king Thrór found himself ultimately becoming corrupted by the Arkenstone within his glistening mountain, to the breaking down of the relationship between Dwarves and Elves being perfectly captured in the looks shared between a fleeing Thorin and a reluctant to engage King Thranduil, confidently set the pieces in place for the drama and adventures to come.

But its in the introduction of Smaug that Jackson really delivers the goods here.

Going full Jaws in never once fully revealing the fiery threat from above, the chaos and devastation caused with every swing of his tail, swipe of his claws, and wave of fire breathed onto the innocent folks below is realised in a sequence as gorgeous as it is heartbreaking.

If anything, this hugely impactful prologue arguably worked a little too well, with much of the stretched-out tale that followed struggling to really recapture the magic of this Unexpected Journey's opening.