10 Ensemble Movie Casts Who Did AWESOME Work In Awful Movies
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Proving just how difficult it is to catch big-screen lightning in a bottle, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequel trilogy of Hobbit flicks never really connected with film fans quite like that first monumental trip to the likes of Rivendell, Mordor and beyond.
It wasn't through a lack of trying, mind.
On top of pumping out some often mesmerising visual effects, and some other less impressive moments of cartoonish CGI, the series assembled a cast worthy of such an iconic tale.
And while Benedict Cumberbatch would later provide one of the finest motion capture performances you'll ever have the joy of getting lost in with Smaug the dragon, An Unexpected Journey in particular showcased a Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, and Andy Serkis as Gollum operating on a thrilling level that rivalled the masterful work put in by the rest of the OG LOTR gang.
Typically awesome returns from Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett were also welcome. But all of the stellar turns in Middle-earth still couldn't keep this first Hobbit outing and the subsequent sequels from feeling like much-loved butter scraped over too much bread.