1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Resignation has set in with Rings nerds the world over now that The Hobbit has been released for a week, and the consensus seems to be that the film is a competent adventure story with amazing visuals that's nevertheless a massive step-down from The Lord of the Rings films. The disappointment with this one began the second that Peter Jackson said he was going to split it into two films, and it furthered itself when he declared that a book that's shorter than a single LOTR book was going to be made into
three films. It's apparent from the first one that it's just a cynical, lazy cash-grab, given how distended, poorly paced and down-right excessive this film is. It takes almost an hour for Bilbo and co. to leave the Shire, while a time-wasting excursion at Rivendell feels like glorified Extended Edition material. It looks great and Martin Freeman makes a fantastic Bilbo, but Jackson's various liberties with the text - turning single sentences into entire set-pieces - and his self-indulgent mode of direction hampers what should be a brisk adventure story. By trying to turn it into a darkly epic, 9-hour adventure saga, he has somewhat missed the point of Tolkein's text. Which movies were you most disappointed with in 2012? Let us know in the comments below.