10 Underrated Performances In Obvious Cash-Grab Movies

Make no mistake, the decision was made to adapt a 300 page children's story into an epic movie trilogy for one reason alone: money.

Clearly wanting to replicate the resounding success that was Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trio of Oscar winning features, Warner Bros. happily indulged the director when he insisted on making Bilbo Baggins' journey feel as epic as his prior trip into Middle-earth.

Unfortunately, this led to the overall story becoming a largely bloated affair which paled in comparison to Jackson's work on LOTR. However, one shining light in this slog of a trilogy came in the form of Martin Freeman's deeply human portrayal of everyone's favourite every-hobbit.

Proving that he was born to play the diminutive unlikely hero of J.R.R. Tolkien's world famous novel, Freeman delivers every line to perfection, overcomes impossible odds and regularly grounds the routinely larger-than-life tale in some sort of reality. It's just a shame the rest of the trilogy feels like it's trying to suffocate his stellar work with excessive CGI and subplots.

We'll always have those Riddles in the Dark, though.