4. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
What critics say: "Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth is an earnest, visually resplendent trip, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty." - Rotten Tomatoes (66%)
What audiences think: Moviegoers loved the wave of nostalgia for
Lord of the Rings when the first of three
Hobbit films hit theaters last December. Shortly after its release,
An Unexpected Journey found its way on to the Top 250 with a rather surprising 8.2 rating (where it ranks today). Based on the Rotten Tomatoes audience poll, 84% of viewers liked it, giving Jackson's prequel a terrific 4.1/5 rating based on over 200,000 votes.
Who's right? It pains me to say this, but I have to side with the critics on this one. I grew up with the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, so I really wanted to love
The Hobbit, but I just couldn't do it. The decision to split one book into three films hurt the pacing of
An Unexpected Journey as there just isn't enough material to justify the three-hour run time. It would have been smarter (but less profitable) to make a single film adaptation and market it with the tagline "Return to Middle Earth... ONE.... LAST... TIME!" While there were bits and pieces I enjoyed (Gollum, Martin Freeman, Gandalf being Gandalf), it wasn't on the same level of quality as the original trilogy (where have we heard that before?) There's still hope Jackson can turn this around and return the franchise to glory before the prequels wrap up. And now for another Jackson film that divides people...