The Hobbit: 6 Mis-Castings That Ruined It (And 4 That Were Perfect)

6. ...The Majority Of The LOTR Cast

Of the returning cast, only Hugo Weaving seemed to realise that his character should be drawn differently - he was slightly less regal, more !*$%-sure, and he actually looked more full of vitality than in LOTR. Pretty much everyone else simply looked an awful lot older (with the obvious exception of Cate Blanchett, whose enhanced ethereal glow made her look exactly the same), which was fairly jarring when we were watching a prequel.

Christopher Lee in particular looked to have aged significantly since we last saw him in Two Towers, and Ian Holm had similarly changed. But it was Elijah Woods' Frodo who stood out far beyond all the other characters: since LOTR, Woods has beefed up considerably, and his facial features are an awful lot more manly than they were when he first played Frodo. As indicative of a wider problem with The Hobbit, there also seemed to be inconsistencies with his height, and he looked a good two foot taller than he had in LOTR.

Of course the returning characters were mostly fan service - especially in the pretty much entirely unnecessary inclusion of Frodo - but when that starts to intrude on the film's status as a prequel you have to question whether it was all strictly necessary.

And now on to the perfect castings...