Review of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Managing expectations is important; this is not strictly an adaptation of The Hobbit. Instead, it's a prequel to Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. This is crucial, because if you go in hoping for a lightweight children's fable, which is more or less what The Hobbit is, you'll find something bloated and overly dark in tone. As a prequel it's a success, though a qualified one. Note: To try and avoid confusion, I'll be referring to the film as An Unexpected Journey, and the book as The Hobbit. →