The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey (2012)
7/10
A hobbit reluctantly agrees to be help some dwarves and a wizard journey to regain their home.
I hadn't seen this film since seeing it in the theatre in 2012. I remember coming to the end of the film, after 2 hours and 49 mins, being disappointed... why is the movie ending when the Hobbit never went into the mountain to grab the special stone! I had no idea this was going to be a three part series. The beginning of the film didn't tell me this was "part one of three". Un-met expectations can really hurt a review.
So now that I know it's in three parts, I tired to reassess the film. Really, the film has some very good segments, like the beginning meeting the dwarves, and the riddle-filled confrontation between Bilbo and Gollum. I think what hurts the film is a lack of defined purpose. We know what the group wants to do once they get to the mountain, but the film is entirely about the journey there; and so the film feels a but disjointed, like a string of isolated experiences along the way.
The key plot of the film is set up early when the wizard Gandalf says to the hobbit Bilbo, "You'll have a tale or two to tell of your own when you come back. And if you do... ...you will not be the same." The film was not entirely successful in demonstrating how Bilbo was changing. Bilbo became willing to risk his life for the cause, but I don't think we understand why.
All-in-all, it's a rich, interesting and oft visually stunning adventure, with some very entertaining moments and a fair degree of heart, but there's an undeniable lack of focus.