Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Blu-ray)

Reviewed in Australia on 1 August 2021

Well the way Prime said it was a new release , we were excited but after renting it and we started to watch it we realised it was in fact a old movie that we had seen in the past . It was very misleading and in this time of covid 19 money is short and we wanted to watch a actual new release movie !
😡

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Ron Thomas

Watched to see how the Lord Of The Rings originated

Reviewed in Australia on 15 March 2021

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Enjoyed seeing how the Trilogy evolved from this.

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Velizar Manev

Movie was perfect

Reviewed in Australia on 25 July 2021

Movie was perfect

Reviewed in Australia on 3 April 2021

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Great

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The world isn't in your books

Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2018

Ever since "The Lord of the Rings" ended, fans have been clamoring for "The Hobbit" to be adapted as well.

Well, it took nine years of obstacles, but now we have "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first part of a trilogy of "Hobbit" movies. It has some few flaws, but overall feels like a pleasantly familiar return to Middle-Earth -- fire, elves, orc-killing, a magic ring and lots of sweeping New Zealand landscapes.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is a nice boring gentlehobbit who has no interest in adventures. Then the wizard Gandalf descends on Bag End with thirteen dwarves. They are setting out for the lost city of Erebor, which the dragon Smaug stole many years ago -- and now Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) wants to reclaim it. Also, Gandalf has volunteered Bilbo as an expert burglar.

Despite Bilbo's initial reluctance, he soon finds that the world outside the Shire is a pretty dangerous place -- trolls, goblins, stone giants and an albino orc who wants Thorin's head. And in a deep, dark cave, Bilbo encounters a grotesque creature known as Gollum...

At the same time, Radagast the Brown Wizard (Sylvester McCoy) warns Gandalf of something that is poisoning the woods and animals of the Greenwood. Even worse, it's moved into the old fortress of Dol Guldur, and has the power to summon the dead.

It took me two viewings of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" to really generate a valid opinion. The first time I was overwhelmed with fan squeeing over the spectacle, as a moderate-to-obsessed Tolkien nerd, and the second time I was able to more objectively view the movie's pros and cons.

Peter Jackson has to be admired for managing to whip the first third of "The Hobbit" (plus chunks of "Unfinished Tales") into a three-act narrative structure, especially since the story is very small-scale and linear. It's a lighter story than any of the "Lord of the Rings" movies (the dwarves raiding Bilbo's pantry), but there's always a dark undercurrent reminding you that there is serious stuff afoot.

And Jackson does a typically brilliant job evoking Middle-Earth's danger and majesty, sweeping us across glittering mountain citadels, murky forests and rotted fortresses. There are some absolutely stunning action scenes, such as Thorin stalking down a fallen, burning tree to fight his mortal enemy. It's brilliant.

He also fleshes out the storyline by exploring the Council investigating the Necromancer (three guesses who he is!), and a prologue showing everything that Thorin's people have suffered and lost. They're depicted as a proud people who have lost everything, and it adds a powerfully tragic undercurrent to the story.

However... there are some problems with the movie. The comic relief characters (the trolls, the singing goblin king) simply don't work. And it needs some serious fat trimmed off, with some scenes (the stone giants) that could have been cut completely. It should have been maybe a half-hour shorter, with those scenes reserved for the extended edition.

But the actors are pretty much all brilliant. Martin Freeman is the perfect mix of fussiness and gutsiness as Bilbo, and we can see him slowly growing into his friendships with the Dwarves. Richard Armitage is similarly brilliant as a butt-kicking dwarf prince who can be prickly and crabby, but who has also suffered a lot of humiliation and loss.

And of course, we have familiar faces like Ian McKellen as the delightfully grumpy Gandalf, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee. McCoy is adorably scatterbrained as a wizard who likes animals more than people, and the various dwarves are all given personality and development to make them distinctive. That's a pretty impressive feat with such a large main cast!

The comedy can be a bit grating, but "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is still a beautiful, intriguing start to Bilbo Baggins' journey. And the journey will only get more epic and dark.

One person found this helpful

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The world isn't in your books

Reviewed in Australia on 28 February 2018

Ever since "The Lord of the Rings" ended, fans have been clamoring for "The Hobbit" to be adapted as well.

Well, it took nine years of obstacles, but now we have "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," the first part of a trilogy of "Hobbit" movies. It has some few flaws, but overall feels like a pleasantly familiar return to Middle-Earth -- fire, elves, orc-killing, a magic ring and lots of sweeping New Zealand landscapes.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is a nice boring gentlehobbit who has no interest in adventures. Then the wizard Gandalf descends on Bag End with thirteen dwarves. They are setting out for the lost city of Erebor, which the dragon Smaug stole many years ago -- and now Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) wants to reclaim it. Also, Gandalf has volunteered Bilbo as an expert burglar.

Despite Bilbo's initial reluctance, he soon finds that the world outside the Shire is a pretty dangerous place -- trolls, goblins, stone giants and an albino orc who wants Thorin's head. And in a deep, dark cave, Bilbo encounters a grotesque creature known as Gollum...

At the same time, Radagast the Brown Wizard (Sylvester McCoy) warns Gandalf of something that is poisoning the woods and animals of the Greenwood. Even worse, it's moved into the old fortress of Dol Guldur, and has the power to summon the dead.

It took me two viewings of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" to really generate a valid opinion. The first time I was overwhelmed with fan squeeing over the spectacle, as a moderate-to-obsessed Tolkien nerd, and the second time I was able to more objectively view the movie's pros and cons.

Peter Jackson has to be admired for managing to whip the first third of "The Hobbit" (plus chunks of "Unfinished Tales") into a three-act narrative structure, especially since the story is very small-scale and linear. It's a lighter story than any of the "Lord of the Rings" movies (the dwarves raiding Bilbo's pantry), but there's always a dark undercurrent reminding you that there is serious stuff afoot.

And Jackson does a typically brilliant job evoking Middle-Earth's danger and majesty, sweeping us across glittering mountain citadels, murky forests and rotted fortresses. There are some absolutely stunning action scenes, such as Thorin stalking down a fallen, burning tree to fight his mortal enemy. It's brilliant.

He also fleshes out the storyline by exploring the Council investigating the Necromancer (three guesses who he is!), and a prologue showing everything that Thorin's people have suffered and lost. They're depicted as a proud people who have lost everything, and it adds a powerfully tragic undercurrent to the story.

However... there are some problems with the movie. The comic relief characters (the trolls, the singing goblin king) simply don't work. And it needs some serious fat trimmed off, with some scenes (the stone giants) that could have been cut completely. It should have been maybe a half-hour shorter, with those scenes reserved for the extended edition.

But the actors are pretty much all brilliant. Martin Freeman is the perfect mix of fussiness and gutsiness as Bilbo, and we can see him slowly growing into his friendships with the Dwarves. Richard Armitage is similarly brilliant as a butt-kicking dwarf prince who can be prickly and crabby, but who has also suffered a lot of humiliation and loss.

And of course, we have familiar faces like Ian McKellen as the delightfully grumpy Gandalf, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee. McCoy is adorably scatterbrained as a wizard who likes animals more than people, and the various dwarves are all given personality and development to make them distinctive. That's a pretty impressive feat with such a large main cast!

The comedy can be a bit grating, but "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is still a beautiful, intriguing start to Bilbo Baggins' journey. And the journey will only get more epic and dark.

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Bunny Lord

Very good film

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2019

Verified Purchase

Very good film, definitely recommend

8 people found this helpful

Rick

A romp through Middle Earth

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2015

Verified Purchase

I was prepared to be critical, having heard it was overbloated, but I found it an enjoyable romp through the introductory part of the story, despite the large amount of violence (somehow it doesn't have the same impact on the page but the medium of film seems to find it easier to dwell on and to put it 'in your face'). Enjoyed the introductory scenes with the dwarves invading Bilbo's comfortable house and staid existence. Particularly appreciated Martin Freeman's depiction of the prematurely retired hobbit at the beginning, his facial expressions throughout, and his sympathetic character depiction overall. Found the role of Radagast to be somewhat overextended - trying to remember back to childhood reading of the Hobbit, I thought he appeared just as a name offstage. Otherwise no 'longueurs' for me. One for both Tolkien lovers and those new to the scene.

4 people found this helpful

Ben

Good film with a few personal flaws.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 February 2018

Verified Purchase

Its a good film, don't get me wrong, and if you liked the Lord of the Rings themes then of course you'll love this film. The only downside that I find personally is the massive overuse of CGI, and all of the unnecessary additions that weren't in the book, but then again, it is a fantasy film and these can be seen to add to the depth and Peter Jacksons hobbit storyline.

2 people found this helpful

the paraffin alien

Good adventure

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2022

Verified Purchase

Great stuff really entertaining

5 star		85%
4 star		9%
3 star		3%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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