5 reasons The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a disappointment

The first of Peter Jackson's long-awaited prequels to the Lord of the Rings trilogy is here — but some critics are resisting this journey back to Middle-Earth

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(Image credit: Facebook/The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)

After a long, troubled production process that was breathlessly tracked by fans of the Lord of the Ring's trilogy, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is here — but some critics say it's an unexpected disappointment. Though each of the first three Lord of the Rings films scored more than 90 percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey currently sits at 67 percent — not an unqualified failure, but well off the pace. (Watch a trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey below.) Here, 5 reasons critics are cautioning moviegoers to lower their expectations for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — which, remember, is only the first part of a projected three-film adaptation of the Tolkien source material:

1. It's a wholly unnecessary prequel

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.