Weekly rewind: December 20
BY MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Thursday, December 20, 2012
12/20/12 at 5:08 AM
For expanded review, visit tulsaworld.com/movies.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Rating: 
(on a scale of zero to four stars)
I don't like it when movies take audiences for granted, and that is what has happened with "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."
Guess what is unexpected about this journey? Nothing, as there isn't one surprise in watching this continuation of the cinematic telling of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth tales.
The players yet again embark on a quest. The quest, it turns out, is to relieve moviegoers of admission money for this movie while preparing them for something exciting to happen in the next film.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is the worst-case scenario for all who questioned the decision of filmmaker Peter Jackson to stretch a film version of "The Hobbit" into three films rather than two.
This first film feels like a nearly three-hour prologue for the events to come in the second and third films. What makes it feel so unnecessary is that it also feels so familiar.
We begin in the Shire, the idyllic, wooded home to the little hobbits with their short stature, giant feet and neatly manicured gardens.
The wizard, Gandalf (Ian McKellen returns to this role, thankfully), arrives there seeking a hobbit named Baggins to go on an adventure. This will include meeting elves and other odd folks along the way, battling the nasty orcs and outwitting Gollum for his "precious" ring.
If it sounds like you've seen this movie before, it's because the events so closely mirror those in "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," the movie that started off this series, but without the breathtaking style.
Now showing
| Movie | Rating (on 4 scale) |
| Argo | |
| Lincoln |  |
| End of Watch | |
| Wreck-it Ralph | |
| Killing Them Softly | |
| Flight | |
| Life of Pi | |
| Rise of the Guardians | |
| Hitchcock | |
| Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 | |
| Skyfall | |
| Here Comes the Boom | |
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | |
| Anna Karenina | |
Associated Images:
Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey." JAMES FISHER / Warner Bros.
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