Granted, the end result is at times a wondrous and somewhat exhilarating adventure, but it is also unnecessary to incorporate material from the original trilogy or expand otherwise minor characters into significant contributors in a plot that hammers itself into an unrelated storyline.
With the same CG spectacle and visual eye candy as seen in The Lords of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth with the bloated idea of stretching a tale that Tolkien told in a single book into a three-part trilogy.
Although immersed in plenty of fantastical swashbuckling action and heroic sword-fighting, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeyis nonetheless a laborious and plodding expedition through a wealth of exposition with little progress or feeling of accomplishment, let alone satisfaction.