The greatest
achievement of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, is how well it ties in
with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, much better than, say, the original
Star Wars films and their prequels, which are widely-considered to be
inferior. As we recently discussed in our Star Wars podcast, watching
the films in episode order is not only visually jarring, it ruins the
dramatic tension of the whole arc. At first blush, The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey appears to avoid this pitfall. The film is set up in
such a way that new viewers are briefly introduced to Bilbo and Frodo,
but regard them only as an old storyteller and his nephew, nothing more.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has set a high bar for the next
two installments, but if the Lord of the Rings trilogy is any
indication, I fully believe that bar will be surpassed. Moving forward,
I’d like to see the films become a bit more serious, especially since
Bilbo is now in possession of a certain ring and all the grave
consequences that portends. It would also be a more gradual transition
into the Lord of the Rings trilogy and would allow new fans to mature
along with the entire six-film arc, much like the Harry Potter films so
expertly achieved.