The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey especially in the early going." Kate Muir of "The Times" gave the film four out of five stars, saying Martin Freeman "perks up" the film as Bilbo Baggins and that Jackson's use of 48 frames per second 3D technology gives the film "lurid clarity". Dan Jolin of "Empire" gave the film four out of five stars and thought "The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman's Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one" and he stated that "There
The Quest of Erebor receptive to meeting the Hobbit. The story serves several purposes for readers. Since "The Hobbit" is written almost entirely from the perspective of Bilbo Baggins and contains little that he does not directly experience or at least witness, "The Quest of Erebor" provides additional insight into the events during and preceding the story. It provides an explanation of why Gandalf wished to include Bilbo in Thorin's business, and why the Dwarves were willing to accept him. This assists in placing "The Hobbit" on a more equal footing with "The Lord of the Rings"; as "The Hobbit" is essentially a children's