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
Middle-earth dwarf characters following 13 dwarves; their quest in "The Hobbit" is the main impetus of the plot of that story. Their quest, which occurred in , was joined by Bilbo Baggins (a hobbit) and occasionally by the wizard Gandalf. Thorin II Oakenshield ( – 2941) was the King of Durin's Folk who led the expedition to destroy Smaug in T.A. 2941 and was slain in the Battle of Five Armies. In Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" film trilogy, Thorin is portrayed by Richard Armitage. Balin ( – 2994) was one of the twelve companions of Thorin and Bilbo Baggins on the Quest of