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
Shared universe the most successful novel-to-film adaptations are the film trilogies of "The Hobbit" (2012–2014) and "The Lord of the Rings" (2001–2003), all of which were directed by Peter Jackson, while serving as faithful adaptations of the novels by J. R. R. Tolkien (especially "The Lord of the Rings"). The first work in the series was "The Hobbit novel" published in 1937. The novels focused on the hobbits Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo Baggins, as well as the wizard Gandalf, among other species such as dwarves and elves. Videogames taking place between the films of the saga have been produced. A