In The Hobbit fans saw the familiar Shire once again. But they were soon taken from the comforts of the Shire to travel through snow-capped mountains, explore dark caverns, walk among the trees of a spider-filled forest, and finally wonder in the great halls of the former dwarven kingdom. Overall the settings felt dark and strange. Also, surprisingly, the CGI wasn't as impressive as in Lord of the Rings. The orcs weren't that scary or realistic. The excessive use of special effects made it difficult to take the films seriously. Particularly when Legolas ran over falling blocks of stone from a cave-in