THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

Director: Peter Jackson

Cast: Martin Freeman ( Bilbo Baggins )

          Gandalf ( Sir Ian Mckellen )

          Thorin   ( Richard Armitage )

          Gollum  ( Andy Serkis )

          Ken Stott ( Balin )

          Graham Mctavish ( Dwalin)

          James Nesbitt ( Bofur )

          Aidan Turner ( Kili )

          Ian Holm ( old Bilbo Baggins )

With a triumphant return to Middle-earth, Peter Jackson delivers it once again!

It was exactly 11 years ago, when one of the greatest fantasies of all time was brought on the big screen by someone named Peter Jackson. The LOTR series not only went on to become one of the greatest blockbusters ever but also took Jackson to the pinnacle of success.

11 years since, nothing has changed. The Hobbit: An unexpected journey faced many obstacles before finally hitting the screen on 14^th December. Starting with director issues, lawsuits and opposition from animal right activists to the controversial high frame rates and finally the decision to split up the 300 page book into 3 movies.

All these controversies added to the negative reviews that came out initially. Most of these complained especially the HFR and the length of the film.

I viewed the film in 3D 24 fps format and hence cannot comment on the HFR. But one thing is definite that the film is never boring (in fact it’s quite the opposite).

Bilbo Baggins is a traditional hobbit with a distaste for ‘unexpectedness’. On the persistence of Gandalf the wizard, he is whisked off into a quest to reclaim the lost realm of Dwarves, Erebor. What follows is an extraordinary quest full of wolves, goblins, elves and the infamous Gollum. The fight, flight and respite formula introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring is highly effective here. The film also expands our knowledge of Middle-earth. The Shire and Rivendell are shown in much more detail than in LOTR.

Jackson’s ‘God’s eye view’ camera spanning the spectacular landscapes of New Zealand, mesmerizing performances by Freeman ( Bilbo), Mckellen(Gandalf), Serkis (Gollum) and Armitage (Thorin); and the right amount of humour ( which prevents the movie from being a bit shabby) culminates into a worthy prelude to LOTR.

Serkis is truly at his best and provides the best of Gollum. If this performance still doesn’t fetch him an Oscar, then Oscars should be disqualified.

Though with 169 minutes of running time (shorter than all of LOTR films) it covers the exact grandeur of LOTR and it left me wanting for more. The Hobbit is more true to it’s source than LOTR, and that can never be bad ( Some critics have even mentioned their disgust for the movie to be ‘ too  true to Tolkien’s book!)

Overall, Jackson’s latest adventure to Middle-earth is as good ( if not better ) than it’s predecessors. I was doubtful about the movie’s pace before, but considering what Jackson has done with only a few chapters of The Hobbit and a lot still to come, the future of The Hobbit series should get even better. It is sad that the next film will arrive almost a year later, and then I will be waiting, hungry for more!

DIRECTION: ****

Director Peter Jackson has mixed the correct proportion of magic, humour and CGI, though some battle sequences need not be in slo-mo.

STORY: *****

Tolkien’s book is regarded as a classic tale. The material added by writers Jackson, Boyens, Walsh and del Toro only enhances the effect. However most of the dwarves lack character development ( which I presume will improve in the following films).

ACTING *****

Martin Freeman is perfect to play Bilbo Baggins and keeps the audience entertained with his comical expressions and slapstick humour. Sir Ian Mckellen, as always plays Gandalf eloquently and should at least be nominated for supporting actor for the Oscars.

Richard Armitage brings  majesty and pride to Thorin Oakenshield. But the greatest performance of all is given by Andy Serkis. Gollum never looked this much better in LOTR. Here, we see a more “innocent” Gollum. The scene of the riddles is definitely the best of the movie.

ANIMATION: ***^1/2

The hobbit is full of visual effects and CGI animations. I must agree that Gollum’s look has much improved. However, Jackson’s decision to create CGI orcs may backfire. None of the orcs here ( except for Azog and the Goblin King ) are significant compared to the orcs in LOTR trilogy ( which were actually men in make-up and not CGI). However other animations, like the wargs, the trolls or the Necromancer are really wonderful.

SOUNDTRACK: ***

Howard Shore has won two Oscars for best original soundtrack for two of the LOTR films. But The Hobbit has a relatively less epic soundtrack compared to Shore’s earlier works. Most of the film contains repetition of ‘The Misty Mountains’ track with varying rythms. But the more enchanting ones are those taken from LOTR only.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: ****

The camera crew have done a wonderful job covering the mountains and plains of the Middle-earth we imagined. This film contains more ‘God’s view’  scenes than it’s predecessors.

OVERALL: ****^1/2

VERDICT:

The Hobbit is an enchanting adventure providing a lot for believers as well as non-believers. It is a must for fantasy-film lovers.