That isn't to say it is a perfect film. In fact, there are plenty of things to complain about. For one, its running time. And this is coming from a HUGE fan of the Lord of the Rings films. I bought all the extended versions when they came out on dvd. An Unexpected Journey, however, was definitely too long. By at least half an hour. My butt and legs suffered the most. And my neck, since we sat on the second row from the front. I felt that the theatrical release was what the dvd extended should have been. I don't mind watching more of a film I like, as long as I have my own couch to laze on while doing it. Also, Jackson has taken upon himself to add to the source material. Know up front that this isn't a pure adaptation of the book. If you know this going in you can appreciate it for its own sake. I knew he would be doing this--he'd said so in interviews many times. He wanted to make The Hobbit a true prequel to his LotR films, and so connected them in ways the books never did. To do this he mined some of the appendices from the Lord of the Rings, but it seemed too that he pulled some stuff out of his you know what to make the film more "acceptable." (By this I mean he made it more acceptable by filmmakers, not audiences.) I won't give anything away, but there was an entire plot line this movie and subsequent sequels did not need. Not even a little bit. It added nothing to the story in my opinion.
The other thing that was a dumb move on Jackson's part was all the CGI effects. I don't mind CGI landscapes, or monsters that need to look better than robotic puppets, but it was used way too much this time around. In the earlier movies the orcs were just extras with masks. Now all of them are animated. Makes them look like cartoons. Why couldn't they have just done it the same way?
Okay, griping is over. Everything else I have to say is complimentary. Let the heaps of praise begin.
Two words: Martin. Freeman. Do I need to say more? Perhaps. If you've never heard of him or seen anything he's in--which is easy to do unless you're into British movies and television--you're in for a treat. Freeman is a superb actor. And as Bilbo Baggins he is perfectly charming. His performance steals the show... which is good, since he's the hobbit The Hobbit is about. Jackson and co really nailed the casting job for their title role.
The actors for the dwarves were all great, too. I don't know any of their names, and most of their characters had little development besides fighting scenes and gags, but they are much more distinguishable from each other than in the book, which pretty much treats all of them like the same person--with the exception of Thorin. Thorin was given an arc for this first movie that deals with the plot line I didn't like, but I did like the way his character played out. The actor did a fine job at portraying a king who has lost his kingdom. Another casting success with the dwarves. Ian Mckellan reprises his Gandalf role and he is as wonderful as ever. Never doubted he'd muck things up.
The music was perfect. The score felt like it had its own identity, but there were familiar bits from the Rings trilogy that felt familiar natural. I will certainly be getting the soundtrack to add to my "writing music" collection.
The one other thing I wanted to point out were the epic backdrops of the New Zealand countryside. What a beautiful country! Jackson has such an eye for scenery that it makes me wonder if he paints landscapes on the side. The filming is done with a truly artistic eye--even the parts with CGI backdrops. (CGI works great when its used for landscapes or buildings. Not so much when used for living things that move.) Watching the film was like shoving mint truffles into my eyes--a visual treat unparalleled by anything I can remember recently seeing. Your eyes and brain deserve to take in this film and savor it. (No I didn't see the 3D version. Probably never will. I hate 3D.)
So that's it. If you can make it through the nearly 3 hour running time you'll be glad you did. The Hobbit is a fun, mostly light-hearted story everyone should partake of. And who doesn't want to spend an evening returning to the wilds of Middle Earth? I enjoyed immersing myself in its myths and scenery once again. So will you.
Two words: Martin. Freeman. Do I need to say more? Perhaps. If you've never heard of him or seen anything he's in--which is easy to do unless you're into British movies and television--you're in for a treat. Freeman is a superb actor. And as Bilbo Baggins he is perfectly charming. His performance steals the show... which is good, since he's the hobbit The Hobbit is about. Jackson and co really nailed the casting job for their title role.
The actors for the dwarves were all great, too. I don't know any of their names, and most of their characters had little development besides fighting scenes and gags, but they are much more distinguishable from each other than in the book, which pretty much treats all of them like the same person--with the exception of Thorin. Thorin was given an arc for this first movie that deals with the plot line I didn't like, but I did like the way his character played out. The actor did a fine job at portraying a king who has lost his kingdom. Another casting success with the dwarves. Ian Mckellan reprises his Gandalf role and he is as wonderful as ever. Never doubted he'd muck things up.
The music was perfect. The score felt like it had its own identity, but there were familiar bits from the Rings trilogy that felt familiar natural. I will certainly be getting the soundtrack to add to my "writing music" collection.
The one other thing I wanted to point out were the epic backdrops of the New Zealand countryside. What a beautiful country! Jackson has such an eye for scenery that it makes me wonder if he paints landscapes on the side. The filming is done with a truly artistic eye--even the parts with CGI backdrops. (CGI works great when its used for landscapes or buildings. Not so much when used for living things that move.) Watching the film was like shoving mint truffles into my eyes--a visual treat unparalleled by anything I can remember recently seeing. Your eyes and brain deserve to take in this film and savor it. (No I didn't see the 3D version. Probably never will. I hate 3D.)
So that's it. If you can make it through the nearly 3 hour running time you'll be glad you did. The Hobbit is a fun, mostly light-hearted story everyone should partake of. And who doesn't want to spend an evening returning to the wilds of Middle Earth? I enjoyed immersing myself in its myths and scenery once again. So will you.
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