I attempted to read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but my attention span could never quite make it past Rivendell. However, like most of the world I was incredibly excited for Peter Jackson's adaptation of the famous books and it most certainly did not disappoint. Due to the critical, and commercial, success of the franchise it seemed only a matter time before The Hobbit was brought to the big screen. Now, in 2012, all Tolkien fans have had their prayers answered with the release of An Unexpected Journey.
The opening installment of the new trilogy revolves around Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, embarking on an adventure, accompanied by thirteen Dwarves and the ever present wizard Gandalf the Grey. The quest itself is to reclaim the lost Dwarf city of Erebor from the vicious Dragon Smaug, rightfully restoring lead Dwarf Thorin Oakenshield to his throne.
Before I delve deep into my analysis I'd just like to say that this is a really brilliant film, and if you were any sort of Lord of the Rings fan then you will definitely enjoy this film. However, it does have problems.
Let me firstly give massive plaudits to Martin Freeman, as I think his portrayal of Bilbo Baggins is truly spectacular. He's everything you want him to be and more. Physically he looks the part as a Hobbit, and throughout the film you genuinely feel his character doesn't quite know whats happening around him. Freeman brilliantly portrays the stumbling, bumbling, home comfort loving Hobbit I came to love as a child, and it was completely believable throughout. Richard Armitage has been charged with the daunting task of bringing Thorin Okenshield, leader of the dwarves, to life, a task which he performs aptly. However, his constant slips into the acting clichés of playing a "troubled hero" annoyed me throughout the film. Overall I had no major qualms with the casting or acting, but Freeman is undoubtedly the standout performer.
As anyone who has seen The Lord of the Rings would expect the scenery is dazzling and the film as a whole is stunningly shot, with fantastic props and beautiful special effects helping create an enthralling and enchanting representation of Tolkien's Middle Earth.
From what I can gather from friends, family, the internet, and my own knowledge, the historical additions to the original story are accurately taken from Tolkien's imagination, not the invention of Jackson and his fellow writers, resulting in an enjoyable insight into the history of the characters that shape this tale. Nevertheless, even this held its problems. Maybe it's because I'm a great lover of the book but I could never feel completely comfortable throughout the scenes in which I was fully aware parts of the story had been added. There were very few additions I didn't enjoy - the fat, posh and slightly camp Goblin King beneath the Misty Mountains being probably the only exception - but I was constantly painfully aware that they were a deviation from the original tale, and as a result I was never quite fully immersed in the film in the same way I was with Lord of the Rings.
One too many homages to the previous trilogy also took its toll on me. The ring finding its way onto Bilbo's hand was almost a mirror image of what had happened to Frodo in the first Lord of the Rings, and a conversation between Gollum and Smeagol via the water's reflection drew a striking resemblance to a similar scene in the Lord of the Rings. On top of that a disappointing cameo from Cate Blanchett, portraying royal Elf Galadriel, and a pointless appearance from Christopher Lee, reprising his role of Saruman, had me at times wondering whether Jackson understood that there were fans out there that didn't need reminding of The Lord of the Rings.
I would hate to paint this film in a negative light, as the positives far outweigh the negatives. This film is brilliant. It's just not quite what I had hoped for as a whole. However, to my delight, the two most memorable parts of the story from my younger days were completely done justice. The scene in which the trolls attempt to cook and eat the company of Dwarves and Bilbo is brilliantly done, with the combined sense of tension and comedy perfectly balanced. Most impressive though is Gollum's scene. Creepy, dark, scary, tense, at times very funny, and uninterrupted, this scene is as close to perfection as The Hobbit gets.
It is always wrong to expect perfection from a film, but the incredibly high standards set by Peter Jackson coupled with my childhood love of The Hobbit meant that this is what I was hoping from An Unexpected Journey. Unfortunately, it did not achieve perfection, although it was always unlikely that it would. This is a truly brilliant film, and one I would happily pay money to go and watch again. It is interesting, action packed, and well cast. My main problem was that I couldn't shake of the constant feeling that this wasn't The Hobbit, it was a collection of Tolkien history lessons with the basic story line of the original tale. Brilliant film, but not perfection.
Written by Ash Davies
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