The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Review

“I’m going on an adventure! – A review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. 

If you’ve read my reviews of The Lord of the Rings, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of Tolkien. Indeed, I even wrote my dissertation on Tolkien’s work, and I spend probably too much time pouring over old essays and stories written by the professor himself. Recently, I visited Oxford, just to visit his grave and pay my respects. As you can imagine then, I am incredibly protective over his works. The Lord of the Rings movies from Peter Jackson were a masterpiece, so when The Hobbit was announced, I was excited to say the least. I mean, it’s Peter Jackson! Surely if anyone could bring this beloved children’s story to life and do it justice, it would be him…right?

The first thing that made me nervous when The Hobbit was announced was the revelation that the relatively short book was being turned into three films. Now, of course, I want Tolkien content, and I am by no means a purist. I really don’t mind seeing new stories set in a universe I love, and I don’t mind if things have to be missed or added. For example, Arwen got way more lines in The Lord of the Rings movies than she did in the books, and she was incredibly well written and delivered some incredible moments. What I was confused about though was how on earth the core story was going to remain the same stretched over three films. Would the story still be told, would it be full of random filler, was this just a cash grab? Surely not?

Well, I’ll start by saying that An Unexpected Journey is my favourite of the three films, and there’s a lot I like about it. Seeing Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins is a joy, a role perfectly cast and perfectly acted. Freeman captures the bookishness and bravery of the character perfectly, and there are moments where I find him incredibly relatable – I, too, want to be left alone with my food and my books.

It’s also a joy to see Ian McKellen on screen as Gandalf again, a character who I do not believe can or should ever be played by anyone else. Seeing Gandalf and Bilbo interact in the Shire brought with it nostalgia for the book, which I really appreciated. Ian McKellen isn’t the only returning star, and it is a real joy to see the likes of Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee and Hugo Weaving return to the universe.  The music, once again from Howard Shore, is as stunning and iconic as ever, and I can’t begin to explain how special it felt to return to The Shire and Bag End.

This film was shot with a High Frame Rate, or HFR for short, meaning we got 48 frames per second rather than the standard 24. I must say that New Zealand looks amazing; sharp, clear, and of course, stunningly beautiful. Inside shots though, I don’t think work quite as well. I found that they took on a video game like quality, and some of the sweeping shots even left me feeling slightly nauseous, which is less than ideal.

The other criticism I have of the style of filming is the overwhelming overuse of CGI. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad. Gollum, of course, still looked fantastic and Serkis delivered the character as perfectly as ever. The thing that I find sad, though, is that here CGI has been used in places that Jackson would have used practical effects for a mere ten years earlier. Environments, orcs, and characters like the Goblin King are all created with the use of CGI rather than make up and set design and they look, well…bad. I hate to say it, I really do, as I desperately wanted to love this film, but it’s lost the magic of having real people in incredible costumes and make-up that made The Lord of the Rings feel real. This is grandiose, and unfortunately, completely ruins any immersion I may have had whilst watching.

As I said earlier, though, this is still my favourite of the three films. The early scenes in the Shire where Bilbo meets the dwarves may take a little longer to get through than is entirely necessary, but they are fun all the same. The acting is actually very good, and I found the dwarven characters to be likeable and enjoyable to watch. The story itself, whilst not sticking to the books entirely isn’t bad, but it also didn’t leave a great impression on me either. Overall, this isn’t the worst film ever made, but it certainly isn’t the best. It’s a small thing which may make you smile if you do decide to give it a go, and after all, “it is the small things…that keeps the darkness at bay”.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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