Blog

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

Spoiler Warning

I went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Monday at the Odeon in Belfast. I was a bit hesitant about it. The reviews have been good enough but lots of people were saying about the 48fps distracting (no point in linking reviews as they'll no doubt be gone in a few years/months). Also the fact that what is essentially a childrens book was being made into two films made me feel uneasy. The Hobbit is a great read but it will never compete with the epic feeling that The Lord of The Rings Trilogy gives you. It just can't. Then as an extra warning there was the news that there was to three films instead of two.

Sir Peter Jackson done a wonderful job in the trilogy and I am sure that he is now powerful enough in the industry to be able to stop a third film to be made if he wanted. So I have to trust that it wasn't a complete studio decision and even if it was his afore mentioned klout would be potent enough to stop it from being a drawn out third act.

Moffett went to see it on the opening night (which was also his 34th birthday) and said that it was excellent... So this made me a bit happier. So on Monday night I sat down and hoped for the best. I opted for the 3D version against my better judgement but while in Rome I guess. The 48fps was a bit off putting at the start but it doesn't take long for you to adapt, or at least it didn't for me. I still don't really see the need for it, 24fps is enough to trick the human brain into thinking that they are seeing what is essentially a load of still pictures as moving images. My brain doesn't need to be fooled more ;)

Once you get over the dis-orientation of 48fps you are left with what any film essentially is, the story. The story for The Hobbit is nowhere near as strong as the story for The Lord Rings. Seeing Bag End again was amazing, seeing Elijah Wood and Sir Ian Holm play Frodo and Bilbo respectively was very comforting. Visiting Rivendale and seeing Gladerial and Elrond was amazing and I almost punched the air when Saruman showed up. I can't remember if the meeting of the white council actually happened in The Hobbit or not. It could have been referenced in another book though but it just felt great and was very fitting. The tension between Saruman and Gandalf was evident, the whole scene was worth the ticket price alone. Maybe I am making too much of it but to have two legends like Sir Christopher Lee and Sir Ian McKellen sharing the same scene was amazing. I loved the interpretation of Radagast as well, this is probably what excited me the most. I was gutted when he didn't show up in the first film of LOTR. I was worried about Barry Humphries as the Troll King but I shouldn't have been.

Martin Freeman plays an excellent Bilbo. The dwarves are all a bit comical as I imagined and Richard Armitage plays the brooding Thorin with ease. Andy Serkis steals the show again, his potryal as Gollum is nothing sort of excellent. The riddle scene was amazing. Serkis wont get the recognition he deserves for that potryal, pity.

In short, I loved the film. It was better than I expected it to be and I am looking forward to the next installment. The titles of the next two films make me feel a bit easier. If you haven't read The Hobbit I wont spoil it for you.

Anyway, until next year!

• films (5)