These Hobbit Feet Were Made For Walking

"The Hobbit:  An Unexpected Journey"

It's been nearly ten years since director Peter Jackson completed his monumental, epically spectacular, nine plus hour saga of The Lord of the Rings.  After the final installment of the trilogy, Return of the King was released, I was hoping his next project would be to bring author J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to the big screen.  Sadly, due to issues concerning the copyright of the novel and further problems with the studio, Tolkien's prequel would leave fans in a state of limbo.  Finally, the week before the supposed Mayan apocalypse approached, Jackson released The Hobbit.  Well I should say, he released part one of The Hobbit titled An Unexpected Journey. 

An Unexpected Journey is the first installment in yet another trilogy concerning the realm of Middle Earth.  The novel itself is slightly over three hundred pages in length.  When Jackson made the choice to break the tale into three parts, it left fans scratching their heads.  I can maybe see two parts at best, but three?!  It was also announced that the film was to be shot in 3D and at 48 frames a second (twice the normal frame rate at films which films are shot and projected.)  These three decisions by the Academy Award winning director were making me not as excited to return to land of Middle Earth.  Another nine plus hour adventure that's going to have the video look of a soap opera and I also have to wear an additional pair of glasses over the ones I already own; this may not be the cinematic experience I was originally hoping for.  

Sixty years before the events in The Fellowship of the Ring a considerably younger Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) reluctantly steps outside the comfort zone of his cozy little hobbit hole and embarks on a quest. Mr. Baggins is accompanied by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and thirteen dwarves led by exiled dwarf king Thorin Oakensheild (Richard Armitage.)  The dwarves' goal is simple; reclaim their massive treasure that was stolen from them years ago by the corrupt and villainous dragon known as Smaug who resides in the Lonely Mountain.  Considering the fact that Middle Earth does not have any motorized modes of transportation this party of fifteen has no choice but to trek across a beautiful and dangerous landscape to their final destination.  Along the way they encounter trolls, elves, wargs, orcs, and goblins.  This is also the first time a Baggins comes in contact with the sinister creature Gollum (Andy Serkis,) where Bilbo obtains the One Ring once forged by the dark lord Sauron.  

I went into The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey wanting it to be good but not expecting it to be Lord of the Rings good.  I'd say that Jackson definitely met my level of anticipation.  The film is well paced giving us another chance slip on our furry hobbit feet and admire the lovely handsomeness of New Zealand that Jackson once again uses as his backdrop for the film.  Certain themes and motifs we’ve once heard before echo throughout the land as composer Howard Shore's score moves us along from one plot point to another.  We know what the film’s intentions are going to be as we set out for another incredible adventure.  

I found Bilbo and Gandalf to be more compelling characters than the dwarves.  Bilbo has the most room to change and grow.  Freeman does a fine job of taking on the same vocal inflections and physical mannerisms that the older Bilbo (played by Ian Holm) exhibits.  And of course McKellen remains solid as always reprising his role of Gandalf.  I think in the novel the dwarves work better as a whole but when you see them on screen it just isn't the same.  The make-up design for each dwarf distinguishes them from one another but their personalities are too similar.  There clearly is this great bond of brotherhood that the actors have established amongst each other, but the ensemble cast that Jackson assembled for The Fellowship of the Ring which consisted of several different races of beings is just more interesting and distinct.  Perhaps I'm being unfair here though, considering that this is only part one.  I'll be curious to see how these characters differentiate themselves from one another in the second and third installments. 

The story is on a much smaller and contained scale than Rings.  There's no denying that Smaug is bad creature.  I wouldn't categorize him as a creature of evil though.  Sauron on the other hand is the ultimate embodiment of evil.  The stakes are nowhere near as high as they were in Rings because the fate of Middle Earth does not hinge on the destruction of the One Ring.  That's fine with me though because when it comes to sequels the ante most certainly has to be upped and Rings never fails to deliver on that promise.  An Unexpected Journey shows us something new but retains the same look and feel that Jackson gave us previously.  It's clear that this guy has a clear and uncompromising understanding of how to bring Tolkien's material to the big screen.  And even though I don't agree with him breaking this story into three parts I do agree with where he ends part one while still giving me enough to wet my appetite for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  

My knee-jerk reaction was to not have my initial viewing of An Unexpected Journey be in 3D or at the high frame rate.  I was completely against it.  I was however persuaded by a friend of mine and in the end he convinced me it wasn't about what I wanted but more importantly what Jackson wanted.  However, seeing the film how the director intended is certainly a mixed bag.  Certain action sequences and set pieces benefited from the 48 frames a second giving the film a whole new realistic quality to it.  There were however other times where movement from the actors or the camera seemed unnatural and irksome.  Also, some of the visual effects looked fantastic, but then there were times where they had a tendency to look more like a videogame.  I would like to the see the film again in 2D and at 24 frames a second so as to compare and contrast the two viewing experiences.  Despite the quarrels I may have with Jackson's vision the 3D and high frame rate were not big enough deterrents to have kept me from enjoying the film.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is certainly another ambitious undertaking from a director who has already proven that he is worthy of handling such material.  This film recaptures some of that magic that surged through the Rings films.  Overall I was completely satisfied with this first installment but not necessarily blown away.  Even though Jackson won't ever be able to fully achieve the awesome power that surged through the Rings trilogy I still applaud him for bringing this novel to the silver screen. This new trilogy will again be a cinematic journey worth taking over the next couple of years.  I think it would be majorly disappointing if all we still had go on was that crummy, campy animated adaption from the 70's.  Who wants to sit through that again?