After the success of New Line CinemasLord of the Ringtrilogy, its only natural that another one of J.R.R Tolkiens fantasy novel,The Hobbit, gets made into a movie. Unfortunately, delays for filming have been inevitable due to production rights and license in the hands of another studio, United Artists. In addition, disagreements between the films director, Peter Jackson, and New Line Cinema studio regarding profit sharing ofLord of the Ringput a strain on their relationship, nearly preventing Jackson from ever working with New Line Cinema ever again. But good things come to those who wait as the studio and Jackson learn to put their past behind just in the nick of time as United Artists right toThe Hobbitexpires in 2010. In the interest of milking as much money fromThe Hobbitas possible, the studio enlists Guillermo Del Torro to help co-write the novel as a trilogy. An Unexpected Journeyis the first of the trilogy and a decent prequel toLord of the Ring.
Martin Freeman playsThe Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is the central character in the story. He is Frodos uncle, the same Bilbo that makes his appearance in the first and third films of theLord of the Ringtrilogy. This movie opens with Bilbo deciding that its time to share another one of his stories with Frodo. The movie then takes us back 60 years to a young Bilbo Baggins who we see visited by Gandalf the Grey wizard (Sir Ian McKellan). Gandalf recruits Bilbo on a life-changing adventure to help Thorin (Richard Armitage), the leader of the Dwarves, reclaim the Lonely Mountain, a once thriving kingdom (of unsurpassed wealth and splendor) and pride of the Dwarves until its overtaken by a dragon called Smaug. The journey is fraught with dangers from orcs, trolls, necromancers and stone giants. This film will also explain how Bilbo unexpectedly finds Saurons ring and outsmart the Gollum (Andy Serkis) in a game of riddles. The CGI effects are well used in some of the scenes especially the fight scene between the stone giants.
The Hobbitis the first film to play on the big screen in high frame rate 3D, abbreviated (HFR 3D). Its a digital 3D motion picture format where higher frame rate is used (48 frames per second instead of the industry standard 24 fps). It makes the pictures noticeably sharper and provides almost the same viewing experience as watching it on blu-ray. The picture appears very lifelike and it almost seems like the action is taking place in real time right before your eyes. HFR 3D really enhances the movie experience in ways that are sure to impress movie-goers. Hopefully all future movies will adopt this format. My local theater plays this film in both HFR and standard 3D formats, so make sure you watch it in HFR 3D for the most optimal visual experience.
Ironically, whats expected fromThe UnexpectedJourney is that it may be slow at times since its a third of a trilogy, all based on one slender book. Therefore, theres not a lot of materials for it to work with and the film consequently suffers from lack of interesting plots to help drive the interest of viewers. Hence, the ending does disappoint because it cuts the film right when the plot becomes exciting and the audiences are left waiting another year to see what happens next. On the bright side, we get a very detailed visual storytelling ofThe Hobbit.
A charming movie with great characters and satisfying performances from all involved. The Dwarves provide cutesy comic relief thats needed on an otherwise dull journey. The orcs and Gollum come off as pretty scary and can frighten young children. Familiar faces make their cameos throughout this journey. Hugo Weaving returns as Elrond and the lovely Cate Blanchett looks enchanting as ever as Galadriel. Elijah Wood shows up briefly in the beginning as Frodo. All the returning actors look ageless in this new film.
Kudos to the make-up, costume and set design teams and of course the special effects team. They all contribute effectively to this beautiful film. It never occur to me how short the Dwarves are until they stand next to the Elves. Thats movie-magic. Howard Shores nostalgic tune and new materials blend in beautifully with the film. A wonderful collaboration from all the top talents in the industry is sure to mesmerize our visual and auditory senses once again. Its been almost 10 years since the last time the same team entices us withLord of the Ring. An Unexpected Journeyis a good start forThe Hobbittrilogy, but at close to 3 hours long with not a lot of materials to work with, it is actually kind of bland on its own.