The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Back when “Avatar” came out and everyone was talking about the amazing visual achievements that James Cameron had reached and film would never be the same.  I was not on that wagon.  The movie was good albeit a rip-off of “Dances with Wolves” which in turn was a rip-off of “A Princess of Mars” or the film version, this year’s underrated “John Carter”.  The eye-popping 3-D was just the same too dark-looking foreground and background, and not much else.  With the new format for Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” HFR (High Frame Rate) which is shot in 3-D but at 48 frames per second which is double the usual 24 frames for every other film…in history.  And like “Star Wars” in ’77 and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” in ’92, “The Hobbit” is a benchmark in film history.  I can promise anyone who views the film this way will see something they never have seen before, and it is breathtaking.  If you don’t get motion sickness that is.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is the follow-up but the prequel to “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, also directed by Peter Jackson.  It is set 60 years before the story of the one ring, and involves an adventure taken by a young Bilbo Baggins who is recruited by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McCallen) to help a band of 13 dwarves reclaim their home which has been taken over by the fire-breathing dragon Smaug.

You will see many, and probably too many similarities to the previous films, not just the music, characters and settings, but the series of adventures really bring the first three films to mind, which on the whole, did it better.  The only big difference here that works is that it’s the most fun and light-hearted of the Middle-Earth films.  As the characters bounce around from battling rock giants, to a goblin city, to a run in with the ‘Three Stooges’ of trolls it’s all done in a jaunty and entertaining way, only occasionally stepping into the realm of silly.

The only major drawback was that in its almost three hour running time, you feel it.  When you think it should speed up, it slows to a crawl, and when you want more time, it speeds up. You can certainly feel that Jackson is making room for the next two installments, but we want it to move now, he already had three films worth to show us Middle-Earth, now let us see it and have fun exploring it.  Even Bilbo wants that, and he’s fictional. 

What this keeps you into the story as much as it did in the first films is the performances.  Martin Freeman as Bilbo is spot on perfect and Ian McKellen fits right back into the role of Gandalf, not much can be said about the dwarves, though Thorin (Richard Armitage) is the center of the film and he plays it well, mostly with his looks.  The other dwarves are just filler and rarely stand out, like the dwarf that feels like a cross between the elf Legolas and the hobbit Merry, both in look, humor and his expert use of bow and arrow.  And it almost goes without saying, the scene with Gollum (Andy Serkis) is one of the best in the film.

The most unfortunate part of the release of this film is that there are over half a dozen ways you can watch it.  You will meet people that would have had a completely different viewing experience than you did.  My suggestion, seek out the HFR (High Frame Rate) because while they clearly still have a ways to go (fast-moving action is hard to focus on) you still get a truly amazing looking film and an extraordinary way to see 3-D, You can probably skip the IMAX Experience.  Unless you wanna see a 9-minute prologue to “Star Trek Into Darkness”.  I know I will.

 

--Robert L. Castillo