The poster comes from http://www.filmofilia.com/new-poster-for-the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-116306/
“I am going on an adventure!” shouts Bilbo Baggins as he darts out of his house and races across the Shire in order to catch up with a questing group of dwarves. This piece of dialogue acts as a pivotal turning point, but aside from that it also serves as an invitation.
Nine years after the release of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, viewers once again are invited to go back to Middle-earth, a world composed of goblins, orcs, trolls, dwarves, elves, and wizards. So now playing in cinemas this week is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (The Hobbit), the prequel to the Lords of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy.
In this movie, the wizard Gandalf the Grey goads Bilbo Baggins to join the former’s quest with a group of dwarves. The objective of the mission is to reclaim Erebor, the dwarves’ kingdom. At first Bilbo hesitates, but he later on relents and joins the pack. After this, he meets elves, almost gets crushed by stone giants, goes up against goblins, fights orcs, and faces Gollum. Bilbo, therefore, gets the adventure of his life.
Speaking of Bilbo, Mr. Martin Freeman, the actor who also plays John Watson in the hit BBC series Sherlock, plays the role perfectly. For all intents and purposes HE IS Bilbo Baggins. Indeed, Mr. Freeman effectively shows that Bilbo, though heroic at heart, can generally be insecure of himself. No other thespian can probably replicate the performance that he exhibited in the movie.
As for the other notable portrayals, Richard Armitage deserves praise for his take on dwarf king Thorin. Till the end, Mr. Armitage consistently exhibited the traits needed from the dwarf king: courageous, noble, and confident. There is also Andy Serkis, who again takes on the role of Gollum. Suffice it to say, that he is the only one destined to play that character.
Though the acting in the film is laudable and the special effects are generally impressive, The Hobbit cannot be considered as a masterpiece. It does possess evident flaws.
For instance, the movie needlessly serves as the first installment of a new trilogy. Mr. Jackson, just like with the LOTR franchise, wants to have three movies notwithstanding that the source material itself consists of one volume only. The Hobbit, therefore, was never meant to be told in three parts.
So by dividing The Hobbit into three acts, every installment will have a tendency to be too long. And this became evident in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
The film runs at 2 hours and 50 minutes. As a result of this, battle sequences are too long. Too many back stories fill up most of the excess time. Thus, instead of making the film enjoyable to watch, there were times that viewing it was tedious.
But, the film’s most evident failing is its inability to provide moviegoers with an adventure.
An adventure, by nature, should be a novel experience. The Hobbit, unfortunately, does not show anything new. While watching it, one gets a feeling that everything being exhibited is familiar, known, or unsurprising. This comment does not mean to disparage Peter Jackson. But with him having directed LOTR already, viewers know what to expect from him. His work with The Hobbit does not anymore elicit wonder and awe. No jaws will hit the floor in amazement. Fan boys won’t salivate. The applause will be there, but it will be more perfunctory than congratulatory.
Perhaps, The Hobbit, as a franchise, should have been passed on to a new director (Guillermo del Toro was supposed to direct it, but backed out.). In that case, The Hobbit would have been presented in a different manner or at least not via the Peter Jackson way. A new director would have undoubtedly treated the material from a fresh perspective.
Be that as it may, Peter Jackson now helms The Hobbit franchise. For better or worse, avid fans, moviegoers, and casual viewers are stuck with him. Though Mr. Jackson did a fairly good job with The Hobbit, hopefully he’ll do better with the next installments. After all, he has to fortunately or unfortunately have to live up to his LOTR trilogy. The adventure, though rocky at the start, has just begun.
Playing the Point 