When you wedge more than a decade between the first installment of the “Lord of the Rings” film series and its prequel, you’d expect “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” to be just as mind-blowingly awesome as the trilogy that follows. The truth is, if you loved “Lord of the Rings”, there’s a high chance that you’d love “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” the same way. If not more, considering how long it has been since “Lord of the Rings”.
The one thing about “The Hobbit” that was too obviously to ignore and that struck us good is the fact that thanks to newer technology (48 frames per second), everything looked more detailed. Every leaf, every bark, every strand of Gandalf’s long silvery gray beard – you get the picture.
It was also very clear that director Peter Jackson hasn’t lost his touch. After all, judging by his portfolio, he’s the only one who would know exactly what he’s doing – what with all of those sweeping views of gorgeous landscapes and the telling of a tale of (Middle) Earth’s natural beauty. Peter knows this, this style of storytelling and film-making like the back of his hand.
Besides, we can’t think of any “Lord of the Rings” fan who wouldn’t genuinely feel relieved to see Bag End or Rivendell on the silver screen again.
In terms of the flow (and we get that the film’s pace wasn’t supposed to be super-fast anyway), expect to be trudging through the first half an hour to an hour with heavy feet. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” has an extremely unattractive pace. Of course we loved how Frodo (played by Elijah Wood) graces the silver screen once again for his little cameo appearance. Aside from that, all the “real” action only kicks in after the first hour and by then, you would’ve already seen Rivendell again.
But all is forgiven though because we get it – it’s all part and parcel of the storytelling. Just a word of warning for those who can’t remember what it was like to watch a “Lord of the Rings”-esque film.
And just to manage your expectations, don’t expect large epic muddy bloody grimy battle scenes with this one yet. There is some bloodshed but just enough to keep you guessing about what might be in store for you in the two films to come.
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Hello hobbits, dwarfs, orcs, trolls (that turn into stone in sunlight), strong giants, elves, and Gollum. Judging by the way these characters were played out, we expect the character/race development for every single one of ‘em to surprise us even more in the next two “The Hobbit” films to come. As it is, this installment was already a handy “Lord of the Rings For Dummies”.
How else would we have known that dwarfs are meat-eaters whereas elves are vegetarians? Or that there was such a thing as “Moon runes”?
Exactly.
We won’t ruin the experience further by raving about “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”. But we will say, however, that once again, Peter Jackson pulls off a book adaptation like he plucked it right out of our imaginations. You will have to see it to believe it, of course.
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Catch “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” at a cinema near you today. Catch it in IMAX 3D at participating TGV Cinemas outlets, if you must.
We highly recommend it!
For more information, visit the movie’s official website.
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