“Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old.”
My Sunday probably started much like everyone else’s: I woke
up in a sunny tropical island and thought “I’m gonna go see a movie!”
Obviously, I chose Peter Jackson’s latest entry into his JRR Tolkien-based
franchise—The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey. Now, I didn’t see it opening day because of two reasons: I had
work and I have no friends. Let’s get real here, though, if I didn’t have work,
I would have gone by myself. This film has been a very very hotly anticipated
film and, I believe, might have suffered from it. First it was one movie, then
two, now three; it was done in 48fps, which some people were upset about; the
props and sets looked “fake” for a while there; and etc. All of this culminated
in me entering the movie theater and there being maybe 20 people there, to my
surprise. The movie was plagued with problems but, in the end, it has made a
killing in the box office thus far (kicking out I Am Legend as the highest grossing December weekend box office
hit) and I believe it turned out fairly well.
The movie begins with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) writing
a narrative of his adventure 60 years prior. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) had tricked
Bilbo into hosting a dinner party/get-together with Thorin Oakenshield (Richard
Armitage) and a gang of 12 dwarves. It is here that he learns of their strife
and their mission: journey to The Lonely Mountain, defeat the dragon Smaug, and
take back that which has been taken from them. In their plan, Bilbo is supposed
to be the “thief.” After some initial hesitation, Bilbo decides to join their
party as they attempt to reclaim their lost kingdom. Along the way, we
encounter orcs, trolls, goblins, and elves as we journey up the tallest
mountains and down the deepest caves.
Fraught with dazzling special effects and beautiful
landscapes, this movie is sure to thrill. It suffers from a slow, expository
beginning that revels in details that were present in Unfinished Tales, Silmarillion,
and the Appendix of The Return of the
King, but picks up as soon as there’s enough backstory. The movie is very
accurate to the history of Middle Earth and the book it’s based on (save some
minor changes). But, because of this, it feels long-winded and full to the brim
of things it makes you think you should know, but you can’t seem to put your
finger on. I believe it suffers from prequel-it is: it attempts to set up
everything for the future films while, at the same time, going through Bilbo
and Thorins’ character arc. It does it well enough, but, in doing so, misses
the mark slightly. Even still, I would highly recommend it and I, personally,
enjoyed it very much. I do think that Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman killed as
their respective roles, even though the whole cast did a phenomenal job. This
movie is slightly like watching paint dry that was filmed at 48fps, so at least
it looks more real.
By Kulguy
