The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ReviewDecember 12, 2012 by

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

As a first-grader in 1989, I had no idea that a novel from the 1930s would result in a lifelong love affair with fantasy, but I would soon find out. I first discovered The Hobbit after someone had plastered a poster with Michael Hague’s cover illustration – the dragon Smaug, sprawled menacingly across a pile of gold in a ruined hall -  on a wall inside my elementary school cafeteria. It was a frightening, mysterious sight to behold, nothing like the ladybugs and puppy dogs that adorned the covers of the tripe we were being forced to read at that point (what they now call chapter books), and I informed my mom that very afternoon that I simply had to have it. I have few memories of those years, but the moment I first got my hands on the book has stuck with me: discovering a faded copy on the shelves of a dimly lit, labyrinthine book shop; inhaling deeply of its tattered, yellowing pages; it seemed ancient beyond my comprehension, as if the contents within chronicled some secret history of the world that only I was meant to know. From the moment I began reading it, I would not be disappointed.

The Hobbit, of course, was a gateway drug into the more sprawling vision of Middle-earth that Tolkien would cultivate through his later works, but I’ve loved the world he created from the moment I first entered it. It’s a love that has grown steadily as I’ve consumed each and every book, learned that my parents' first date was to a screening of Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord of the Rings adaptation, and discovered that the date of the One Ring's destruction coincided with my own birthday (by Shire reckoning.) As I grew into adolescence, there were of course times where I was distracted by other pursuits, but by the time I was a freshman in high school in 1998 and Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films were heading into production, well...let's just say the Ring’s hold on me became stronger than ever before, and it hasn’t let go since.

It’s been with no small amount of anxiety that I've observed the oft-troubled gestation process of Jackson's Hobbit films. First he didn’t want to make them…then he did. Then he decided to use the films as a platform for pushing an unproven, disruptive display technology onto a mass of consumers that quite simply did not want it. Finally, earlier this year, Jackson and Warner Bros. announced they’d be stretching the two-film adaptation of the relatively slim novel out by a whole extra film, causing public outcry of greed and techno-lust that still hasn’t abated in the days leading up to the film’s release. Can these films possibly stand a chance with the deck stacked so high against them?

If you're concerned that the Hobbit films are going to get so bogged down by Jackson's own hubris that the simplicity and power of Tolkien's writing get lost in translation, fear not: An Unexpected Journey is very much the cinematic return to Middle-earth fans have been waiting for. The original story - the tale of a simple hobbit's transformation to unlikely hero as he accompanies a band of 13 dwarves on a quest to reclaim their treasure from a wicked dragon - this has been expanded in scope, both to round out its central characters and instill a sense of narrative unity between Jackson's two trilogies. While the mere idea of translating a 300-page book to a trilogy of three-hour films has certainly drawn its fair share of criticism, fans of both Tolkien's novels and Jackson's Rings films will delight in the opportunity to spend so much more time in Middle-earth. Most importantly, 95% of the expansion comes from Tolkien's own writing, whether that be The Lord of the Rings appendices (which themselves could form a novelette), Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, or other sources, while any original elements cooked up by Jackson and co-writers Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, and Guillermo del Toro serve to flesh out the story in a way I believe Tolkien would have approved of.

Whereas The Lord of the Rings had to be cut, stuffed, and contorted to fit into its 11 hour cinematic runtime, The Hobbit thrives on the small stuff. Relishing this likely final opportunity to play in Middle-earth, Jackson and his co-writers have opted for a more leisurely approach, giving characters a chance to breathe and evolve more naturally than they might have been able to in one or two films. Much of the first half-hour of the film is devoted to fleshing out the character of Bilbo Baggins, a fussy homebody (much like his Oxford-employed author) who wants nothing of adventure, and certainly doesn't appreciate his dinner being interrupted by 13 uncouth dwarves and a rascally wizard (Gandalf the Grey, played with even more nuance by the always wonderful Ian McKellen.) We also learn of the calamity that befell the displaced dwarves - what's at stake, and why they're willing to risk their lives to reclaim their lost kingdom from the dragon Smaug, who singlehandedly destroyed their entire civilization. It's not all doom and gloom, however. The film is full of humorous asides - physical comedy that comes across more naturally than anything John Rhys-Davies was forced to endure as the dwarf Gimli - and songs (two of them!) that lighten the mood considerably and make this a more enjoyable experience than Rings' apocalyptic journey.

By the time the company gets underway, audiences are in for a rousing adventure that frequently rivals Jackson's  Fellowship of the Ring. From a familiar trio of cockney trolls to the stone giants that seem to peel themselves off the side of a mountain, to an underground kingdom of goblins led by a wicked fellow with a goiter the size of the Shire, our heroes are constantly hurtled from one danger to another on a journey that will eventually lead them - where else? - to a mountain. What detours they do make along the way put the lens on parts of Middle-earth we haven't seen before - the earthy home of the hermitic Radagast (a wizard who was once as revered as Gandalf but now spends his days sniffing rotten mushrooms and tending to ailing animals), the crumbling fortress of Dol Guldur from whence a familiar evil is set to make its return to the world - and gives us more time with old friends, including a younger, sprightlier Elrond (Hugo Weaving), an apathetic but not-yet-evil Saruman (Christopher Lee), and Galadriel, played again by the always enchanting Cate Blanchett.

As wonderful as it is to see such a refreshing mix of familiar sights and unexpected surprises, nothing in the film compares to the ten minute show-stealer between Martin Freeman's Bilbo and Andy Serkis's Gollum, whose triumphant return to the screen is aided by technology that is leaps and bounds beyond what was possible ten years ago but is still very much Serkis's performance. Not yet completely addled by lust for his precious ring, Gollum encounters a vulnerable Bilbo, lost deep inside a mountain cave, and offers him two choices: win a game of riddles and Gollum will show him the way out, or lose and Bilbo provides the creature with his first taste of hobbit. The resulting struggle of wits between the two-and-a-half minds is sometimes terrifying, sometimes hilarious, and always unforgettable. The conclusion of the scene gives Freeman one of his best moments - the first where we truly feel he's earned his place within Thorin's company - and sets in motion the fates of every single character in The Lord of the Rings. It's truly powerful stuff.

It's not all Bilbo's show, of course, and by the time the film reaches its brisk conclusion, the film's other lead - Richard Armitage, in a role that is sure to lead to international superstardom - has been given ample time to develop the regal, humorless, distrusting dwarven king Thorin Oakenshield into a character we can sympathize with, and a moment between Armitage and Freeman right before the credits roll overcomes its hokey dialogue to become one of the film's most memorable moments because the two actors have worked their asses off to earn it.

While it can be difficult to tell the difference between many of the dwarves - roles that will no doubt be fleshed out in subsequent films - I have to give credit where credit is due and give special recognition to James Nesbitt as Bofur, whose compassion for Bilbo during a key exchange informs the hobbit's ultimate decision to remain with the group. Nesbitt is given very little to work with in An Unexpected Journey, but he makes the most of what he has and carries one of the most memorable supporting roles in a film stuffed with them. I can only hope Jackson and co. manage to cast similar magic on the rest of the dwarves in subsequent films.

All told, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a fitting homage to the spirit of Tolkien and a rousing adventure for those who want to get lost once again in Middle-earth. It's packed with memorable performances and so much visual splendor and richly layered narrative that it's hard to imagine the film being anything but a resounding success. But again: The Lord of the Rings, this is not. If you're willing to accept that, you're in for a grand adventure.





48 FPS - Yea or Nay?

Whether you choose to seek out the new high frame-rate 3D technology or opt for the standard 24 frames per second you've grown accustomed to over a lifetime of watching movies, you're going to find an enjoyable film. If you're on the fence and think you might be interested in an experience unlike anything you've ever seen before, hopefully I can help you make a more informed decision.

In theory, doubling the frame rate that's been standard for film projection since the 1920s sounds like an obvious, desirable upgrade that would be met with little resistance: it provides smoother motion and greater clarity for a viewing experience more akin to the way we see real life. But movies have never attempted to look like real life: until now, they’ve always existed as a means to escape reality. Just as we don’t observe the quick movements of our fingers while we type, or play guitar, or tie our shoes, we don’t usually seek out the tiniest details of motion in film – we focus on the broad strokes and the scene that the filmmakers have set up for us.

In practice, viewing 48 sequential photographs per second lends to the film a sense of hyper-realism that can be both thrilling and unsettling. Imagine peering through the windshield of a car and observing the world moving around you, only the world is populated by fantastic creatures designed by the minds at Weta Workshop, and you'll get an inkling of an idea of what The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey looks like in its director's intended format. There were times during my screening of the film - especially during quiet scenes set in familiar locations with familiar characters - where I felt like a very small person watching a troupe of giant actors imitate themselves on stage in front of me. The sensation of being there with Bilbo and Frodo was uncanny, as if I'd discovered a secret passage to Middle Earth that had been hiding this whole time in my local multiplex.

The presentation did take some getting used to - for the first 10-15 minutes of the film, I felt dizzy, perhaps even slightly nauseous, trying to take in every detail of every scene. But by the time the dwarves had settled in to Bag End and they began to explain the purpose of their quest, I stopped thinking about it, mostly. I don't know if this is the future of cinema - I'd like to see the film projected at 24 frames per second to see if there is visual parity with The Lord of the Rings, but I'm already anticipating my disappointment at the lack of detail that format will provide. For now, all I can say is that high frame-rate technology gives An Unexpected Journey a kind of magic that is wholly unique right now, and whether you end up loving or hating it, you owe it to yourself to see what it's all about.

UPDATE: On The Hobbit in 24 FPS

Now that I've seen the movie at the traditional 24 frames projection, I can say that this is, without a doubt, the best way to watch the film.

It's not that there aren't benefits to 48 frames per second - see everything above for my thoughts on that - but the truth is, none of these benefits outweigh the fact that 24 frames per second is what movies have always looked like, and what we want them to look like. When I ultimately get to sit down and spend a weekend watching all six Jackson/Tolkien films in one glorious marathon, I want them to look like individual pieces of one epic film. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, projected at 24 FPS, looks like Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Yes, the new tech provides for image detail that far surpasses the traditional display methods. But now that I've seen it both ways, I just don't really care.

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