The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Certified: PG
Duration: 169 minutes
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Graham McTavish, Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Aidan Turner, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Sylvester McCoy, Andy Serkis
KRS release

I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings – the books, the films and all the paraphernalia. However, in my childhood days I preferred reading The Hobbit and only really dug into the Rings in my 20s. This is quite understandable as, after all, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit with children in mind.

Jackson pulls all his magic tricks out of his cinematic hat quite admirably

Admittedly, I was a bit doubtful about this film. Whereas The Lord of the Rings trilogy was actually based on three books, I thought Peter Jackson was being over-ambitious and risking it all by embarking on another trilogy based on just one book.

Sure, there are plenty of appendices he could refer to but I wondered how much the book’s content could stand the strain of three films of about three hours’ duration each.

However, judging by the first film, Jackson pulls all his magic tricks out of his cinematic hat quite admirably.

Apart from a bit of a slow start, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is an involving, exciting and enthralling experience. This film immerses its audience into its universe and will have you dreaming of shires, dragons and dwarves for many a night.

Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is a young hobbit who lives a simple country life among his folks in the quiet Shire. His peaceful existence is, however, shattered when the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellan) enters his life. He chooses Bilbo to join him on a quest and sends a band of 13 dwarves to find him. The dwarfs flock to Bilbo’s home and their leader, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), tells Bilbo about his mission.

Sixty years before, Thorin’s grandfather, Erebor, ruled a vast, powerful and rich kingdom. This was interrupted when a fierce dragon named Smaug appeared and laid the kingdom to waste. The quest is to return to The Lonely Mountain, kill Smaug and re-establish the mighty dwarf kingdom. The dwarfs need a burglar to break into the mountain and Gandalf believes that Bilbo is the one.

At first Bilbo is hesitant but then has a change of mind. So he joins the dwarfs and Gandalf on one incredible journey that will include clashes with giant spiders, hungry goblins, mountain trolls, stone giants, the pale orc and the warg riders. He will also get to meet Gollum (Andy Serkis) and retrieve a certain jewel... Life will never be the same again in the Shire!

The Hobbit was shot in a new 3D process that shoots film at 48 frames per second whereas a normal film shoots at 24 frames. The effect is astounding: the crispness is incredible, the panoramic effect very tangible and brings the picture even closer to its audience.

My only gripe here is that when depicting fire, it still looks computer-generated, especially in Smaug’s opening scene. Other than that, the three-hour experience was a visual treat.

The star of the film is Freeman who is perfect as a hobbit. The scene in which he battles with Gollum over riddles is simply exquisite.

McKellan seems to enjoy reprising the role of Gandalf, while the likes of Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett have almost cameo roles here but add depth to the film.

The screen time is occupied mostly by the actors who play the dwarves and although there are 13, these emerge to be quite distinct. Armitage is a veritable show stealer and brings might and dignity to the screen.

Unlike Lord of the Rings, the film has more humour to it and this is just perfect, considering the origin of the film.

There are also two musical numbers: one funny and hilarious, involving plates, crockery and dwarves, and a sombre tune that is very saddening and gives the film another dimension.

The Hobbit has several standout scenes, the highlights of which have to be the battle with the mountain trolls as they prepare dinner, the descent into the goblin-infested lair and the epic finale battle with the pale orc. All this is amplified by a perfect score from Howard Shore who was also behind The Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Fans will surely appreciate The Hobbit while non-fans may find the goings-on a bit slow at first, but after 30 minutes, things really kick off and the film becomes a very thrilling and rewarding ride.

The Hobbit also puts the epic back into Christmas. After The Lord of the Rings, there were many attempts to bring the sense of epic to the big screen for the festive season but none succeeded in eliciting that feeling of grandeur and awe. My only qualm is that we will have to wait until next year to continue this fantastic journey.