The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey

Greetings, the Hobbit: An unexpected journey is the first part in the long awaited trilogy that serves as a prequel to Lord of the Rings films. A lot of hype was built around it due to the success of its predecessors and while I believe it isn’t a bad film, I don’t think that it stood up to the same reputation as the others for a few reasons. The most prominent factor is that my expectations were too high due to the quality of LOTR and ultimately I couldn’t stop thinking that it didn’t feel as grand an adventure as what I had already seen previously.

The plot follows the general structure from the Hobbit novel or at least a third of it, as well as containing moments that set up for the events for LOTR’s storyline. Gandalf enlists the originally reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, into an adventure to help reclaim the Dwarf’s lost home which is now under the control of the Dragon, Smaug. Once Bilbo takes his chances on the expedition, the crew set out on a dangerous path with many hostile events lying ahead.

The film was shot in 48 fps but as I have not seen that particular version, I am therefore unable to give my opinion on it. Another criticism would be of the Dwarven characters, while it was staying true to the novel, I still had problems in telling the difference between them. Only a few seemed to stick out of the team with some distinctive personality traits but that may have been because I recognised the actors who played them such as James Nesbitt. Another problem was duration, I felt that some scenes didn’t add to the story but rather were unnecessary and took away from the experience. 

The last criticism, is the overuse of CGI which led to some of the fight scenes to appear a little off. The computer generated Goblins aren’t as visually impressive as the Orcs in LOTR who were portrayed by extras. This review comes off more negative than my actual views on the film, while it has faults it has many good features as well. For instance the actors played their parts brilliantly, as well as containing many humorous jokes that kept the film flowing nicely most of the time. I look forward to the two sequels but won’t place as much expectation on them.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Special effects=7/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the day

Shakespeare, in the park? Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?

Tony Stark Iron Man

The Avengers