“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is the first in the series of Peter Jackson’s new Middle Earth Trilogy based on a fantasy world created by author J R R Tolkien, and no doubt that Jackson’s done a very good job with the movie.[break]
However, like “Lord of the Rings,” the movie is past three hours long and some of the scenes can really get to you. It’s a different thing when you’re reading in a book but to sit and watch a scene run for more than five minutes can be quite annoying, which Jackson, as it looks, has overlooked.
Story-wise, the screenplay is quite perfect. But again, the various layers of stories that are woven in the movie might get the audience a little baffled. But it’s just momentary and the story plot is back in action again.
Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), son of Thráin, who gathers all the dwarfs to reclaim their homeland, has done a commendable job and so has Gandalf (Ian McKellen). It almost feels like he was born to be a wizard in movies. Be it in the Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings, he does what he does best – act as a wizard.
But the limelight falls mostly on Bilbo, the hobbit (Martin Freeman). The movie is about the hobbit, so we see no reason why he shouldn’t be in the limelight, and he’s done a fantastic job making the audience laugh here and there. It’s not a comedy movie, we all know that, but that little sense of humor always is welcome.
All the actors have pulled off their characters quite well and no room for complaint there.
The 3D adds more charisma to the characters and the action plots with the goblets and trolls and many more that follow (we want you to relish the film yourself) while the cinematography and the technical aspects of the movie are very well looked after. You don’t really find any loopholes or jerky scene cuts.
If you ask what’s wrong in the movie, there’s nothing much wrong, really. The first hour of the movie could’ve been made a little faster-paced but the amount of work and time these people have put in is amazing. The smaller of details have been taken care of, and if you want to watch a little of the book come to life, you should definitely watch this movie. But if you’re the kind who will hate the movie because you don’t see all the characters on the big screen, it’s better off if you watch it on your small screen.
Even though it’s a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it’s in 3D, and the technology is better and – blah blah! – there’s no comparison, really. But it’s a good watch for three hours if you fancy the fantasy world and some action.
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