“Home is now behind you. The world is ahead.”

When I first read Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings books, a co-worker asked me if I had read The Hobbit. When I told him “no”, he told me to stop there and read The Hobbit before going any further. I shrugged him off, thinking that the book could probably wait, and would read just as wonderfully after the trilogy as it would before.

I was wrong. Coming to the book afterwards felt like a letdown…and I’m starting to get the feeling that I’m in for that feeling again.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY begins with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) writing to his young relative Froddo (Elijah Wood). He is writing about a great adventure he once took, and has never before told young Froddo. The adventure began when he was visited by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellin). Gandalf was seemingly just calling on an old friend, but was in fact nominating him as a fourteenth member of a mission. The mission is being undertaken by a group of thirteen dwarves – *deep breath* Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Óin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and their leader Thorin (Richard Armitage).

The mission is to reclaim their home city of Erebor. It was lost many years ago to a dragon named Smaug, enticed by the massive amount of gold and gems the dwarves had amassed, took over the city and cast the dwarves out. Ever since then, the dwarf population has been somewhat rudderless…with no part of Middle Earth to really call their own.

The band of dwarves takes on Bilbo as their burglar, bringing their numbers up to fourteen. They then set out on their mission, unawares that everything from orcs, to goblins, to a familiar creature obsessed with a piece of jewelry will be standing in their way.


I should begin by mentioning that I saw this film in glorious 2-D, in a 24fps presentation. There are a lot of spaces online where you can read all about the effect of the higher frame rate and its success (or lack thereof). This isn’t one of those spaces.

It’s difficult to actually critique this first chapter in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit Trilogy. Perhaps unfairly, the temptation is there to compare every element of it back to the Lord of The Rings trilogy. While it’s true that if a director sets out to make a new series of film, the series should be judged on their own merit, it seems as though those rules get tossed out the window if a director chooses to expand the universe created in the original series (ask George Lucas how much he was allowed to get away with). To that end, let’s say this and be done with it: The Hobbit Trilogy is off to a weaker start than the Lord of The Rings Trilogy in all respects, and it’s unlikely to course-correct all that much going forward.

With this Hobbit film, Jackson once again shows that he is deftly able to capture pretty pictures that combine various bits of visual trickery. Rivendell looks every bit as ethereal as last we left it, and The Shire looks wonderfully warm and inviting. The combination of digital effects and practical photography seem to be getting more and more seamless with every passing year for Jackson and his team at Weta. We are even given something new to delight in with the introduction of Erebor. In some ways it competes with Rivendell and Minas Tirith for the crown of most beautiful and intricate location these adventures have taken us to. Not only does the camera sweep through all sorts of amazing masonry, grand staircases, and foot bridges…but the visual of a treasure chamber spilling out with gold in every direction is a sight to behold. The setting actually manages to trip-up the film visually speaking, since we never go back there.

Perhaps the film’s biggest downside is that it seldom knows when to say “when”. To say nothing of the fact that this is the first film in a trilogy based on a 200 page novel, and that at least two of the three films are slated to clock in at three hours, this individual chapter comes with a bit of bloat. The mission to reclaim Erebor and its treasure doesn’t feel like it has a whole lot of urgency or momentum. The discussion to set out on the road involves everything except discussing setting out on the road, and once the dwarves do go, every pit stop and conflict seems drawn-out. It’s as though Jackson and his team have set out to fire the gun empty with this trilogy (and this film for certain). They want to leave no stone unturned, and tell every last bit there is to tell. Unfortunately, this sacrifices any sort of forward momentum, and the film takes a full third of its runtime to really get on the road.

While this treatment of the source material is wonderful for fans of the source material, and plays splendidly on Director’s Cut blu-rays, it forsakes the wider audience…those of us who prefer to be left wanting more.

Besides the film’s stunted pace, I can’t help but think that the film suffers from less dynamic characters. Admittedly, this problem falls on the shoulders of the author than the filmmaker, but when one chooses to adapt a story, one has to adapt every element of the story…and if that means augmenting characters, so be it. THE HOBBIT puts thirteen dwarves front and centre, and unfortunately almost none of them are well-defined characters. They do little more than flock back and forth around the screen like a gaggle of geese, and eat to excess (Isn’t that a hobbit’s job?). While Thorin is a well-defined and well-played character, one worthy of inclusion in a fellowship, he is but one of thirteen, and thus badly outnumbered. When we aren’t wasting time with interchangeable dwarves, we are supposed to tremble at the sight of poorly designed orcs, even more poorly designed trolls, and enough goblins to fill Madison Square Garden. While The Great Goblin and his grotesquely saggy chin is an example of character design that will stick with the audience, it feels vastly outnumbered.

Nowhere in this film is anything as frightening as a Ring Wraith, or as charismatic as Aragorn, or as impish as Pippin and Merry. Bilbo Baggins is as spry, and the aforementioned Thorin is brave…but after three hours, one hopes for more than that.

And yet, “more” is the very last thing I find myself thinking about at this stage. The film succeeds marginally on technical prowess and on the  splendour of the world that has already been established. However, four films into the overall saga it is clear that we have arrived at the weakest of them all. Perhaps Jackson would have been better off to encapsulate The Hobbit as one film – a decision that certainly would have helped its narrative structure. Too late for that sort of talk. We’re in it now, and one can only hope that this timid step is just the start of another bold adventure.

Matineescore: ★ ★ 1/2 out of ★ ★ ★ ★
What did you think? Please leave comments with your thoughts and reactions on THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY.

18 Replies to “THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY”

  1. Ugh I wish I had seen this in 24 fps. I can’t seem to think of the film objectively because the 48 fps made me distance myself from truly taking it in. I still think making this into a trilogy is a disastrous decision. Jackson is like a fanboy cut-loose. Did we have to see the stone giants fighting? Did we?
    Having said that, the scenes where there was no running or fighting (so jarring in 48 fps), the film looked beautiful. Loved Freeman (duh) and surprisingly Armitage. Also, the riddle scene between Gollum and Bilbo was done full justice, which made me really happy because I loved that part in the book.

    1. It’s funny that you mention it, because I actually really liked the stone giants. It was the first stage of the movie where I felt that the dwarves were in any sort of real trouble, and it finally unleashed a memorable character a whopping one hour into the film.

      Dif’rent strokes I suppose!

  2. I think I have the benefit of never having read the books, so I can enjoy the films more with no excess baggage. I quite liked the film and I’m already counting down the days until the next film.

    I also part of the apparent minority that likes High Frame Rate. I’m expecting a bit of a debate in the pub on Tuesday.

    1. I won’t have seen the High Frame Rate by Tuesday, so odds are I won’t be all that vocal on the topic.

      I’m not sure how much baggage reading the books lumped on me – if anything it just gave me a familiarity. I’ve long tried to separate a film from its source…unless it’s a complete bastardization like Owen Meany —> Simon Birch.

  3. Interesting read – personally, I’m totally in love with the Hobbit trilogy already. Perhaps it’s because so many years have passed since I read the book… and I haven’t seen the LOTR trilogy in a long time.
    But perhaps you can just have different opinions on the film, and I will love it as much even after re-watching LOTR. Anyway, I’m excited to see part two – and have a lot of long discussion about part one before that.

    1. Like you, I am quite interested to see what part two will bring. I’d much rather the series built itself up, as opposed to many series that start strong, peak with a second chapter, and then fizzle out with a third.

      At a glance, I’m already encouraged that the second film will be even better…so perhaps we’re all in for good things.

  4. Sorry, the CGI was good? The Goblin King looked good? Did we see the same movie? I thought the CGI sucked for the most part. Every orc and goblin looked so fake, even at 24fps. I really don’t know what Jackson was thinking making the Orcs and Goblins CGI when they already looked so good as actors in make up. It’s all just kind of baffling to me.

    I didn’t think it was bloated. I just thought it slogged. The quest itself just wasn’t that interesting. There was nothing at stake with it. I liked the stuff with Gandalf and Radagast and the reemergence of Sauron, if only because I could see what Jackson is doing with the whole tying it in to LOTR thing.

    It’s good. Not great. And being that Peter Jackson has excelled at delivering greatness where it had no business being… well, that sucks.

    1. Where I thought the CGI looked best was in the longer shots – images that are a combination of miniatures, practical photography, and some CG. Think about scenes like the flight of the eagles.

      Not every bit of CG is seamless though, and you’re right – some of the creature moments fall flat.

      As for The Goblin King, he might have come with a bit of a “veneer of phoney”, but that doesn’t take away from his overall design. That nasty chin, that ramshackle crown…there’s something memorable in his look, even if there was a step or two missed in the execution.

      You’re right though, it’s messy. Whether it’s messy enough to call the whole decision to revisit Middle Earth a mistake remains to be seen, but time will tell. I was alright with it, but to put that into perspective, the three previous films totally floored me.

  5. Ah man, these middling reviews popping up everywhere are killing me! Is it really that overlong and mediocre? I simply can’t imagine it so. I look forward to seeing the film, hopefully later this week, and being able to judge for myself.

    1. I think the biggest hindrance is that it doesn’t have the “wow factor” that the previous three films had. It’s not *bad*, just be sure to temper your expectations a bit.

  6. Haha I haven’t seen the film yet but your review speaks to everything I didn’t like about the books (both HOBBIT and LOTR) and assumed I wouldn’t like about this movie. Tolkien is so self-indulgent and drawn-out in his writing, I found his books to be a bit of a struggle to get through, but I like the story and characters of LoTR so I really enjoyed the films because they cut through a lot of the unnecessary stuff. I consider THE HOBBIT the weakest of the books, primarily because I never found any of the characters interesting. And, to no surprise at all, the film doesn’t fix this problem! And will in fact be dragging it out and making it worse! Buh. I’ll see it for Lee Pace AND LEE PACE ONLY.

    1. Psst… If you’re looking to get a Lee Pace fix, skip this film. He’s in one shot – with no dialogue. You’d be better off waiting until the next entry in the series.

  7. Honestly, that’s how The Hobbit plays. Every turn the company takes, they wind up in another sticky situation, so the entire book reads as very episodic. But that’s source stuff, and I think the story’s emphasis is much less on the quest and much more on Bilbo’s personal journey of self-discovery. So, if the endgame– reaching the Misty Mountains and defeating Smaug and recovering treasure and reclaiming Erebor for Thorin’s people– seems somewhat shunted, that’s because it’s not really the novel’s primary interest. I’d argue that The Hobbit is far more character-driven than plot-driven, while the opposite is true of the Lord of the Rings books.

    For my part, I loved this, which might not be saying much give that I’m probably predisposed to like it as a huge Tolkien nerd and as a person who thought Jackson’s treatment of the Rings novels was totally stellar. It’s a good companion piece to the Rings films, at least, even if it does feel smaller in scope and much more intimate and personal and boasts lower stakes.

    I’d write about HFR 3D but I’m tired of writing about HFR 3D. All I’ll say is that if you’re a movie fan at all you need to see it in HFR 3D.

    1. I’m rather curious about HFR 3-D if for no other reason than to finally see what everyone is arguing over and weigh in with an opinion of my own.

      As for the episodic nature of the company falling into trouble, I’m good with that. My qualm is that the trouble they kept running into seldom felt all that troublesome. This set of orcs didn’t feel as menacing as the orcs in the other three films, for instance. Perhaps that has something to do with the staging of the scene or the score underneath it.

  9. Hi Ryan, just coming back from a long vacation so still making the rounds around the blogs.

    I’ve actually seen this twice already and actually enjoyed it more the second time. I guess I just fell in love with the world that Tolkien created and Peter Jackson brought to life so beautifully. Yes the pacing drags at times, surely there are some scenes that could be edited out, but overall I enjoyed the journey. Can’t wait for Part II 😀

    1. Welcome back Ruth – hope your vacation treated you well!

      I’m lukewarm on the film overall, but could easily see it growing on me with more exposure. I’m also rather curious to see it in the High Frame Rate presentation that everyone seems so chatty over.

      I’ll likely finally watch the extended edition of RETURN OF THE KING in the coming weeks, so perhaps I’ll venture out that day and give myself a Middle Earth double-feature.

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