Film Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

On the fourteenth day of December my true love gave me nothing at all. Instead, I dared a foot or two inside the cinema yet again, despite having suffered a summer of immense dissatisfaction in the forms of Sarah Palin running on a treadmill, Noomi Rapace giving birth, and a plethora of one-liners mouthed by a leather-clad Bane Catwoman Batman. This time, however, I return to a place left undisturbed for some time. A place most of us know and love. A place known as Middle Earth.

It's almost a decade now since Peter Jackson descended from the heavens to grant us unworthy mortals perhaps the best fantasy trilogy in recent history (certainly the one with most running). Although it is still being debated whether Tolkien's literary works are great or not, one simply does not deny his influence on what followed of fantasy and science fiction, and it appears that Jackson and his team truly dedicated themselves to honoring the renowned trilogy, paying close attention to subtle details and spectacular visuals. They did not disappoint in their mission. For this sequel-that-is-not-a-sequel, Jackson promised an even more engaging experience, fused with this amazing new filming technology he boasts about. It was a project that was bound to be perfect.

Sadly, perfect it is not.

If you, dear reader, has seen the movie and is about to open your mouth in vigorous disagreement, you may keep your silence just a bit longer. I am well aware it has been said the Hobbit trilogy stands on its own two hairy feet and can be seen without any beforehand knowledge, but do not be tricked by such foolishness. The Hobbit was always intended for the Lord of the Rings fans, and continues to bombard you with elements from the original trilogy it might find even the slightest of relevant. Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, even Frodo make an appearance. Do these characters mean anything to a newcomer? Not at all, as they never bother to properly explain exactly who they are, other than they are important, somehow. The same goes for the scenery as well. They never stay in one area long enough to truly appreciate the sights, instead rushing to get to the next one. Of course, this is only one third of a very short book put to the silver screen, but is that truly a worthy excuse? Not at all.

His general acting performance - rather than how
he portrayed this particular character - made
Martin Freeman a good choice for the role
as Bilbo. For good or bad.

Throughout An Unexpected Journey we follow a gang of merry men on a classical quest to traverse the world and slay the dragon at the end of the path. Instead of asking why they couldn't just fly there with Gandalf's giant eagles, I do have another question. Who is the main character of The Hobbit? Surely an easy question to answer. There's a singular hobbit in the title. It's not a hobbit. It's the hobbit. For a few moments in the beginning, it almost feels that way too. After all, the movie is practically just one long flashback. Memories of Bilbo's younger days. So why, then, does the movie insist on pushing him aside during the entire movie to give the two dozen other characters enough space to waddle about? Ironically enough, Bilbo ends up being the comic relief, despite being dragged around by a circus troupe.

Thorin is the closest we get to a main character, a character that every baddie seems to already know. Hell, they even know his whole lineage. In essence, although the quest is relevant to all the other participants, save for Bilbo and Gandalf, this is even more true for Thorin. He was one of the dwarven princes, and is destined to become king and/or leader of the bunch once the problems have blown over. Doesn't that remind you of someone? Thorin, who I am certain is actually just a short human, is basically Aragorn with a beard. But where Aragorn was the sort of comrade you knew you could rely on, even though the heavy burden of his past and future weighed on his shoulders, Thorin is none of the sort. The only thing we do know about this guy is  he harbors no love for his nemesis - or for the useless hobbit. Well, at least until the inevitable point where he proves himself, of course, which was more or less a central theme in Lord of the Rings (size doesn't matter).

Although the rest of the dwarves are a tad more colorful than their brooding and flat leader, none of them are ever properly introduced. I don't remember the names of any of them at all. Little separated them, as if they are one instead of many. This is especially true in combat, for instance in the fight against three trolls, where one would fall over and another use his ally as a springboard to elevate himself. Does it make sense? Not at all. Does it fit into the Lord of the Rings universe? By all means, no. The most hardcore dwarf stunt there was simply being tossed by a human. You can't expect fans of the original trilogy to come to term with these new rules of law and physics just like that without a harsh opinion? I will certainly not pass this chance to speak my mind. I feel that An Unexpected Journey is another entry to a type of films not really sure about the target audience. The tone is lighter than Lord of the Rings, but the blood is just as red, and both limbs and heads get severed just as easily.And what of all the talk of gnashing on bones, incineration, decapitation and what not? As the book has a more childish approach, I feel not everything in it should be taken seriously. Perhaps the exaggerations contained within are just that. After all, it is a retelling by Bilbo himself, so some of the details are bound to be a bit off. Wouldn't it have been better to attempt telling the real story, then, and sate the hunger of both fans and the general movie crowd? 

For a movie that's supposed to be separated from
the previous trilogy, they sure talk a lot about
the events of the Lord of the Rings.

I'm not entirely done with the nitpicking just yet. The original trilogy never had any academy awards-worthy acting to be seen - except for Gollum - but what surprised me is the reprising actors seemed to do an even worse job in this film. They're all flat and distant, like they never bothered to properly get back into their roles, and end up looking like oddly clothed postmen; only there to deliver a line and then vanish into the shadows, presumably to patiently wait for the sequel.

Characters aside, fans of the original trilogy will possibly find pleasure in seeing Rivendell, The Shire, even Weathertop, but with the sense of an urgent fate snapping at the heels of the characters completely non-existent, the vague reasons for visiting these locations fail to engage me, especially since the majority of the conversations are dedicated to foreshadowing the events of the Lord of the Rings. But hey, if you put your mind on blissful standby, there are a lot of pretty colors to keep you occupied.


There are colors aplenty, but not all of the visuals are all that great, though. The trolls and goblins especially look downright ugly. Why did they switch out human actors - who perfected the roles of the fearsome Uruk-hai - and replace them with computerized garbage? It goes to show that they sacrificed too much simply for this 3D craze I simply cannot get my head around. And I don't intend to get my head around it either. As for the 3D itself -  please. Just stop it now. It ruins the movie experience. I don't care if it feels like those rocks are hitting my face or if that goblin fell on top of me. In fact, I'd prefer it not to. I'm here for what I can see, not for all the mess ruining my sight.

As I have already mentioned, An Unexpected Journey is the first part in a trilogy based on a single short book, which makes the quality suffer as well. I don't get the same sense of adventure as I did in Lord of the Rings, which is a bit ironic, since adventure is what this trilogy is all about. Had they spent more time gawking  and admiring the landscape and foreign structures, instead of visiting already familiar location, shortly followed by a lot of running, snappy comments mostly devoid of humor, and fighting scenes that can almost be defined as slapstick, I might have had half a mind to re-evaluate my statement.

I loved the fighting in Lord of the Rings. Why? Because it has a more darker focus, an actual view of the terrifying reality these small and seemingly hopeless creatures of peace find themselves in. Take the fight in Helm's Deep in Two Towers (which is my favorite of the bunch and is the only spider-free one). You know the fight will take place at some point, and the battle is foreshadowed long before it actually happens. And then there's a particular scene before the major battle in The Return of the King where Pippin asks for comfort and Gandalf simply replies that dying ain't so bad, followed by a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Memorable moments like these are as non-existent in the Hobbit as the soundtrack.

Maybe Peter Jackson is the new George Lucas - and is only capable of making one great trilogy of the source material? If the next edition of The Return of the King comes with a Martin Freeman ghost at the end, don't say I didn't call it (it was edited so that Bilbo died in Rivendell. He was tainted and evil, after all).

I must admit that my interest in the Hobbit project was reignited when I viewed the various behind the scenes video blogs, showing the true dedication and skill of the people involved. Once again I came to the realization that dedication and skill does not always equal quality. You can have the entire Korean army put up an exact copy of the statue of liberty made out of manure but, in the end, it will still be made of manure. And the staircase will probably not work.

In summary, the first entry of the Hobbit trilogy is a downright disappointing experience. It is a familiar experience to be sure, but though riding on the shoulders of nostalgia, it is still nowhere tall enough to be seated around the same table as its big brother. If they had stuck with the one movie instead of a trilogy, maybe it wouldn't feel like a collection of scenes cut from the Lord of the Rings. The scenery might be just as beautiful and stunning as I remember, but even that doesn't stop most of the material in the movie from being an eyesore. An Unexpected Journey is a journey I will not walk again.