So for my first blog I figured I'd explain my thoughts on this rather divisive return to Middle-Earth. Those of you who know me in real life will be aware that Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings is my all-time favourite film series without a shadow of a doubt. Thanks to the beautiful cinematography, genius casting, a phenomenal soundtrack courtesy of Howard Shore and no small amount of nostalgic value, LOTR just ticks every box for me.
Naturally, when The Hobbit was announced I was delighted, and sprinted down to the local Odeon to see An Unexpected Journey at the earliest opportunity. After throwing a handful of change at the cashier, pouncing onto my seat and near-hyperventilating during the trailers, it began. 3 hours later I was...... torn. Impressed? Absolutely, it was a solid 8/10, maybe even a 9 in places. But compared to my beloved LOTR? A letdown. I constantly kick myself for comparing it to LOTR, because I KNOW its source material was a 300 page children's story whereas LOTR was a trilogy aimed at a far more mature audience. I know its an unfair comparison (particularly since with me every film will pale in comparison to my beloved LOTR), but my quibbles with The Hobbit are - for the most part - not due to issues with tone or target audience. I figure the easiest way to explain myself is to list what I liked and didn't like, so here goes.
What I Liked
The Soundtrack. Howard motherfucking Shore. This man is a visionary. Here he used just enough of the soundtrack from LOTR to make us feel like we were truly back home in Middle-Earth, whilst still incorporating lots of memorable new tunes to remind us that this is a new trilogy. The sense of nostalgic awe I felt when the company arrived in Rivendell and that theme started playing was something I'll never forget. The songs too were great, which came as one helluva relief for me. When I heard that the songs were to be incorporated into the films I was nervous to say the least. Instead, the dwarves singing the Song of The Misty Mountains ended up being my favourite scene by a mile. Flawless. Check it out and see for yourself.
The Cast. Again, no surprises here. As I watched the production diaries on Youtube I was delighted to see the likes of James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Aidan Turner and Richard Armitage come aboard. As much as I love Gimli, I was glad that the company was not simply 13 copies of him accompanied by a wizard and a Hobbit. Each dwarf has his own distinct look that gives you a summary of their character at a glance: Dwalin is clearly a born warrior, Ori is the scholar of the group, Bofur a miner, and so on. More on the dwarves as characters later though.
The Cinematography. The sweeping panoramic shots of both The Hobbit and LOTR are a somewhat divisive element of the films, I have noticed. Some call them epic feats of cinematography that help immerse you in the world of Middle-Earth, others call them unashamed New Zealand porn. I am most definitely in the former camp, because I could genuinely watch shots like those all day. Combined with Howard Shore's music, it honestly doesn't even register that I am looking at New Zealand. Immersion at its best.
Gollum! Riddles In The Dark was the second best scene for me, after the aforementioned Song of the Misty Mountains. It had an excellent balance of suspense, humour and wit, and has my undivided attention everytime. Andy Serkis is always a lot of fun to watch, and this was no different.
What I Didn't Like
CGI. I'm not talking about the use of 48fps, after the first 5 minutes my eyes had completely adjusted to it, and I have no problem with it. What I'm referring to here is the use of fully mo-capped or CGI creatures. LOTR had incredible prosthetics - not once did I feel like I was looking at guys in suits - I totally bought them as orcs, dwarves, hobbits etc. An Unexpected Journey had good CGI no doubt, but the best CGI in the world can't hold a candle to prosthetics in my opinion. Nowhere did this frustrate me more than with Azog, The Pale Orc. Manu Bennett - Crixus from Spartacus - playing the big bad should have been a highlight, but instead I was thinking to myself "somethings not right here" everytime he was onscreen. An awesome character, but here's hoping he goes prosthetic for the next 2.
Most Dwarves Took A Backseat. I understand that in a 3 hour film with 15+ heroes not everyone is going to be fleshed out as much as they deserve, but my biggest hope for Desolation... is that the dwarves get more face time. Thorin, Balin and Bofur all got their fair share, but poor Bombur didnt get a single line. Nori, Dori, Bifur, and Oin also seemed to draw short straws. They are all unique visually (possibly due to me watching the production diaries and thus being familiar with them ahead of release), but I want to get to know them better, particularly since some of them aren't destined for a happy ending. I'm not just referring to Balin either, 2 more of the company die in Moria alongside him (in the books anyway), but I'm not saying who. I want to discover the story behind the axe in Bifur's head, I want to see Dwalin be even more badass, and I want to see Bombur get the comedic relief he is more than capable of.
Too Much Running. I'm not saying I expected the company to fight off the entire population of GoblinTown, or take on all of Azog's warg riders, but the third act did feel like it was devoted entirely to running away from things. A minor quibble, nothing too damning. Also I feel I should point out that I don't dislike the eagles. Yes, everyone complains about them being a constant convenient plot device in both The Hobbit and LOTR, but I like them. However, it does annoy me here that NO ONE EVER SAYS THANKYOU TO THEM. No one so much as goes "Crikey, an eagle". I get that they were worried about Thorin after he was battered by Azog, but no one even acknowledges them. I think thats why the eagles put them down on that impossibly steep rock, they were so fed up of being ignored they were like "Fine, find your own way down.... dicks".
Comedic Villains. Don't get me wrong, the troll scene was great fun, and very faithful to the book. Thing is, seeing trolls talk and cook was pretty jarring for me considering I'm used to the feral, living siege machines that were the trolls in LOTR. I'm comparing the 2 series again and I know I shouldn't due to different source material and whatnot, but I can't help it. I suppose it makes more sense to stay faithful to the book, especially since Bilbo's outsmarting of the trolls is a vital part of his development as a character. Personally though, I'd of preferred the trolls to feel as dangerous as the cave troll in Fellowship. Also, did anyone else think the Goblin King's death was a bit too silly? His line after being slashed by Gandalf really made me cringe.
All in all An Unexpected Journey WAS a good film, a very good one in fact. I only express these concerns because I care a hell of a lot about this series. In Peter Jackson's hands I am completely confident that The Hobbit will in no way be akin to the Star Wars prequel trilogy as some people feared. If he wants to scale the heights LOTR reached however, there is work to be done. But my hopes are still high. Here's to The Desolation Of Smaug.
