Review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) by Fawn O — 01 Feb 2016

An Unexpected Journey is the introductory piece in the Hobbit trilogy that maintains a similar jaunty sense of adventure as the Rings' introductory sequence: The Fellowship of the Ring. While I do not feel An Unexpected Journey was as well rounded, insidiously sinister, clever, or detail-concentrated as The Fellowship was, it's another enjoyable effort by Peter Jackson nevertheless.There are many mood and plot based parallels to be drawn from both films too, especially given they each feature a curious hobbit being given a larger-than-life task to complete on a dangerous quest that will take him far beyond the familiar comforts of his home in the Shire. As many great stories in the Tolkien realm do, this one starts with a hole in the ground and quickly unfolds into a remarkable full-scale excursion. Indeed, An Unexpected Journey fulfills expectations for the Tolkien faithful to slip right back into Middle Earth.

Bilbo Baggins, played by a rather fitting Martin Freeman, is a noticeably nervous, uptight, and unassuming young fellow who leads a quiet and fairly private life in the Shire -- and he isn't too fond of visitors either; so it is rather humorous when his tidy home begins to overflow with boisterous Dwarves who then raid his kitchen of every last morsel of food they can find. Still, it is Bilbo's natural officiousness that encourages him to succumb to Gandalf's proposition and join the Dwarves on their quest to the Lonely Mountain. As the film unfolds, Peter Jackson, clearly taking his job of directing a second Tolkien trilogy very seriously, is careful to reintroduce purists and casual viewers alike to the vast and wondrous world of Middle Earth with his gorgeous backdrops and the usual volley of stunning visuals and sagacious humour. It is exciting to witness Middle Earth through the innocent eyes of a character experiencing all these amazing places and creatures for the first time in his otherwise ordinary life.

The film opens strong and tugs its audience along on an enjoyable journey that has a tendency to be a bit thin throughout its course. Given there's only a moderate amount of action that is being stretched over nearly three hours, I think Jackson was attempting to recreate the very concentrated action and depth of the Ring's trilogy, but he fails to do so because the source material of The Hobbit is a stack much lighter than that of the weighted three-part series The Lord of the Rings. Contributing approximately four hours to those films more sense.

One of my favourite segments, apart from when the Dwarves invade Bilbo's home, are the scenes where Biblo meets Gollum for the first time and finds the One Ring. When Gollum engages Bilbo in a game of Riddles, the banter between Bilbo and Gollum is very entertaining to watch because therein lies an intriguing balance of wit and eerie suspense, culminating in Gollum's creepy intensity when he realizes he has been tricked and his "precious" has been stolen by Bilbo who must then escape before he's attacked by the very angry Gollum.

Overall, An Unexpected Journey is satisfying and it runs smoothly, even if it is a bit weak at times.

[C+] -- 65%.