After a few delays (MGM financial woes, no director after Guillermo Del Toro couldn’t commit more time due to said delays) Peter Jackson has finally delivered one of this years most eagerly anticipated movies, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. And on the off chance some of you have crawled out of a cave or coma, The Hobbit is based on the much loved J.R.R. Tolkien Book and is set about 60 odd years before The Lord Of The Rings.
From a story point of view, The Hobbit is split into 3 parts. Part one, An Unexpected Journey which is what we’re talking about here (or writing, take your pick). Part two, “The Desolation of Smaug” will land in cinemas this time next year and the final movie “There and Back Again” lands only 7 months later in July 2014. So has it been worth the wait?
An Unexpected Journey follows the tale of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who, thanks to the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. On this quest Bilbo finds himself in the company of 13 Dwarves, led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Their journey will take them into treacherous places swarming with Goblins, Orcs, Wargs and even a couple of Trolls. And that’s all before Bilbo’s life changes forever when he encounters Gollum and that infamous ring.
One of the first things that audiences will notice is the amount of humour in An Unexpected Journey. The Rings trilogy had little or none, but here, humour is abundant in a number of scenes with many proving laugh out loud, time and time again. Bilbo himself drops a number of great one liners and shares a rather fantastic scene with three Trolls. But the real comedians are our 13 Dwarves. Smart remark after smart remark lands some heavy laughs on a regular basis. Audiences will relish our small, stout heroes and their humour makes them all more likeable, in a Middle Earth that is simply breath-taking.
Visually, An Unexpected Journey is simply phenomenal. The level of care, attention and detailing here are jaw smashing, let alone jaw dropping. The costumes have such an intricate level of detail, it’s hard to fathom how long these took to put together. And considering the Dwarves costumes alone added somewhere in the region of 30KG, these aren’t easy to wear either. The exterior shots showcase New Zealand as one of the most beautiful places on earth as wide sweeping vistas unfold in front of your eyes. These type of shots alone, warrant a second viewing.
At times though, the sound stage work does fall a bit flat, where it can be quite noticeable that its a whole chunk of painted plywood or polystyrene. Unfortunately a victim of 5K shooting on those RED cameras. But as soon as a CG character or what not appears in the scene, it instantly dissolves into reality, which gives quite the surreal experience. Granted, a select few of these scenes completely fail and look like something out a 1960s British sitcom. Again, a victim of a massive resolution, but none the less a little bit disappointing. While noticeable (albeit briefly) they don’t really detract from the movie itself.
The set pieces are nothing short of staggering. While not bursting at the seams with action, what is here is quite sufficient and incredibly well done and tie into the story quite organically. The WETA folks have outdone themselves here, scene after scene which is not only entirely believable, but many times will have you on the edge of your seat, as there really is some frantic pacing and camera work going on at times. The same can be said for the amount of computer generated characters, but in particular Gollum. Forget the Gollum you know and love. This Gollum is leaps and bounds (quite literally) ahead of the old one. The level of detail on display on our pale, schizophrenic Stoor Hobbit is absolutely amazing. The closeups of Gollum are nearly worth the price of admission alone. An incredibly work of art. And that’s even before you take into account the performance of Andy Serkis in a motion capture suit.
Besides being the 2nd unit director, Serkis once again brings Gollum to life, brimming with mannerisms and absolute craziness. And while Gollum is only really being introduced in An Unexpected Journey, he makes a solid impression. And for those of you who loved his split personality in the Rings trilogy in one scene in particular, lighting strikes twice here! At this point in time, it’s really impossible to believe anybody else could play Gandalf. Ian McKellen is the Wizard we have come to adore, and slips into the role with ease. The Dwarves themselves, given their numbers are a little bit underdeveloped in places, but Aidan Turner and James Nesbit really stand out here. Unfortunately Richard Armitage isn’t as strong as Thorin is perceived to be. While not a bad performance, at times it feels a little bit on the lacking side for a character who is supposed to be a legendary warrior. For the best part though, all the characters are instantly likeable and you’ll quickly be picking favourites. And to be fair, with such a large cast, for the best part there is a good amount of balance. Maybe if the Dwarves weren’t so likeable, I wouldn't be criticizing some of them being undeveloped.
Clocking in at 170 minutes, pacing will always be a concern for a movie of this size. And while the movie does move along quite well from scene to scene, on occasion there is a bit too much dialogue which instantly slows things down, and in this reviewers eyes only adds as filler. It could easily lose 10-15 minutes.
Much has been made of HFR 48FPS or High Frame Rate. Essentially Peter Jackson has shot this at double the speed that all movies are shot at (24 FPS). And while I’m going to deal with HFR in a separate article in more detail (I don’t want to bog down the review with it), it’s an interesting experience, especially in the first few minutes as you adjust to whats going on. Motion Blur is a thing of the past with HFR and objects and scenes take on an amazing lifelike quality, although as mentioned above, it can be to its detriment on occasion. Even a few times, simple things like walking and opening and closing doors looks incredibly sped up, and while it’s rare it happens, it is noticeable. That aside, this is a new technology for film makers and the experience of 48 FPS is one that I genuinely look forward to experiencing again and again. Forget what the naysayers are moaning about, this is called progress and when you witness epic battle scenes hurtle around the screen at breakneck speed, you will be very, very impressed. In the next few days, keep an eye out for a dedicated article on HFR 48FPS here on The Movie Bit.
Overall this movie is an incredibly passionate labour of love for Peter Jackson. Along with his team, they have delivered here big time and while not without its flaws, The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey is beautiful, breath taking and simply stunning. This is essential viewing. Next December can not come quick enough!
From a story point of view, The Hobbit is split into 3 parts. Part one, An Unexpected Journey which is what we’re talking about here (or writing, take your pick). Part two, “The Desolation of Smaug” will land in cinemas this time next year and the final movie “There and Back Again” lands only 7 months later in July 2014. So has it been worth the wait?
An Unexpected Journey follows the tale of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who, thanks to the Wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. On this quest Bilbo finds himself in the company of 13 Dwarves, led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Their journey will take them into treacherous places swarming with Goblins, Orcs, Wargs and even a couple of Trolls. And that’s all before Bilbo’s life changes forever when he encounters Gollum and that infamous ring.
One of the first things that audiences will notice is the amount of humour in An Unexpected Journey. The Rings trilogy had little or none, but here, humour is abundant in a number of scenes with many proving laugh out loud, time and time again. Bilbo himself drops a number of great one liners and shares a rather fantastic scene with three Trolls. But the real comedians are our 13 Dwarves. Smart remark after smart remark lands some heavy laughs on a regular basis. Audiences will relish our small, stout heroes and their humour makes them all more likeable, in a Middle Earth that is simply breath-taking.
Visually, An Unexpected Journey is simply phenomenal. The level of care, attention and detailing here are jaw smashing, let alone jaw dropping. The costumes have such an intricate level of detail, it’s hard to fathom how long these took to put together. And considering the Dwarves costumes alone added somewhere in the region of 30KG, these aren’t easy to wear either. The exterior shots showcase New Zealand as one of the most beautiful places on earth as wide sweeping vistas unfold in front of your eyes. These type of shots alone, warrant a second viewing.
At times though, the sound stage work does fall a bit flat, where it can be quite noticeable that its a whole chunk of painted plywood or polystyrene. Unfortunately a victim of 5K shooting on those RED cameras. But as soon as a CG character or what not appears in the scene, it instantly dissolves into reality, which gives quite the surreal experience. Granted, a select few of these scenes completely fail and look like something out a 1960s British sitcom. Again, a victim of a massive resolution, but none the less a little bit disappointing. While noticeable (albeit briefly) they don’t really detract from the movie itself.
The set pieces are nothing short of staggering. While not bursting at the seams with action, what is here is quite sufficient and incredibly well done and tie into the story quite organically. The WETA folks have outdone themselves here, scene after scene which is not only entirely believable, but many times will have you on the edge of your seat, as there really is some frantic pacing and camera work going on at times. The same can be said for the amount of computer generated characters, but in particular Gollum. Forget the Gollum you know and love. This Gollum is leaps and bounds (quite literally) ahead of the old one. The level of detail on display on our pale, schizophrenic Stoor Hobbit is absolutely amazing. The closeups of Gollum are nearly worth the price of admission alone. An incredibly work of art. And that’s even before you take into account the performance of Andy Serkis in a motion capture suit.
Besides being the 2nd unit director, Serkis once again brings Gollum to life, brimming with mannerisms and absolute craziness. And while Gollum is only really being introduced in An Unexpected Journey, he makes a solid impression. And for those of you who loved his split personality in the Rings trilogy in one scene in particular, lighting strikes twice here! At this point in time, it’s really impossible to believe anybody else could play Gandalf. Ian McKellen is the Wizard we have come to adore, and slips into the role with ease. The Dwarves themselves, given their numbers are a little bit underdeveloped in places, but Aidan Turner and James Nesbit really stand out here. Unfortunately Richard Armitage isn’t as strong as Thorin is perceived to be. While not a bad performance, at times it feels a little bit on the lacking side for a character who is supposed to be a legendary warrior. For the best part though, all the characters are instantly likeable and you’ll quickly be picking favourites. And to be fair, with such a large cast, for the best part there is a good amount of balance. Maybe if the Dwarves weren’t so likeable, I wouldn't be criticizing some of them being undeveloped.
Clocking in at 170 minutes, pacing will always be a concern for a movie of this size. And while the movie does move along quite well from scene to scene, on occasion there is a bit too much dialogue which instantly slows things down, and in this reviewers eyes only adds as filler. It could easily lose 10-15 minutes.
Much has been made of HFR 48FPS or High Frame Rate. Essentially Peter Jackson has shot this at double the speed that all movies are shot at (24 FPS). And while I’m going to deal with HFR in a separate article in more detail (I don’t want to bog down the review with it), it’s an interesting experience, especially in the first few minutes as you adjust to whats going on. Motion Blur is a thing of the past with HFR and objects and scenes take on an amazing lifelike quality, although as mentioned above, it can be to its detriment on occasion. Even a few times, simple things like walking and opening and closing doors looks incredibly sped up, and while it’s rare it happens, it is noticeable. That aside, this is a new technology for film makers and the experience of 48 FPS is one that I genuinely look forward to experiencing again and again. Forget what the naysayers are moaning about, this is called progress and when you witness epic battle scenes hurtle around the screen at breakneck speed, you will be very, very impressed. In the next few days, keep an eye out for a dedicated article on HFR 48FPS here on The Movie Bit.
Overall this movie is an incredibly passionate labour of love for Peter Jackson. Along with his team, they have delivered here big time and while not without its flaws, The Hobbit: An Unexpected journey is beautiful, breath taking and simply stunning. This is essential viewing. Next December can not come quick enough!
