The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
For the record, I'm really excited to be doing this review.
So yes, I'm gonna set up how this is going to work.
Things to Know:
1. I have not read the book, but I will before the next movie comes out. I have seen the movie twice, in 3D and 2D (I favor the 2D).
2. This is my opinion. I will acknowledge that you have one as well, but don't think that I will change mine to suit yours.
3. There will be my Recommendation, and then my actual Review. Only the Review will contain spoilers.
Got it?
Ok, now for the disclaimer:
I am not responsible for any plot spoilers that exist beyond the spoiler alert.
With all that squared away, let's get to the fun stuff!
Recommendation
See this movie. It's awesome!
However, I must warn you.
Some of the videography threw me off in the 3D version, which I saw first. They shot this movie in a much higher resolution than I've come to expect from this genre. I recommend that you go in to see this movie with an open mind as what to expect visually, or you're going to run into the same issues I did. It looked much better in 2D, but from adjusting my expectations I was able to see just how great the quality was. So don't let that deter you.
I would also advise you to not forget about the music, which was so spectacular, I bought the soundtrack as soon as I got home.
Now, go forth and see The Hobbit!
!Spoiler Alert!
The Review
You have no idea how thrilled I am with this movie!
I'm not going to waste time telling you everything that happened in the movie, I'm just going to highlight my favorite parts.
I will try to keep to one subject at a time, but I find I tend to ramble on and on when it comes to this story.
Yes, I did critique the videography a bit. However, that is only because the feel of the imagery was unexpected. As I said, soon as I opened my mind to a new look for the genre, it was a visual treat.
Now I'm going to rave about the songs for a moment here.
The fact that the dwarves actually sing is great. Tolkien wrote quite a few poems to describe the history of Middle Earth and to tell stories to assist the plot, so it was neat to have a little of that included.
'Blunt the Knives' was such a fun bit to watch, and it's a lively song that I love to hear.
'Misty Mountains' does a wonderful job of introducing the main theme of the movie. The singing is beautiful and whenever I hear the melody during the movie I'm thrilled to hear it. Every. Single. Time.
Now, the Unexpected Party is one of the outstanding scenes for me. It really introduces the dwarves as a group, rather than as individuals. This was nice as there are thirteen dwarves. THIRTEEN.
By the way:
I've seen a lot of complaining around the sites I browse about how The Hobbit has been split into three movies rather than the originally promised two, but I can see why they did. With thirteen main characters (more like fifteen, but we've met Biblo and Gandalf before) to make individual from the rest; it would be exhausting to cram all that into just two movies.
So on those grounds, I support their decision.
Back to the scene.
From that scene alone, I saw a fun-loving bunch of dwarves who, despite their poor table manners, are decent house guests. They clearly respect their leaders, Thorin and Gandalf, but aren't above causing a bit of trouble. And again, I really love the songs.
Then there's Radagast the Brown. A notable character, not just for his personality, but his sled pulled by rabbits.
Another thing I appreciated was Rivendell. Not only were the sets familiar, but the music also brought on some Lord of the Rings nostalgia.
After this was the Thunder Battle.
Wow. This scene was amazing for two reasons. One; the thunder, great stone giants fighting one another with hand-to-hand combat as well as throwing huge chunks of mountain. Really visually impressive. Two; the moment when they realized they were standing on the knees of such a giant. Kili and Fili made this scene for me. As the giant goes to stand, the ledge the party is standing on splits in two. The brothers were in the middle, and as they see each other on the other side of the gap, you can tell they are scared. Since they arrived at Bag-End, Kili and Fili have been by each other's side, and I believe that this is the moment they realize that they could lose one another.
I may have looked too deep into this, but I felt it was important.
The final battle of the movie and the confrontation that follows was wonderful.
Thorin sees his mortal enemy once again, not as dead as originally thought, and there's flaming pinecones. The pinecones was a neat element. The fire added an extra layer to the combat, particularly when the eagle uses its wings to cause the flames to flare up at the wargs. Also when Bilbo protects Thorin, it really cements why he is there. He's not just there to pick up the Ring and give his companions a headache, he actually shows what a benefit he is to the party.
Also, when Thorin confronts Bilbo about his actions after the fight there's a moment when you believe he really means it, but he turns it around and accepts Bilbo as one of them.
Then there's the brohug, which makes me happy.
Seriously, I've been devastated by movies that have shown perfect opportunities for bros to hug and not taken advantage of them. It's sad, really.
So yeah, really excited for the next movie to come out and I'll be getting this one on DVD as soon as possible.
Hope you enjoyed this review.
Go with God,
~Allie
