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patentdragonYup, movie review time again - now with added "view from the actual seat!"
So, 48 frames a second, 3D... just what WERE the public expecting from the first of the now THREE Hobbit movies? An "Episode 1"-style disappointment? Well, I have never understood the bile vented towards the "first" Star Wars trilogy, although they do have a different feeling to them (different era, different politics, people). The same is true of Hobbit I, but that isn't a bad thing.
We kick off with exposition featuring familiar faces, and some we'll come to know, explaining the history leading to the "Journey" in the title. The introduction of Bilbo Baggin's travelling companions lets you know right away that this is a film with a different, slightly more irrevent tone - but that doesn't mean that Thorin Oakenshield and his band are there for comic relief, as we get to see them in a fight on several occasions, admittedly not always successfully... but I'm getting ahead of things.
The production is, as you might expect, lavish and often breathtaking, helped in no small way by the New Zealand landscape, although the increased projection speed does seem to give a curious quality to some scenes and sequences - that first view of Rivendell looks VERY much like a matte painting, I'm afraid. Additional material finds its way into the story, if only to tie this story and LOTR together, but it doesn't grate at all, as Peter Jackson displays his love and respect for the source material.
So, what really scores in this one?
- The cast are universally first-rate - I particularly enjoyed UK TV stalwart James Nesbit as Bofur, and Seventh Doctor Sylvester MacCoy as Radagast The Brown, but an Oscar HAS to be heading Andy Serkis's way for reprising Gollum.
- Is that the hand of Guillermo del Toro I sensed in the stone giants sequence? It had the feeling of the "nature elemental" sequence from Hellboy - The Golden Army, and exceeded that to produce a definite highlight of the film. I had never expected this part of the story would look as awe-inspiring as this.
- The eagles. Oh gods - the eagles. Splendid work, Weta...
Of course, there will be critics laying into this movie for not being "different" enough - and they are the ones who totally and completely MISS THE POINT. We're getting another taste of Tolkien's genius, and a lot of the setting WILL be familiar, just as every Star Trek movie (bar Voyage Home) takes place on the Enterprise. What else are these people expecting? Lord Of The Rings - Electric Boogaloo? Soap operas run for DECADES, and no-one objects to them not being relocated to the other side of the world, outer space, or prehistoric times. The setting is established, and you don't screw with that.
It's been quite a while since ...Return Of The King, and a lot of stunning movies have come and gone in the meantime. It's possible that the familiar may be too familiar - but when it's Tolkien, done by Wingnut Films, with a big assistant credit to del Toro, how can anyone possibly complain?
The Final Verdict... The original journey begins, and does not disappoint. There's a certain "been there seen that", but it doesn't detract from an excellent cinematic experience. 8/10
So, 48 frames a second, 3D... just what WERE the public expecting from the first of the now THREE Hobbit movies? An "Episode 1"-style disappointment? Well, I have never understood the bile vented towards the "first" Star Wars trilogy, although they do have a different feeling to them (different era, different politics, people). The same is true of Hobbit I, but that isn't a bad thing.
We kick off with exposition featuring familiar faces, and some we'll come to know, explaining the history leading to the "Journey" in the title. The introduction of Bilbo Baggin's travelling companions lets you know right away that this is a film with a different, slightly more irrevent tone - but that doesn't mean that Thorin Oakenshield and his band are there for comic relief, as we get to see them in a fight on several occasions, admittedly not always successfully... but I'm getting ahead of things.
The production is, as you might expect, lavish and often breathtaking, helped in no small way by the New Zealand landscape, although the increased projection speed does seem to give a curious quality to some scenes and sequences - that first view of Rivendell looks VERY much like a matte painting, I'm afraid. Additional material finds its way into the story, if only to tie this story and LOTR together, but it doesn't grate at all, as Peter Jackson displays his love and respect for the source material.
So, what really scores in this one?
- The cast are universally first-rate - I particularly enjoyed UK TV stalwart James Nesbit as Bofur, and Seventh Doctor Sylvester MacCoy as Radagast The Brown, but an Oscar HAS to be heading Andy Serkis's way for reprising Gollum.
- Is that the hand of Guillermo del Toro I sensed in the stone giants sequence? It had the feeling of the "nature elemental" sequence from Hellboy - The Golden Army, and exceeded that to produce a definite highlight of the film. I had never expected this part of the story would look as awe-inspiring as this.
- The eagles. Oh gods - the eagles. Splendid work, Weta...
Of course, there will be critics laying into this movie for not being "different" enough - and they are the ones who totally and completely MISS THE POINT. We're getting another taste of Tolkien's genius, and a lot of the setting WILL be familiar, just as every Star Trek movie (bar Voyage Home) takes place on the Enterprise. What else are these people expecting? Lord Of The Rings - Electric Boogaloo? Soap operas run for DECADES, and no-one objects to them not being relocated to the other side of the world, outer space, or prehistoric times. The setting is established, and you don't screw with that.
It's been quite a while since ...Return Of The King, and a lot of stunning movies have come and gone in the meantime. It's possible that the familiar may be too familiar - but when it's Tolkien, done by Wingnut Films, with a big assistant credit to del Toro, how can anyone possibly complain?
The Final Verdict... The original journey begins, and does not disappoint. There's a certain "been there seen that", but it doesn't detract from an excellent cinematic experience. 8/10
