"True courage is not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one", Gandalf quietly says to Bilbo Baggins as he hands him Bilbo's first sword in Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth. The movie is The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
I really had no expectation for the film or any real vigor to go and see it, but as a fan and student of films why not go see the latest from arguably one of the best directors in the modern era.
After all the hype, the changing of directors, and extensive waiting period, Peter Jackson delivers a fun, thrilling, beautiful, and CGI happy return to New Zealand, I mean, Middle Earth.
The story is previous to the LOTR trilogy, so if you want to go see this movie and haven't seen any of those, you in all probability will be lost.
It begins explaining how the dwarf city of Erebor was lost to a dragon, and how the dwarves have been looking for a home since. We then go and follow Bilbo Baggins writing his book of adventures, eventually flashing back to a younger Bilbo, showing us how it all began. Gandalf comes to the shire and picks Bilbo to go on a journey with the dwarves to regain their mountain and homeland, Erebor. He is accompanied by Gandalf and 13 different dwarves, one being the heir to the throne of Erebor, Thorin. We see his back story on how the kingdom was lost, why he hates Orcs, and who is his ultimate enemy. They end up in Rivendell, the elf city, needed help to find the secret entrance to Erebor. However, the dwarves are strictly against consulting the elves( the elves refused to help them in battle when they lost Erebor). We travel with them as they get captured by orcs, run into trolls, and Bilbo makes a choice that shapes the entire original trilogy. In the end, Bilbo proves he belongs on this adventure, and we see the true character arc. Can't wait to see what he does next!
As in the original Lord of The Rings Trilogy, the action and camera work is truly special. Jackson's style and movement of the camera create this scope and world seeming almost larger than life. It truly is amazing to watch. Maybe he also could work in tourism for New Zealand? He knows how to showcase it in epic fashion!
The acting one is pretty on par with the original, except Bilbo doesn't look like he is going to cry every 5 seconds like Frodo was. McKlellan playing Gandalf is really the one who I felt was much more of a major fact in this film than in many of the others. He has a much more dominant part compared to the original trilogy, gaining more screen time and really being the co-leader next to Thorin. Thorin, played by Richard Armitrage, is pretty solid in this role, pretty much the equivalent to Aragorn in the original trilogy. The dwarves, who I am not going to attempt to name because there are so many, are a fun cast to watch. Their fun and camaraderie is something that brings a fresh new fun taste to the ensemble. Martin Freeman's Bilbo is nothing crazy awesome, but it's a solid performance. We cannot leave out Andy Serkis by the way. This guy is truly the master of motion capture. Gollum is so much fun to watch and listen to, and he almost steals the show in an epic game of riddles with Bilbo.
The music as always by Howard Shore is like the movie: Epic, sweeping, and emotionally wrenching. It hits the right spots when it needs to, and it brings back that sense of connectedness to the original trilogy with motifs and themes used in the previous films.
Many critics thought this film fell short from the original, which in a sense it did. You can't recreate magic again, as Jackson did with The Fellowship of the Ring. Or can you? We will see.
To be honest, at times I felt Bilbo to be a little dull and flat in the film. Then again, so was Frodo for awhile.
As for the 3D, I didn't see a huge difference with it being in use. I wished I could have seen it in the 48 frames per second, but the theatre I viewed this picture on did not have it. 3D was used in a solid fashion, but not on the extremely superlative level that was shown on Life of Pi. The images were crisp, luscious, and gosh darn it, I just want to go to New Zealand.
After seeing this film, I am so glad Jackson took the reigns back to bring us this story. His visual style is truly evident, and the only one I think who can truly make this trilogy another great one. I can't wait to see what he does next.
I really had no expectation for the film or any real vigor to go and see it, but as a fan and student of films why not go see the latest from arguably one of the best directors in the modern era. After all the hype, the changing of directors, and extensive waiting period, Peter Jackson delivers a fun, thrilling, beautiful, and CGI happy return to New Zealand, I mean, Middle Earth.
The story is previous to the LOTR trilogy, so if you want to go see this movie and haven't seen any of those, you in all probability will be lost.
It begins explaining how the dwarf city of Erebor was lost to a dragon, and how the dwarves have been looking for a home since. We then go and follow Bilbo Baggins writing his book of adventures, eventually flashing back to a younger Bilbo, showing us how it all began. Gandalf comes to the shire and picks Bilbo to go on a journey with the dwarves to regain their mountain and homeland, Erebor. He is accompanied by Gandalf and 13 different dwarves, one being the heir to the throne of Erebor, Thorin. We see his back story on how the kingdom was lost, why he hates Orcs, and who is his ultimate enemy. They end up in Rivendell, the elf city, needed help to find the secret entrance to Erebor. However, the dwarves are strictly against consulting the elves( the elves refused to help them in battle when they lost Erebor). We travel with them as they get captured by orcs, run into trolls, and Bilbo makes a choice that shapes the entire original trilogy. In the end, Bilbo proves he belongs on this adventure, and we see the true character arc. Can't wait to see what he does next!
As in the original Lord of The Rings Trilogy, the action and camera work is truly special. Jackson's style and movement of the camera create this scope and world seeming almost larger than life. It truly is amazing to watch. Maybe he also could work in tourism for New Zealand? He knows how to showcase it in epic fashion!
The acting one is pretty on par with the original, except Bilbo doesn't look like he is going to cry every 5 seconds like Frodo was. McKlellan playing Gandalf is really the one who I felt was much more of a major fact in this film than in many of the others. He has a much more dominant part compared to the original trilogy, gaining more screen time and really being the co-leader next to Thorin. Thorin, played by Richard Armitrage, is pretty solid in this role, pretty much the equivalent to Aragorn in the original trilogy. The dwarves, who I am not going to attempt to name because there are so many, are a fun cast to watch. Their fun and camaraderie is something that brings a fresh new fun taste to the ensemble. Martin Freeman's Bilbo is nothing crazy awesome, but it's a solid performance. We cannot leave out Andy Serkis by the way. This guy is truly the master of motion capture. Gollum is so much fun to watch and listen to, and he almost steals the show in an epic game of riddles with Bilbo.The music as always by Howard Shore is like the movie: Epic, sweeping, and emotionally wrenching. It hits the right spots when it needs to, and it brings back that sense of connectedness to the original trilogy with motifs and themes used in the previous films.
Many critics thought this film fell short from the original, which in a sense it did. You can't recreate magic again, as Jackson did with The Fellowship of the Ring. Or can you? We will see.
To be honest, at times I felt Bilbo to be a little dull and flat in the film. Then again, so was Frodo for awhile.
As for the 3D, I didn't see a huge difference with it being in use. I wished I could have seen it in the 48 frames per second, but the theatre I viewed this picture on did not have it. 3D was used in a solid fashion, but not on the extremely superlative level that was shown on Life of Pi. The images were crisp, luscious, and gosh darn it, I just want to go to New Zealand.
After seeing this film, I am so glad Jackson took the reigns back to bring us this story. His visual style is truly evident, and the only one I think who can truly make this trilogy another great one. I can't wait to see what he does next.
I'm tired of all the CG...
ReplyDeleteI love the books, love the LOTR trilogy. This felt different. Not sure why.
Still thinking about it. Nice post.