The first installment of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy gives audiences a familiar, exciting glimpse into the world of Middle-Earth, with a twist. Those who have read Tolkien's books may notice a large difference in tone between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit was written before The Lord of the Rings and is intended to be read by a much younger audience, giving the narration a classic story-book tone. Readers unaware of this who read the epic saga of the Ring and then turn to The Hobbit as a prequel may be jolted by the difference in style. In the same way, audiences taking for granted Jackson's Hobbit as LOTR part 4 will find the tone vastly changed.
The film starts in the familiar, rolling landscape of the Shire and features Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, as the quiet, unassuming protagonist who is swept away on an unlikely adventure. Joined with a troupe of Dwarves as well as the wizard Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, Bilbo meets with harrowing danger and finds himself very much out of place. Bilbo's choices during the film further his character and foreshadow more great development for the entire arc of the Hobbit trilogy.
I saw the film in 3-D featuring the high frame rate and was amazed with the clarity these assets lent the film. While the 3-D element certainly makes things pop, its incorporation is not the bygone kind hearkening back to an image of a paddle ball being sprung in the audience's face. And while these elements make viewing the film an incredible treat, I do not believe they are necessary for one to truly enjoy the experience. The cinematography in the film is beautiful on its own, Jackson's familiar direction availing itself as grand once again.
The new technology utilized in creating the film may seem subtle to some, but it is just what the film needs, rather than scene after scene of dizzying flashes of epic battle scenes a la Michael Bay to baffle the viewer. The film relies on multiple new media including new performance capture technology for Gollum, played by Andy Serkis, allowing the entire performance to be caught all at once with live-action cameras filming the motions and expressions of an individual while retaining the actual footage used in the final cut of the film including the interactions with other actors.
Some may be concerned by the length of this film and the promise of those to come. For Jackson's vision, he relies not only on the original text of The Hobbit but also on supplementary texts such as The Silmarillion to add scenes such as the ones featuring the Necromancer, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. While these inclusions do add length to the film, they enrich it with back story and details immediately connected with the plot. Jackson's film also departs from the text in other ways, including the featuring of Azog, the mysterious Pale Orc, as a large antagonist.
While this film is beautiful and enthralling, it certainly is not perfect. In the first few scenes of the film, featuring a retelling of the story of the Dwarves' loss of Erebor, the action looks a bit choppy, perhaps owing to time constraints meaning certain pieces of the film were sped up a bit, or maybe even the scrutinizing eye the high frame rate lends. The depiction of Radagast, the brown Wizard, played by Sylvestor McCoy, is debatable. Radagast is described as being odd in the books, due to his seclusion and love of nature, but the film portrays him as positively zany. With so many other humorous elements in the film, such as the natural banter of the Dwarves, Radagast's hyperactive bumbling seems unnecessary.
All in all, Jackson's vision of The Hobbit is enchanting, pulling viewers into the realm of Middle-Earth once again for a slightly different kind of adventure.
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