Last time cinema audiences found themselves in Middle Earth was for the Oscar winning triumph that was The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King in 2003, and so, after 9 long years, returning there for Peter Jackson’s adaption of The Hobbit generated a lot of the same feelings within me as Toy Story 3 did; excited for sure, but also incredibly anxious that it may not live up to expectations. Indeed, with a convoluted development and the slightly bemusing news that a relatively short children’s book was to be adapted into 3 epic movies, it was easy to feel anxious about the whole Hobbit thing. With part one of this trilogy, An Unexpected Journey, a lot of those fears and anxieties come to the fore, but are the issues enough to make this trip to Middle Earth one not worth making?
Well, based on the opening exposition, you’d be forgiven for saying yes. An Unexpected Journey gets off to such a slow start that the only thing unexpected is that the journey which we expect to be taken on doesn’t ever appear to actually happen. Sure a bit of backstory is needed, as is the introduction of characters new and old, but goodness me do Peter Jackson and company take their time. For hardcore Tolkien fans this attention to detail and fierce loyalty to the source material may be welcome, but for anyone who wants to see a great film it’s not unreasonable to say that the opening hour or so of An Unexpected Journey is absolutely snooze worthy. Of course The Hobbit is lighter in tone and plot than The Lord Of The Rings, but there’s at least 40 minutes of cutting that could have been done and contributed to a better film. A line from Gandalf (Ian McKellen) early on suggests that ‘all stories deserve some embellishment’. Maybe, but I wouldn’t say An Unexpected Journey has been embellished, more overstuffed.
It’s off to work we go.
In amongst all the sitting around talking, singing and eating that dominates the opening hour, we are given the outline for the quest that will dominate the rest of the film, as Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and his band of dwarves set off to take back their home city of Erebor from the dragon Smaug. Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is dragged into the adventure too, and eventually (and I do stress eventually) our band of adventurers set off on their way. The start of the adventure isn’t the end of the issues though, as inconsistent pacing and some honestly boring scenes do much to hinder the film’s momentum. It’s a shame, mainly because the last hour or so is absolutely tremendous; with some terrific battle scenes, terrific lines from the characters and an unforgettable sequence with Bilbo and Gollum (Andy Serkis) providing moments that would be fit to grace many Top 10 Middle Earth Movie Moments lists. Seriously.
With a more ruthless editor it’s not inconceivable to suggest that An Unexpected Journey could have been one of the films of the year, because everything that’s great about The Lord Of The Rings and Peter Jackson films is present and accounted for. The battle sequences are absolutely fantastic, especially in the new High Frame Rate 3D, and the sense of scale and wonder in the wide shots as our heroes march and battle across the many vistas of Middle Earth are still just as stunning as they were a decade ago. An Unexpected Journey also features a familiarly rousing musical score from Howard Shore and some fantastic special effects, even if the chief villain Azog The Defiler does look a little bit like he’s been ripped straight out of a video game.
The stand-out features of this Middle Earth return, though, are the performances from the cast. The opening hour is boring, sure, but it could have been a lot worse but not for Martin Freeman. His comic timing is great, his physical nods and winks as he reacts with bemusement to the prospect of leaving the warmth of his Hobbit hole for an epic adventure are brilliant, and the aforementioned scene with Andy Serkis’s brilliant Gollum is one of the best moments in cinema this year. He stands tall (ha) with Sean Astin’s Samwise Gamgee as the best Hobbit to appear on screen.
Elementary, my dear Bilbo.
Ian McKellen is obviously back as Gandalf and, well, does exactly what is expected of him – be awesome. The other wizard, Sylvester McCoy as Radagast, is basically the opposite, and isn’t really worth writing about. He’s not in it much though so he’s relatively easy to ignore and forget, even if he does get dangerously close to Jar-Jar Bink territory in terms of his role in the film.
The band of dwarves are all well presented too, even if some get noticeably more lines and time on screen than others. Richard Armitage succeeds in bringing Thorin Oakenshield as a total badass (one particular moment when he stands atop a flaming tree as he confronts Azog is exceptionally cool), whilst the ensemble dwarves such as James Nesbitt, Graham McTavish, Ken Stott and Aidan Turner all do just enough to provide some individuality to their characters, even if I can’t remember most of their names.
Badass.
Andy Serkis absolutely steals the show as Gollum, making you remember not just that he’s the best motion capture actor in Hollywood, but also that he’s a bloody fantastic actor full stop. He completely nails it. Oscar? Maybe.
There are plenty of (mostly) time wasting cameos from series staples such Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Frodo (Elijah Wood), Saruman (Christopher Lee) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and whilst it’s nice to see them to a certain extent, none of the scenes in which they appear feel absolutely necessary to the plot. The appearance of Ian Holm as an older Bilbo epitomises this feeling, and isn’t helped by the fact that he looks noticeably older and noticeably different to how he did in The Fellowship Of The Ring. It feels a bit like the film is patting itself on the back whilst at the same time showboating to the audience, as if to say, “Hey! Remember him! And him! And him and her and him!”
It’s a shame really because An Unexpected Journey absolutely does not have to do that. There are so many cool moments, and the last hour is so brilliant, that it makes the slow opening hour and inconsistently paced middle third all the more frustrating. It’s not that the slow bits are bad, it’s just that it seriously hinders the pacing and as a result the overall film. As keeps being mentioned, however, the final hour or so is so, so strong that when you leave the cinema you won’t help but feel satisfied, as well as being pretty pumped and excited for the sequel. Especially as, now that the characters are on their quest with a couple of villains to contend with and a more epic feel in general, there won’t be any more sitting around with old Bilbo, belching dwarves and hopefully not as many pace-sapping cameos.
Oscar, precious?
A quick word on the much discussed 48 frames-per-second High Frame Rate 3D – it’s pretty cool. I found it very jarring for a while, especially in the indoor scenes around Hobbiton and during dialogue scenes, and it’s understandable why some have compared it to watching an HD costume drama on BBC One, but it really shines during the battle scenes and the longer the film goes on the more you get used to it. Maybe that’s why the running time is so bloated, to give audiences more time to adapt to the HFR 3D before the epic conclusion? God bless Peter Jackson, I guess.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has some fantastic highs that make the trip to the cinema more than worthwhile, but the painfully slow opening hour cannot be ignored. The film features some fantastic performances, great special effects and cinematography, an epic musical score and some wonderfully memorable scenes, but the overriding feeling when the credits roll is that it could have been 40 minutes shorter. It’s a very enjoyable film, but as grand as Bilbo’s adventure feels when it gets up and running, it cannot be denied that this Baggins carried too much baggage. See past the fat, though, and by its end you’ve got one of the year’s best adventures.
7/10
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