The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

In October, I was lucky enough to see Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in concert in Paris. A full orchestra and choir sat in front of a cinema screen and played the film's soundtrack live. It was one of the most amazing cinematic experiences I've had and was a fantastic prelude to the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Having read Tolkien's original novel (and unsuccessfully attempting the sequel, The Lord of the Rings) when I was eleven, I was keen to find out how much I would remember of the book and how it would translate to screen. As it turns out, my memory is very patchy and my star rating for this film has been the most difficult to decide upon this year.

If there's one thing to say about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey it is this: it's far too long. At 169 minutes, and the first of three films, An Unexpected Journey only makes it to Chapter Six in the novel. In terms of narrative, the first forty minutes do feel very slow and full of lethargic exposition. In all fairness, a certain amount of exposition was necessary: Tolkien's fantasy world demands careful attention to detail and as an audience, we were being introduced to many new characters. It's just the time it took for Bilbo (Martin Freeman) to run out of his green front door in search of an adventure that was rather over-stretched. Once things got going, however, and the epic helicopter shots of the New Zealand landscape started, the film stepped up a metaphorical notch. As in The Lord of the Rings, director Peter Jackson has created some vivid characters (this time, more dwarves than you could shake a sword at) and has retained the spectacular fantasy which characterised his earlier trilogy. Martin Freeman is perfectly cast as Bilbo, and plays the part with a charming and disarmingly comic edge. A strong supporting cast, led by Ian McKellen as Gandalf and featuring Richard Armitage and James Nesbitt as dwarves of every shape and size were entertaining to watch. Some familiar faces from Jackson's last outing to Middle Earth gave a nice continuity to the film (yes, Gollum's back!). 

Speaking of continuity, some of the best moments in the film were when Howard Shore's accomplished score revisited themes and musical motifs from The Lord of the Rings. Evoking the emotional depth and dark subject matter of The Return of the King, the soundtrack also highlights why The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey doesn't quite work. I kept finding myself comparing the film to The Lord of the Rings which is, from one perspective, doing the film a disservice. Tolkien's original novel is a work of children's literature and, by nature, is much lighter and more humorous than its sequel. Yet the film seemed to be confused about its tone: the action and drama kept shifting and modulating between the serious tone adopted by The Lord of the Rings and the more playful tone of the source. At times, the characterisation and dialogue seemed rather superficial, something which some critics have blamed, in part, on the 48 frames per second which was used to shoot the film. Personally, I felt that the moments in which the film was more closely aligned with The Lord of the Rings were far better and far more cinematic. The decision to shoot another trilogy is, in my opinion, a misjudged one: two, two hour films would have been much more successful. But hey, I haven't seen the other two instalments, so who am I to judge?

An Unexpected Journey certainly has some stunning visual effects and Jackson's love and intense interest in the construction of Middle Earth is plain to see. Its fundamental flaw, however, is its length. There are some nice, exciting and powerful moments in the film, but these are eclipsed and become weighed down by excess baggage: you certainly wouldn't want to take the running time on an Easyjet flight. All in all, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is really fun, entertaining and a welcome return to Middle Earth, albeit a rather long one. My reservations are founded on comparisons with The Lord of the Rings – something I don't apologise for. But don't listen to those who say it's unwatchable and disappointing. They just don't have a strong enough bladder. 

Clapperboard Rating: * * * (and a half!)