The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

On December 15th, I saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey with some friends of mine. I know it has been over a month since I've seen the movie, so this is a pretty late post. Get off my back. I'm not a professional blogger. (Not with that attitude! Am I right?)

When I met some of my friends at the mall before the movie, one of them pulled fake Lembas from her bag and handed it to each of us. I was speechless. For those that don’t know, Lembas is a kind of bread made by the elves in Middle Earth, which is preserved in a wrapper of leaves. In The Fellowship Of The Ring, it was given by the elves of Lothlórien to the members of the fellowship. My friend said she didn’t have time to make any of the bread, but the fake leaves folded and tied into a little package are plenty awesome on their own. It made the experience of going to see The Hobbit with a group of friends even more special than it would have been, and it was already something special. I have some cool friends. I found a nice place for the Lembas bread on my movie shelf, next to my Legolas action figure.

As for the movie, I said in my previous post that we were planning on seeing the movie in high frame rate (48 fps) 3D, and that's what we did. I've never gotten a headache or felt motion sickness while watching a 3D movie, and this wasn't any different. I know Peter Jackson has said the high frame rate just takes some getting used to, and in my experience, he was exactly right. It did look a little strange in the beginning while Bilbo was in Bag End, but once he got into the story about Erebor a few minutes later, I was so immersed into the movie, I had forgotten all about the high frame rate. By the next time I remembered, I was already completely used to it. I thought it looked great, and I didn't think it lacked a cinematic look at all. The "cinematic look" has evolved a lot since the beginning of cinema, and will continue to evolve. Since the beginning there have been higher frame rates, color photography, digital photography, etc. I'm sure when a lot of people originally saw a color movie, they also thought it lacked the cinematic look they were used to.

There were many new additions and changes to the story. Having seen Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, I completely expected that going in. I was fine with the majority of them, especially since I got to see the White Council. When you're watching an adaptation of a book, you also have to expect that things won't look exactly like you pictured them when you read the book. That said, I really disliked how some things were portrayed, especially the look of most of the dwarves, and the goblin king. They were so far from how I pictured them, and would have been so much better if they were how I imagined them while reading the book. That's fine though. I don't let stuff like that ruin a whole movie for me, and there were plenty of wonderful things to make up for those problems.

One of those wonderful things is Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo Baggins. I've mentioned several times before how perfect he was for the role. Now that I've actually seen it, I can definitely say I was not at all wrong. I am not a believer in destiny, but it feels like he was born to play Bilbo, and from what I've seen so far, he's done a truly amazing job.

Another one of those wonderful things is the riddles in the dark scene, which was absolutely brilliant. (Following some very abstract thoughts, there will be what some people might call spoilers in this paragraph, so if you don't want anything spoiled, skip to the next paragraph.) Just like my friend making what was already a great trip to the movies into something more special with her Lembas bread, the filmmakers took what is the most iconic, and arguably best part of the book, and in my opinion, made it into something even more special. The riddles in the dark scene in the movie perfectly illustrates what it is about the concept of adaptations that excites me so much. I guess it's all about potential. Although trying to follow the source material is generally the way to go, I think there is room for interpretation and certain enhancements that can make a scene or a character better, as long as the filmmakers recognize that potential. For this scene, all of that potential was recognized and met, which although rare in film adaptations, is a really wonderful thing to experience when it does happen. The advancements in performance capture technology since The Return Of The King nine years ago are astounding. You can see so many more subtle details of Andy Serkis' performance in Gollum's face, and it made me appreciate him as an actor even more than I already did. I also loved the characterization of Gollum in the scene. The interpretation of Gollum in Jackson's movies where he has a split personality allowed for some really entertaining dialogue in this scene between Gollum and Bilbo, and I also loved how childlike Gollum can be at times. There was this wonderful little detail in the scene where Gollum is listening intently to Bilbo and rests his head on a rock. It was easily my favorite part of the entire movie.

I'm sad that Gollum might not show up again in the next two movies, considering he didn't show up again in the book after Bilbo escaped the Misty Mountains, but I'm looking forward to seeing The Desolation Of Smaug and There And Back Again anyway.

After the movie, my friends and I went to Denny's for a Hobbit-themed meal. I had the Hobbit Hole Breakfast and Bilbo's Berry Smoothie. The food was delicious, and we made several nerdy puns. ("Were those onion rings deep-forged in the fires of Mount Doom?") When you're paying for your meal, they also give you a pack containing two collectable cards. I got Kili and limited edition Gandalf.