A curious Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, journeys to the Lonely Mountain with a vigorous group of Dwarves to reclaim a treasure stolen from them by the dragon Smaug.
The real triumph of The Hobbit is that Peter Jackson leaves you wanting more.
Peter Jackson brings brio and fun to Tolkien tale, but use of HFR technology and sheer length of opener may test non-believers.
The set-pieces – notably the group’s encounter with the Great Goblin and his hoards – are astounding, showing Jackson hasn’t lost any of his ability for conjuring great spectacle. Next year’s second instalment – The Desolation of Smaug – can’t come fast enough.
As a lover of cinema, Jackson’s film bored me rigid; as a lover of Tolkien, it broke my heart.
Compared to the success of those other JRR Tolkien adaptations, this latest effort just doesn’t measure up, even if there are far worse films that will be clogging up the cinema this festive period.
The trilogy will struggle to match the intensity, quality and exploration of the LoTR franchise, a comparison which is bound to be made over and over again, and it’s a real shame that Jackson couldn’t do more with the material proffered by Tolkien.
The board is set, the pieces are moving and we’re set up nicely for Jackson to tighten the noose with the love of second-act grit he displayed in The Two Towers.
In his desire to tell this story in the most comprehensive manner possible, Jackson seems to have forgotten one of cinema’s most pleasurable tricks: the ability to cut to the chase.
It may deal in part with a (literal) phantom menace, but this is thankfully not The Phantom Menace. The Hobbit plays younger and lighter than Fellowship and its follow-ups, but does right by the faithful and has a strength in Martin Freeman’s Bilbo that may yet see this trilogy measure up to the last one. There is treasure here.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey looks like the start of another blockbuster trilogy.
Middling return to Middle Earth.
Towards the end of the film, with Lonely Mountain still a speck in the distance, Bilbo exclaims: “the worst is surely behind us.” With two more Hobbit films on the horizon, we can only hope.
Peter Jackson can't leave Tolkien alone – and the result is long, hairy and tiresome.
I liked the film and its measured pace and, except when I found myself looking over the top of my glasses, was largely unaware of the 3D.
While it’s a joy to be back on Middle Earth, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is, well, an unexpected disappointment. Let’s hope The Desolation Of Smaug gets us back on track…
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General release. Check local listings for show times.
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