If You Enjoy Revisiting Middle Earth, the Hobbit is Astonishing -- A Masterpiece of English Mythological

Rating: 10/10 (9 January 2013)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first installment of a projected three-film adaptation of JRR Tolkien's "the Hobbit", the first fantasy book written by Tolkien taking place in the mythical "Middle Earth". Many decades before the recent film, "the Hobbit", originally published by Allen and Unwin UK in 1937, ushered in the beginning of the quest fantasy genre of modern fantasy which has been copied many times since. And yet, Tolkien's original novel about a hobbit, a smallish humanoid living on the edges of a mythical world called "Middle Earth", who by chance becomes the pivotal character of a quest among dwarfs, holds up surprisingly well even after 75 years.
Peter Jackson has once again provided a mesmerizing screen adaption of one of Tolkien's most beloved tales. The look and feel of Middle Earth is equal to and possibly even better than Jackson's adaption of "Lord of the Rings" ten years earlier. But even aside from the look and feel, the acting of the characters stands up well. Bilbo, played by Martin Freeman, is the reluctant adventurer, a hobbit who would rather be smoking his pipe and perusing his books than outwitting trolls and goblins. Hobbits enjoy reading about adventure instead of actually engaging in adventure. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf, the wise but eccentric wizard whose presence is the very face of Middle Earth. Richard Armitage plays Thorin, the displaced heir of the King Under the Mountain whose dwarven society was shattered by the dragon Smaug. The other dwarfs which make up the band of misfits all have their lovable eccentricities as Tolkien had forged them.
While the story itself of a band of dwarfs seeking to reclaim their home and treasure which was plundered from them by the ominous dragon Smaug is quite well-known, some of the inspiration behind the story may be less well-known to most readers and movie-goers. Tolkien himself was raised in small medieval-like towns in the county of Worcestershire. These humble towns in the English countryside ring strikingly of Tolkien's Hobbiton. Both Bilbo Baggins and later Frodo Baggins will leave Hobbiton and become enmeshed in great epic quests and battles, somewhat similar to when Tolkein became a young man and entered into the epic conflict of World War I. These same themes on a grander scale will play out in "the Lord of the Rings". Also, Tolkien was a scholar of medieval and Nordic mythology, and these stories were intended as a kind replacement for the lost English mythology and lore resulting from the Norman conquest of 1066.
I think the main issue for movie-goers is whether or not one wants to revisit Middle Earth and hang out there for nearly three hours. If you do, then there are almost no shortcomings at all to "the Hobbit". A few sequences went on a bit long, particularly when the dwarfs are taken hostage by Goblins, and other long-winded sequences in which the CGI effects are used ad infinitum. At the same time, the film is true to Tolkien's original vision. Jackson's intent I believe is to immerse the viewer into Middle Earth as if the audience is part of the quest along with Bilbo and the Dwarfs. Also, the scenes with the most ghoulish character Gollum, do not drag on too long. In all an absolute triumphant of high fantasy filmmaking. But if you're taste is not in the realm of fantasy of this type, it may be too much. All I can do is offer my condolences.