An wonderful expectation

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2018)

This review contains spoilers.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first movie in the Hobbit movie series. The movie is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. The story follows Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, who becomes involved in an adventure. A group of Dwarves organized by Gandalf the Grey stay at Bilbo's home and bring him into a quest to reclaim their Dwarven home.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a different movie and series from The Lord of the Rings. This movie is for one a movie with a wider scope and different intended audience. The movie is based on the book of the same name by JRR Tolkien. The book is wrtten for a younger audience and that is reflected in the screenplay. The characters are more light hearted and there are no large scale battles. The movie focuses on the character dynamic between Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Dwarves. These interactions are where the movie does best because they are new and unfamiliar to the audience. The discussions the characters have are memorable.
The movie features 48 frames per second that was shown in select theaters. This feature should be avoided by most audiences. Some of my audience members could not handle the frame rate and had to stop watching. For the audience members that could bear with it, the experience can be positive. The 48 frames per second can contribute to that feeling of the fantastical. The movie's effects look much slicker in this frame rate. This technological feature of the movie does not however make up for its shortcomings.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has many plot deficiencies. Most of it comes from the movie being too bloated. The decision to split the adaptation of the book into multiple parts allows the audience to see more of Middle Earth. However, this costs the movie in pacing. This is a slow movie. Even by the Lord of the Rings extended cut standards, the theatrical cut at The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has lots of superfluous scenes. There is an entire subplot with the necromancer that is explored and it ultimately leads to something the audiences know from watching The Lord of the Rings.
Even if the movie's pacing is slowed due to the bloat, the rest of the movie is of high quality. Peter Jackson does a fine job with Middle Earth. Visiting this world is recommended.
Grade: B