A far better prequel than the one George Lucas is famous for!

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2012)

'THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY': Five Stars (Out of Five)
The first part of the much anticipated film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic 1937 book. Like 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' film series it's directed by Peter Jackson and written by Jackson and his usual writing partners Fran Walsh (Jackson's wife) and Philippa Boyens. This one is also co-written by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (who was originally set to direct the films but bowed out after too many delays and filming complications). Like 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' film adaptations 'THE HOBBIT' film series was originally set to be divided into two films but Jackson was later given the green light (by producers) to make three films instead. He says he didn't realize it had to be three films until going over all the film footage and realizing there was too much for just two movies (but I find this hard to believe). The first chapter 'AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY' plays out too concisely as a complete and individual film (with a nice climax) to have just happened that way (at the last second, by accident). Some fans had a problem with Jackson stretching and dividing the material out into three films but I was all for it as long as he could make each chapter a satisfying film on it's own (with a good climax for each) and at least with this first film he seems to have done that!
The films are a prequel to 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' series (although the book was written and published prior to 'The Lord Of The Rings' book trilogy). Martin Freeman (of 'THE OFFICE' fame, the original British version) stars as the young Bilbo Baggins (and Ian Holm reprises the role, from the 'RINGS' trilogy, in his older years). Also returning from the prior films are Ian McKellen (once again as Gandalf), Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis (as the motion capture produced Gollum, once again). The film begins the legendary story with Bilbo being picked by the wizard 'Gandalf the Grey' to join a team of thirteen dwarfs, lead by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), on a mission to take back their kingdom from a vicious dragon named Smaug (who stole it years earlier due to it's mass collection of gold). Bilbo is picked for his burglar skills even though he has none and this becomes apparent to the dwarfs who quickly find him useless. Bilbo finds himself in way over his head and wanting to return home when he stumbles across 'the ring' and steals it from the creature known as Gollum.
The movie has been criticized for it's length and pace but I found it to be no slower moving than any of 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' films (except perhaps the last one) and even a little more amusing. Of course it's too long and drawn out (and perhaps too faithful to the written material) but so were the other films. It's usually not a good thing to try and cram everything from a book into it's film adaptation (and then some in this case) but when it's such a labor of love for the filmmakers and they're that passionate about the material (and giving the die-hard fans what they want to see) it can't all be a bad thing. I only read the book once, as a kid, and don't remember it all too well so I can't remember what entirely is the same and what has been changed but that makes me a better critic of the film as just a film, in my opinion (and not in comparison to the material it's based on). I'm not married to the material at all and had no high expectations for the film adaptation, so I was pleasantly surprised. It's visually spectacular and I did see it in 3D (although not in the new 48 frames per second it was filmed in, there's no theaters near me with the capabilities of showing it that way). The performances are all good (especially Freeman and the scene stealing Serkis) and Jackson's directing is once again beautiful and perfectly fitting. I did find it to be just as entertaining as the other films in the series but it does lack the emotional depth that made 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS' films truly great films. While it might not be quite as classic as the great trilogy it follows it's still a magnificent achievement and a far better initial prequel than the one that George Lucas is famous for.
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