An Epic and Enchanting Film Affected By An Inconsistent Tone and Fragmented Story

Rating: 7/10 (12 December 2012)

The Lord of the Rings made me fall in love with movies. A towering achievement of craftsmanship and epic yet intimate storytelling, Peter Jackson's film trilogy was a visionary piece of filmmaking that had me dreaming for over a decade.
I never like to compare a film with its source material. Both art forms are significantly different and should be judged on their respective merits. As long as a movie adaptation doesn't betray the spirit of its origins but rather builds upon them, I'll be on board.
In that light, The Lord of the Rings was a triumphant example of an ambitious director transposing Tolkien's literary narrative to a powerful and moving film experience. It should also be said that each Rings chapter constituted a great, fully realised film in its own right. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey should then also be reviewed through that same critical lens.
As a film then, An Unexpected Journey fails to meet the impossibly high expectations that were set with The Lord of the Rings, but it still remains an enjoyable and enchanting motion picture. It's a solid, well- crafted film that contains many of the elements that made the previous trilogy memorable. The fragmented narrative, inconsistent tone and excessive special effects, however, prevent An Unexpected Journey from being a great movie.
The film is perhaps too faithful to the details of Tolkien's novel, as it includes anecdotal scenes that are probably best left for the extended edition. And whereas Fellowship of the Ring can really stand on its own, this first chapter of The Hobbit trilogy truly feels like an introductory chapter of a greater whole. Jackson is establishing many character arcs here – maybe too many – to justify an entire trilogy of films based on one novel. The result is a fragmented film searching for a focal point.
Fortunately, that focus finally settles on Bilbo Baggins, played to perfection by Martin Freeman. Freeman is Bilbo here. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. His character arc of starting up as a homely comfort-loving Hobbit becoming a brave adventurer is well developed. It's also wonderful to see Ian McKellen as Gandalf again, who is given more screen time this time around. McKellen is better than ever, giving the film a fine touch of humour and a much needed sense of gravitas. Speaking of which, Richard Armitage is great as Thorin Oakenshield, who is clearly presented as the Aragorn of this series to good effect. He anchors the dwarfs' quest in a heroic and convincing manner. A couple of other dwarfs get their time to shine, but that's it. And while Jackson admirably tries to introduce each and every one of them, we don't really have the time to invest ourselves in the rest of the company.
It wouldn't be fair to measure up the first instalment of The Hobbit to the memory we treasure of The Lord of the Rings. Yet, Peter Jackson consciously invites the comparison by structuring the film in a way that echoes The Fellowship of the Ring. He also neatly ties the two stories together with a narrative framing device and by bringing back characters from his first visit to Middle Earth.
An Unexpected Journey suffers from an occasionally confused tone. I got the uneasy feeling at times that Jackson bet on fans' nostalgia for the previous trilogy to compensate for some flaws of the film. The movie flirts with greatness in moments when it achieves the majestic sweep of the Rings films. In other instances, however, Jackson struggles to find the appropriate tone for this new venture. Humorous moments are most welcome when they reflect the spirit of the novel, particularly during the terrific introductory dinner scene at Bilbo's house, but at other times they feel out of place. Radagast's antics, for example, feel like they don't belong in this specific vision. By tying together the majestic tone of his Rings trilogy and the more carefree and joyful spirit of The Hobbit, Jackson attempts an ambitious balancing act that doesn't always work.
Since this is the first chapter of a three-movie adaptation of a single novel, there's not much drama that can unfold in an emotionally satisfying manner. I never felt as invested in the proceedings as much as I wished, and the action scenes are not as thrilling as I hoped they would be. The intermittent overkill of special effects in some scenes drew me out of this incredibly immersive world. While The Lord of the Rings made equally great use of practical effects and CGI, this new film relies much too heavily on the latter. The magic is occasionally lost, particularly in a scene in a mine and with Thorin's nemesis, Azog, a fierce Orc who has absolutely no reason to be CGI and yet still is. Thank heavens for Gollum, played with exceptional skill once again by the terrific Andy Serkis, who demonstrates why Weta can produce some truly extraordinary work. It's thrilling to see Gollum again, this time around in a standout scene where Martin Freeman really comes into his own as Bilbo.
Despite its shortcomings, rest assured that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a fantastic adventure, propelled once more by a beautiful score by Howard Shore, lush cinematography by Andrew Lesnie and the same expert craftsmanship orchestrated by Peter Jackson. I suspect die-hard Tolkien fans will be very pleased; others might think the film is too anecdotal at times due to its faithfulness to the novel. It's a solid and impressive start, if not an exceptional one, that foreshadows great things to come. The final moments in the film reveal that the throat-clearing is out of the way and that Jackson has found a fitting tone. It will be very interesting to see how the next two chapters unfold. In any case, it's truly great to be back in Middle Earth.