Whatever the word is, unexpected isn't it

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2012)

I'm going to start by admitting, I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy, let alone The Lord of the Rings. I can see why people love them, they are well directed films and look magnificent. However I can't over look some of the sketchy acting and serious moments that I can't help but laugh at. That said I was actually looking forward to seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and does it improve on Lord of the Rings, eh.
If any of you have read the book you already know the story. The short version is Gandalf wants reclusive Hobbit Bilbo Baggins to join him in an adventure in claiming back the Dwarfs homeland of Erebor which was taken over by Smaug the Dragon. The truth is while The Hobbit does improve on some accounts, I only laughed at the intentionally funny parts this time, the exciting scenes are just as exciting as the exciting Lord of the Rings but the boring scenes are just as boring as the boring scenes in Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately the boring sections are the ones that are long and drawn out. It also feels like it drags with the 2 hour 49 minute running time feeling more like 3 hours 49 minutes, which isn't a good thing. It's not like Fight Club where it feels long because they manage to fit a lot into the running time, it feels long because the film doesn't keep your interest up.
Now, you're probably wondering why I've given it a good rating considering I've bashed it so much. The truth is. when The Hobbit gets things right it gets them really right. The massive visual set pieces are as exciting here as they were in Lord of the Rings and the back story of the dwarfs at the beginning is one of the most intriguing fantasy back stories I have ever seen. Also like it's predecessors it looks magnificent with the sweeping shots of New Zealand looking suitably epic, however I didn't see it in 48 FPS or 3D so I can't comment on whether they detract or add to the films experience. Also the acting is no where near as sketchy as before with amazing performances by Ian Mckellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and Aiden Turner. But by far the stand out performance in the film and once again steals the movie is Andy Serkis reprising his role as Gollum. It is amazing what Serkis is able to do with just his movements and the way he is able to shift between personalities is unparallelled.
Overall this is a very good entry to the series and in my opinion is the best out of the 4. However, I can't over look the boring parts which are unfortunately the parts that are overly long, not to mention the overly long run time which has scenes that should have been saved for the extended edition. The people who will really get the most out of this film are the people who consider The Lord of the Rings some of their favourite films of all time which unfortunately, isn't me. For that reason The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a very good movie but won't be making it into my top 10 films of the year.