Breathtaking Tolkien

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2014)

When Jackson adventured making "The Hobbit" a film in three parts, I thought it was doomed to be overkill. It was actually, in contrast to The lord of the Rings, a mere children's fairytale. But I am overwhelmed: Jackson has achieved to lift "The Hobbit" to almost rival The Lord of the Rings in grandeur, drama and epic storytelling, much more than even Tolkien had imagined, I think, when he wrote it. The deep and weighty matters of the world are understated, but lurks under the surface. The desolation of Smaug is a breathtaking journey. Starting with the meeting with the mysterious Beorn, the clamp and misty Mirkwood, the meeting with the strange and hostile wood-elves and the incredible hunt of the hobbits in barrels on the the wild river. Jacksons adding of a little love story between an elf and a dwarf is a little masterpiece, and adds only to stress Tolkiens points in the overall theme of middle-earth. The nearly Dickensy description of Lake-town urges for a deeper investigation. And in the end, the grandiose meeting with Smaug, with all the layers of Tolkiens description of the little hobbit's meeting with the great cunning dragon. Every scene is a masterpiece in itself. The only minus: The scene of the dragon pursuing the dwarfs in Eriador is far too long! I hope very much, that Peter Jackson has prepared a spectacular film number three, which will wind up all the threads from the six films, and make this an epic masterpiece to stand out in film history.
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