Beware; there are a few spoilers in this review. If you don’t want to know about them, see them movie and then come back. You have been warned.
Outside of the Rankin & Bass animated film (which I love); it has been at least twenty years since I delved into J. R. R. Tolkien’s world of The Hobbit. I waded back in this morning at 10:15.
By the way, thanks Rave Stony Brook for having an early showing. It’s the only way I would’ve gotten to see it this weekend, but I digress.
My instant reaction, I thought the movie was good. I would give it an A-/B+.
The acting was fine. The cinematography is excellent (as it was in the Rings films). And the Smaug sighting at the end was AWESOME! A few things did throw me off though.
There is a little too much comedy in the movie. A tension break here and there is fine, but there were way too many one liners and references that I doubt would be made in that world. I also thought a few of the characters were less menacing than they should be; the goblin king is a good example.
Some of the changes in the storyline were also odd. I think Jackson put a little too much emphasis on setting-up the Lord of the Rings storyline. I also really disliked the stone giant fight. It added absolutely nothing to the story. Jackson was just showing off.
The Thorin backstory with Azog (the white orc) I get. Pretty sure it wasn’t in the book, but I get it. It adds a little something to the plot, but to show-off for no reason at all with the stone giants really detached me from the film at that point.
That being said, it is a good movie. It is worth paying to see it on the big screen. I just didn’t like it as much as I did the Rings films.
I would say it’s kind of like the Star Wars faithful when Episode I came out, but it’s not. They had a much harsher opinion about that movie than I do An Unexpected Journey.
If you catch it this weekend, let me know what you think.
