The Hobbit is an incredible piece of movie magic. It brings old characters which we know and love, and mixes them in with new and exciting characters who shall slowly but surely grow to love. Peter Jackson further cements himself as one of the great directors, and The Hobbit is most certainly one of 2012's best, but is it as good as the hype shows it to be, or does it just fall short of the high standards of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy? Let's find out!
Story:
Peter Jackson again creates a fantastic story line which weaves in and out of the story we'd grown to love. The basics, Bilbo Baggins is invited on an adventure with Gandalf the Grey and a group of Dwarves who want their treasure back from the evil dragon Smaug. Along the way, the great group of courageous Dwarves and the one Hobbit encounter Trolls, Orcs and other great and terrifying enemies. The story is in depth but not too hard to understand and get the jist of it all. You'll defiantly find that the story immersive and it will keep you entertained thoroughly throughout the duration of the film.
Story Rating:85
Characters Development, Dialogue and Connection:
The main character, Bilbo, is played fantastically by Martin Freeman(Sherlock) and really brings the character to life much more than Ian Holm could ever. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf, and portrays his character brilliantly. These 2 main characters are the ones you felt the most, being unique on the quest, or at least most of the time. Bilbo made for a good main, due to his reluctance yet eagerness to go on the quest and he was relatable in his decisions and ultimately is an all round strong character. The leader of the Dwarves, Thorin, is played extremely well by Richard Armitage, and even though Bilbo at times fears the leader, you learn his story and grow to love the character. One of the things that does annoy me about the Dwarves side of the story is the fact that many of the Dwarves are unrecognizable after watching the movie. I could not name off many of the Dwarves, which for me personally makes me think that I didn't get enough time with them. In 2 and a half hours, you should be able to connect with all the Dwarves, or at least the majority of them. Even though this is a minor annoyance, it is still noticeable. I will say in conclusion, that all the of the main characters are portrayed fantastically, and the returning characters all feel fresh and strong once again.
Character Development, Dialogue and Connection Rating:75
Visuals:
The visuals in The Hobbit are of classic Jackson standard. Each over-pan looks fantastic and each shot looks like it has been extremely carefully chosen over a long period of time. Jackson took his time to make The Hobbit look the part, and you'll definitely see the great effort that was put in. I saw the movie in 24 FPS, non-3D and I feel like I have not missed out on anything. I'm sure the 48 FPS would be interesting to see, and the visuals would look refreshed but I'm not in a huge hurry to watch it again just to see some more refined visuals and faster frame rate.
Visuals Rating:90
Action:
The action in The Hobbit is well done, with each scene looking very convincing in the fighting. Each actor was given fight training and swordplay, and it definitely shows in this movie, with each Dwarf giving incredible performances. I will say though that the action is taken away from epic when all the Dwarves are each in 1 shot with each other. I would have liked to see more individual fighting shots, with 2 or 3 Dwarves in each shot. This is a minor problem, and it is still enjoyable and quite fantastic to see all the 13 Dwarves rush into battle against a whole cave of Goblins. It is especially enjoyable to watch Martin Freeman's Bilbo work his swordplay skills until he becomes a strong Hobbit warrior by the end. The other characters such as Gandalf are incredibly good in their action sequences, displaying strength and skill. The Hobbit is not as gritty as Lord of the Rings, which upset me in a way. I would have loved to see Orc or Goblin heads getting cut off as they did in Lord of the Rings, but nothing of the sort happened. Disappointing but none the less, the action was a very consistent blend of awesome and skill.
Action Rating:80
Side Characters And Other Goals:
Some of the side characters really surprised me. Radagast the Brown was criticised by other reviewers, but I personally enjoyed his character. His appearance is off pleasant, but I found him funny, slight comedy relief and quite epic. he also had a very good angle with the necromancer which I found very interesting and I enjoyed the twist. Many will obviously disagree with me, saying that he is just to strange or unappealing to be any good. I found the leader of the Orcs, Azog, a bit too much CGI, as with the other Orcs, but he was still a strong character. I think he could have been played a bit better, but Jackson definitely made him a dangerous and strong character. The Elves in Rivendell were again played to brilliance and every minute in the Elven city was treasured by myself. A beautiful setting indeed. Sarumon The White makes a small yet noticeable appearance, and I loved his character, set before the time where he betrayed Gandalf. One of the main characters was quite disappointing, so I decided that his role in this first installment was as a side character. Smaug's role in the movie was simply displaying his eye at the end. I would have definitely enjoyed seeing more of Smaug throughout the movie, but it seems like we will see more during the next 2 movies. And finally, Gollum! Gollum was played once again by the fantastic Andy Serkis and is an amazing piece of CGI created beast. Gollum is given a new look, with bigger eyes, and the higher resolution really does help him. I feel like he was defiantly one of my favorite characters in the movie, due to his unpredictably. All the side characters were well played, though some of them definitely didn't get the screen time they were worth. I do hope that the next installment is gives more screen time to a larger amount of characters.
Side Character And Other Goals Rating:82
Final Thoughts:
The Hobbit is a fantastic movie, and I'm not saying that just because I'm a fan boy of the previous 3 movies by Jackson. I'm saying it because The Hobbit IS a fantastic movie. The visuals mixed with great action, dialogue and character connection make for a welcomed return to Middle Earth. I just hope the next 2 installments of the series live up to expectations.
Final Rating: 83
Did you enjoy The Hobbit? Comment below and tell me what you did and didn't enjoy, I appreciate it. And until next time, Hof out!
