Almost there and not back again

Full spoiler-free review by Isaac Handelman

, being the first in the trilogy, doesn’t actually get too far in terms of how Tolkien’s book was laid out. The film opens with an older Bilbo Baggins pledging to retell his grand story to his cousin Frodo (and yes, Elijah Wood has a brief but satisfying cameo). For those who don’t know the story, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is a hobbit who’s approached by a wizard named Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and asked to join a company of dwarves on a quest to slay a dragon called Smaug and take its bounty of gold, which rightfully belongs to the dwarves. I won’t go into specifics as to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say that the film rather fittingly covers roughly a third of the ground of the novel -- and, no surprise here, it does end rather suddenly.

is, you should know that Peter Jackson (or perhaps his studio heads) have split Tolkien’s original, somewhat short novel into three-separate films, the second and third of which are currently bound to December 2013 and July 2014 releases respectively.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months or have no preconceptions as to what

trilogy in many ways. Its orchestral score is epic, its visuals are sleek and often stunning, its scope is sweeping, its performances are top-notch and it pays plenty of homage to J.R.R. Tolkien’s original work. Yet, through all of this, something seems to be missing. It’s not an integral piece of the puzzle -- nothing that stops

The Hobbit rivals and trumps its predecessor Lord of the Rings trilogy in many ways. Its orchestral score is epic, its visuals are sleek and often stunning, its scope is sweeping, its performances are top-notch and it pays plenty of homage to J.R.R. Tolkien’s original work. Yet, through all of this, something seems to be missing. It’s not an integral piece of the puzzle -- nothing that stops The Hobbit from being a riotously entertaining romp through Middle-earth -- but it does lack a certain spark that made Peter Jackson’s original Lord of the Rings trilogy so successful and beloved. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months or have no preconceptions as to what The Hobbit is, you should know that Peter Jackson (or perhaps his studio heads) have split Tolkien’s original, somewhat short novel into three-separate films, the second and third of which are currently bound to December 2013 and July 2014 releases respectively. An Unexpected Journey , being the first in the trilogy, doesn’t actually get too far in terms of how Tolkien’s book was laid out. The film opens with an older Bilbo Baggins pledging to retell his grand story to his cousin Frodo (and yes, Elijah Wood has a brief but satisfying cameo). For those who don’t know the story, Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is a hobbit who’s approached by a wizard named Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen) and asked to join a company of dwarves on a quest to slay a dragon called Smaug and take its bounty of gold, which rightfully belongs to the dwarves. I won’t go into specifics as to avoid spoilers, but suffice to say that the film rather fittingly covers roughly a third of the ground of the novel -- and, no surprise here, it does end rather suddenly.

Most of the basic necessities of an epic Peter Jackson production are entirely intact here, including his trademark knack for awe-inspiring visuals. Putting aside a few odd, plastic-y moments, the CGI is fantastic, and the film contains no shortage of drop-dead-gorgeous crane shots of the vast wilderness of Middle-earth which, when coupled with the film’s rousing orchestral arrangements, are difficult not to marvel at. One particularly mind-blowing scene transpires during the company’s treacherous trek across a narrow mountain path in a thunderstorm. Without spoiling anything, the scene is marvelous, riveting and unlike anything that’s been done in the series before. Despite an amusingly large number of last-minute rescues, the action sequences excel.

picks up it rarely slows down, ushering in one fantastic action sequence after another at a sometimes breakneck speed. Of course, a large portion of the film consists of content that’s been added on, or at least has been generously expanded upon, but, with a few annoying exceptions, this content is entertaining and just interesting enough to feel worthwhile, even if some of it doesn’t add much to the overarching narrative. However, when these digressions from the main plot do pop up, they're easy to pinpoint and occasionally just feel like obvious attempts to extend the film's running time.

isn’t its stumbling points, but instead what it manages to get right. One would assume that a four-hundred page prelude novel split into three films would cause each of the films to move at a torturously slow pace. It’s impossible to judge the other films yet, but at least thus far, Peter Jackson and company have managed to almost entirely avoid this. It takes awhile to get going, but once

What’s genuinely surprising about An Unexpected Journey isn’t its stumbling points, but instead what it manages to get right. One would assume that a four-hundred page prelude novel split into three films would cause each of the films to move at a torturously slow pace. It’s impossible to judge the other films yet, but at least thus far, Peter Jackson and company have managed to almost entirely avoid this. It takes awhile to get going, but once An Unexpected Journey picks up it rarely slows down, ushering in one fantastic action sequence after another at a sometimes breakneck speed. Of course, a large portion of the film consists of content that’s been added on, or at least has been generously expanded upon, but, with a few annoying exceptions, this content is entertaining and just interesting enough to feel worthwhile, even if some of it doesn’t add much to the overarching narrative. However, when these digressions from the main plot do pop up, they're easy to pinpoint and occasionally just feel like obvious attempts to extend the film's running time. Most of the basic necessities of an epic Peter Jackson production are entirely intact here, including his trademark knack for awe-inspiring visuals. Putting aside a few odd, plastic-y moments, the CGI is fantastic, and the film contains no shortage of drop-dead-gorgeous crane shots of the vast wilderness of Middle-earth which, when coupled with the film’s rousing orchestral arrangements, are difficult not to marvel at. One particularly mind-blowing scene transpires during the company’s treacherous trek across a narrow mountain path in a thunderstorm. Without spoiling anything, the scene is marvelous, riveting and unlike anything that’s been done in the series before. Despite an amusingly large number of last-minute rescues, the action sequences excel.