Blu-ray + DVD

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Blu-ray Review

"All good stories deserve embellishment..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown, March 7, 2013



An unexpected journey indeed...

It was bound to disappoint. With expectations at an enormous high, a 48fps experiment in tow, and fandom, both literary and cinematic, frothing at the mouth, poised to strike the moment the first film intrilogy showed the slightest sign of weakness,. And yet it shouldn't have. Criticism continues to run the gamut.Was anyone really that surprised to see Jackson and company indulge a little? Did the decision to stretch two films into three fail to clue anyone into the fact thatwould be more akin to aextended version than a lean, mean theatrical cut? For that matter, are the same people who swear byExtended Editions actually upset with the end result? By some strange, blinding magic: yes, yes and yes.Fortunately, it was only bound to disappointfans. There are those among us who chose a different path. Those who were familiar with the quaint, charming tale of "The Hobbit," enough so to avoid setting-slaying expectations. Who didn't squander our first viewing ofby leaping headlong into an entirely new (and arguably distracting) way of watching a film. Who were overjoyed to immerse ourselves in Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth once again, for whatever length of time he saw fit. No,isn't perfect. It isn't a sacred adaptation of Tolkien's text, or even one that rivals any offilms. It's a gorgeous, gripping, at-times enthralling return to Middle-Earth, though, with far more to offer the Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkien folds than many are willing or perhaps able to admit.The humble, altogether simple story of "The Hobbit" becomes the grand, still relatively simple story of, with a smart series of additions, refinements and expansions and only a few questionable tweaks or misguided deviations. Told in flashback (with several flashbacks within that flashback), we meet a younger, less impulsive Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), the once and future ring-bearer played in his old age by Ian Holm. Coaxed by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) into joining thirteen dwarves on a quest to reclaim their kingdom and stockpiles of gold from a vile dragon named Smaug, Bilbo reluctantly embarks on an adventure that takes him from the safety of Hobbiton to the troll and orc-ridden wild, the Elven city of Rivendell, the depths of the Misty Mountains and beyond. Drawing from the original book, Tolkien's Appendices and co-writers Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo del Toro's ever-evolving screenplay, Jackson'spresents Bilbo as an adventurer-in-the-making in a coming-of-late-age tale, dwarf prince-turned-king Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) as a fallen hero, the unruly dwarves as nomads longing for a rightful place to lay their heads (rather than mere treasure), their quest a more honorable journey, and Gandalf's frequent absences a means to a far greater end: a response to the rise of a sinister Necromancer (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the stronghold of Dul Guldur.Elrond (Hugo Weaving), Lord of Rivendell, and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) of Lothlorien return, as does Saruman the White (Christopher Lee), who isn't so willing to accept the news Gandalf and fellow wizard Radagast the Brown (Sylvester McCoy) have to share. Meanwhile, the dwarves -- among them Dwalin (Graham McTavish), Balin (Ken Stott), Bofur (James Nesbitt), Kili (Aidan Turner) and Fili (Dean O'Gorman), who receive the most screentime -- are being tracked by an old foe: Azog the Defiler (Manu Bennett), a vindictive orc chieftan who killed Thorin's grandfather before losing an arm in a battle with the dwarf king himself. But other enemies await Thorin, Bilbo and the dwarven company before the first film draws to a close. Rock giants, a trio of lumbering cave trolls, a horde of goblins, their king the Great Goblin (Barry Humphries) and, in a dank cave beneath the goblin halls, a riddle-obsessed creature named Gollum (Andy Serkis), corrupted by a seemingly harmless magic ring that grants its wearer invisibility.As withtrilogy, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens focus first and foremost on character and story, placing the utmost value on casting, performances and the ensuing adaptation above all else. Freeman isn't an A-lister (or rather wasn't before) but his turn as Bilbo establishes him as the film's greatest casting coup. With Freeman, Bilbo is a fully realized anchor point and unmistakably human for a hobbit. The scene in which he awakes to an empty house -- initially relieved and then, all at once, saddened by the silence -- is one of the best acted beats in Jackson's thus far four-film Middle-Earth saga, and makes everything that follows more convincing and compelling than it would otherwise be. It's these moments, these small amendments not present in the original novel but used to terrific effect in the film, that highlight the balance between performance power and adaptative craft the filmmakers make a habit of employing again and again and again. And it's these moments that carrythrough less satisfying scenes that rely a bit too heavily on CG and heightened action (the escape from Goblin Town and the Rock Giant run come to mind).The rest of the ensemble is too talented for one film. (Thank God there'll be three.) McKellenGandalf the Grey, and makes a number of interesting choices, from his perfectly rounded affection for Bilbo to his slight irritation at the hobbit's hesitance to strike out with the dwarves. McKellen is also responsible for yet another subtly emotional series exchange, this time with Blanchett, in a tender, easily overlooked moment of intimacy that never fails to send chills racing up my arms, even after this, my fifth viewing. Armitage is excellent too, even though Thorin's disdain for Bilbo is given the spotlight one time too many. With an iron gaze and a coalfire in his chest, he helps Jackson accomplish a dramatic trifecta: infusing the film with an undercurrent of tragedy, giving Bilbo a reason to sacrifice his all for the dwarves and providing the first film with a captivating conflict all its own. The rest of the dwarvish actors, particularly McTavish and Nesbitt, fill out the company nicely and, more importantly, serve Thorin and Bilbo's arcs selflessly. And Serkis? Freeman and Serkis' Riddles in the Dark sequence is engrossing, not just as a through-thread tobut as a brilliantly staged and shot rendition of one of the book's most iconic encounters. All told, the cast is a true ensemble in every sense of the word. Jackson may not have filled the ranks with more familiar Hollywood faces, but what he nets in return is on-screen comradery, obvious even between's mortal enemies.Ifstumbles on its, it's not in expanding the tale or the characters, it's in expanding the action and, to a lesser degree, embellishing the visual effects. Tolkien opposed his books being turned into action-oriented spectacles and the last act of, more so even than(which all but required such spectacle), is puffed up and a tad bloated, with whirling swords, a chase scene that goes on a full minute too long, a mountain-pass giant fight that borders on ludicrous (not the fight but the fact that the dwarves end up standing on one of the giants' legs) and a burning treetop showdown that's intense but pure screenwriters' prerogative. None of it kills the film, but it does knock it down a notch, at least in terms of storytelling. Visually, it's immaculate, packed with cutting-edge WETA effects, incredible motion captured creatures and, of course, Gollum, who couldn't look more real. Thankfully, Jackson doesn't turn to computers for every challenge. Middle-Earth is still New Zealand and the practical effects team's masterfully forged props, sets and production design in all their natural and hand-crafted glory; enhanced with CG as needed, sure, but rarely created wholesale in a computer. More to the point, everyone on the production team -- from the costume designers to the armor makers to the weapon masters to the prosthetics masters -- is an integral player in the ensemble, as much as the actors. Likefilms,is a melting pot of gracious, self-sacrificing talent both in front and behind the camera.The long and short of it? Even whencan't quite carry the Ring, it can carry you.