Review: The Hobbit (Spoilers)

The Lord of the Rings trilogy were the defining films of my childhood. It was the first time that I was aware that movies were actually made rather than just being there. It also later introduced me (via the extensive DVD extras) to the nuances of film making and probably sent me down the path I'm on today.

So you can imagine my reaction to the news that they were going to film The Hobbit. On Sunday I finally got my chance to go and see it! Warning: There be spoilers ahead.

Poster from here

Visually it is stunning, as in LotR New Zealand's landscape is a character in itself and the detail of the props and costumes show Jackson's love for the source material. The acting is top notch also and I think it's being universally pointed out how perfect Martin Freeman is for the role of Bilbo.

The problem, though it isn't really a problem as such, it that if I had never seen LotR and I didn't have the promise of further films, An Unexpected Journey on its own wouldn't be a particularly good film narratively. It only covers the opening of the novel and though there is a fair bit of action towards the end of the film, it is slow to start. In other words, as the first part of a more exciting  story its fine but not as a stand alone story.

That being said, I'm not sure it deserves all of the criticism its been getting. Technically its brilliant and it does make you want to see the rest of the films in the series. It would just be more rewarding if some of the surplus detail had been omitted in favour of covering more of the plot.