1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Greatness
Like many Lord of the Rings fans, the closer this film came to release, the more apprehensive I became. Peter Jackson had released some flops, and seemed to have fallen from his peak. With that in mind, I sat through The Hobbit and was relieved. The new actors kept up with, and in some cases surpassed, the familiar cast. The landscape provides a comforting blast from the past, while new dangers kept fans guessing. Martin Freeman brings a young Bilbo to life with as much quirk and endearing innocence as Elijah Wood brought to Frodo. That said, the film pushed slightly too hard to connect to the established fan base. The introductory flashback lasted uncomfortably long, and took time away from connecting with the new ensemble. Having read the book, I was still left familiar with only a handful of the dwarfs, and reluctantly wondering why the rest of the nameless horde was relevant. Whether through a writing fault or the story simply not translating on screen as well, Thorins disapproval of Bilbo feels forced, and over emphasized to prove how unfair the world is to Bilbo alone. Fili and Kili, seemingly meant to serve as Merry and Pippin replacements, were not developed enough as a pair to make their distress upon separation as painful to the viewers as the emotional turmoil at the split Fellowship of the Ring. Familiar creatures, such as the Wargs and Eagles, were strangely reconstructed, which breaks the illusion of continuity the creators were so eager to show. The White Orc was made to look so exaggerated through CGI that he paled in comparison to the Orcs brought to life by hulking stuntmen and detailed make-up in Lord of the Rings. Although a pleasing jaunt about familiar feelings, The Hobbit failed to instil in me the same foundation of companionship with the characters and their trials and triumphs that made me so impressed and touched by the Fellowship in Lord of the Rings.