If by biggest we mean the "most over-indulgently long," then we will already have a winner for this year's biggest film draw, although we don't mean that so we need to look a little deeper in to the intricacies of the film to decide how good it could be... because that is the high-brow level of journalism we are committed to at WhatCulture!. We obviously have the added excitement of this being the second film in a purely creative only trilogy, so we must prepare ourselves for an uneven affair as we do the tricky middle of a haphazard three-way. Despite this we must remain optimistic as we embrace a film that had the working titles
The Hobbit and The Easy Pay Cheque and
The Hobbit and The Loss of All Integrity. Bring it on!
What Could Be Awesome About It:
Despite The Hobbit being, well... naff, there were positives to be had that could redeem its future installments. Martin Freeman was delightful as Bilbo and future room to stretch his legs now he's out of the "accept me Dwarves!" stage will be welcome as he was the one character it wasn't impossible to like On that note it would be interesting to see the dwarves developed beyond the level of occasional line dispensers and bad make up conaseurs into actual people it's worth being interested in like The Fellowship was. On top of that, I found the 48FPS to be a nice feature in the level of depth it gave the now almost-entirely CGIed surrounding and enemies. On top of this, it will be exciting to see the Necromancer become a strong figure and a threat a lot more interesting than "the biggest Orc." What Could Suck About It: It will be too long, and that we can guarantee. On top of this, there's the fact that whilst the 48fps looks brilliant when everything is still, it can't quite comprehend motion like a normal film should, and unless there is a significant technological advance in this area it will still look ridiculous. Also it will be too long, in case you didn't know. Furthermore, as far as I am aware there will be no Gollum in this edition of the movie, which is a shame considering the only time anything worthwhile was happening on screen was his and Bilbo's riddle scene and his absence will be sorely missed. Did I mention it will be too long? Finally, An Unexpected Journey built absolutely nothing around the characters, which is peculiar considering it lasted nigh on 8 months, therefore they are either going to be developed in this film or they will be ignored again, making it so difficult to care about anyone who isn't Bilbo, who we know lives anyway. Also, it's going to be too long. Predicted Star Rating: 2/5 Missing the best aspects of the first whilst most likely only replacing it with more length. Visuals may be a saving grace and more of the necromancer might help make a film much more compelling than the first. Agree or disagree? Looking forward to continuing the unexpected journey? Let us know in the comments section below.