The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
Country: US/NZ
Technical: col/2.35:1 169m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett
Synopsis:
The wizard Gandalf brings a baker's dozen of dwarves to visit Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, in the hope of enlisting him on their quest to reclaim the treasures of the lost kingdom of Erebor from the clutches of the dragon, Smaug.
Review:
The first part of Jackson's three-film adaptation not only sketches in the backstory, with an ambitious prologue, but even adds a few frills of its own, notably a protracted escape from the goblins' lair and a cliffhanger climax aloft in the pine grove (not to mention some astonishing anachronisms, such as a reference to the game of golf). The familiar cinematic dynamic of the action highlights (one more narrow escape left to the last possible minute), not to mention the rather insubstantial nature of his CGI-enhanced Orc assailants, if anything reduces the inherent tension of Bilbo's adventures and stretches suspension of disbelief to breaking point: can an assorted band of dwarves, from the aged to the unseasoned, really survive rockfall, skirmishes and a plummet through the bowels of the mountain without losing a single member? Tellingly, it is the one-to-one with Gollum, that works best both dramatically and as a visualization of the episode in the book. Throughout, the settings are lovingly created, and few can take exception to what remains a visual wonder when it is not a thrill a minute. Most importantly, the characters of Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin are given room to breathe, with performances that cut through the CGI.
Country: US/NZ
Technical: col/2.35:1 169m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett
Synopsis:
The wizard Gandalf brings a baker's dozen of dwarves to visit Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, in the hope of enlisting him on their quest to reclaim the treasures of the lost kingdom of Erebor from the clutches of the dragon, Smaug.
Review:
The first part of Jackson's three-film adaptation not only sketches in the backstory, with an ambitious prologue, but even adds a few frills of its own, notably a protracted escape from the goblins' lair and a cliffhanger climax aloft in the pine grove (not to mention some astonishing anachronisms, such as a reference to the game of golf). The familiar cinematic dynamic of the action highlights (one more narrow escape left to the last possible minute), not to mention the rather insubstantial nature of his CGI-enhanced Orc assailants, if anything reduces the inherent tension of Bilbo's adventures and stretches suspension of disbelief to breaking point: can an assorted band of dwarves, from the aged to the unseasoned, really survive rockfall, skirmishes and a plummet through the bowels of the mountain without losing a single member? Tellingly, it is the one-to-one with Gollum, that works best both dramatically and as a visualization of the episode in the book. Throughout, the settings are lovingly created, and few can take exception to what remains a visual wonder when it is not a thrill a minute. Most importantly, the characters of Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin are given room to breathe, with performances that cut through the CGI.
Country: US/NZ
Technical: col/2.35:1 169m
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Ian Holm, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett
Synopsis:
The wizard Gandalf brings a baker's dozen of dwarves to visit Bilbo Baggins of the Shire, in the hope of enlisting him on their quest to reclaim the treasures of the lost kingdom of Erebor from the clutches of the dragon, Smaug.
Review:
The first part of Jackson's three-film adaptation not only sketches in the backstory, with an ambitious prologue, but even adds a few frills of its own, notably a protracted escape from the goblins' lair and a cliffhanger climax aloft in the pine grove (not to mention some astonishing anachronisms, such as a reference to the game of golf). The familiar cinematic dynamic of the action highlights (one more narrow escape left to the last possible minute), not to mention the rather insubstantial nature of his CGI-enhanced Orc assailants, if anything reduces the inherent tension of Bilbo's adventures and stretches suspension of disbelief to breaking point: can an assorted band of dwarves, from the aged to the unseasoned, really survive rockfall, skirmishes and a plummet through the bowels of the mountain without losing a single member? Tellingly, it is the one-to-one with Gollum, that works best both dramatically and as a visualization of the episode in the book. Throughout, the settings are lovingly created, and few can take exception to what remains a visual wonder when it is not a thrill a minute. Most importantly, the characters of Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin are given room to breathe, with performances that cut through the CGI.