Review: The Hobbit


 

 

Director: Peter Jackson Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro, Peter Jackson Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch Genre: Fantasy, Adventure MPAA: PG-13

 
The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug.  Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield.  Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Sorcerers.
 
 

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10 thoughts on “Review: The Hobbit

  1. I’m a big LOTR fan and loved the 3 movies.  But this Hobbit movie was sooo slow in the beginning, it felt like I was never going on a journey at all.  Once the journey began, I was into it but that was a good half-hour in.  I was excited to see the Stone Giants but wanted to see more of them.  Once the movie was over I sighed and said, “I can’t believe we have to sit thru 2 more of these.”  Peter Jackson should have kept this movie to one.  Two maximum, not three.  One book, one movie worked with the LOTR series.  It wasn’t broken.

  2. pretty let-down with seeing this movie last night.  maybe the bar had been set too high by LOTR, but there was just nothing new.  And failed, Phantom Menace-style, with multiple campy and silly scenes and CGI characters.  The story was cool (but unfortunately, predictable – and I mean, the new added plot points, not the actual story).  Will still see the 2nd part, but overall – we left the theater with the rest of the not-so-impressed audience.

  3. A spot on review. I agree with all points, and I rather enjoyed the HFR as well. The Hobbit was also the first book I read as a kid. The movie captured the essence of the book almost perfectly.

  4. I say this as a Tolkein geek who loves the books and loved the other 3 movies.
    This movie was darker than it needed to be – it hurt the movie in my opinion. Yes it needed to fit in with the rest
    of the movies, but Jackson over shot.

    That said, I liked it.

  5. I agree with this review. It was a great movie, great narrative, perfect acting and character development, even felt the flow worked well. My only two gripes with the movie are that I don’t like 3D in general, and some of the action sequences left me rolling my eyes. I dislike 3D in general, as MANY people do, so I’m not sure why movies are continually made in 3D. I rarely meet anyone who says they love 3D. At best, we tolerate 3D. We are indifferent to 3D. That being said, this is the best 3D I have ever seen. But for me that’s a bit like saying it’s the least smelly porta-potty at the fair. I’ll use it but given a choice I’ll wait till I get home. Secondly, the action sequences. After seeing Peter Jackson’s King Kong and now this movie, I’m not a fan of how he treats some action sequences. The escape sequence in the goblin caves was too unbelievable and ranks up there with the brontosaurus and T-Rex scenes in King Kong. Twenty men running full speed through a canyon with stampeding brontosauruses and hungry raptors and only 2 men die? Three T-rex’s fighting Kong for Naomi Watts as she gets tossed around without a hair on her head being harmed? And now 12 dwarfs vs a thousand goblins, bridges swinging perfectly for them to board and leap off, perfectly timed jumps, and no casualties? The original LOTR’s never had a moment that made me roll my eyes and maybe he was going for the whimsical approach at times but, it didn’t work for me. Everything else, fantastic!

  6. Great review that pretty much sums up the way I feel about this movie. The one thing I don’t aggree on is your view on HFR. I think it looks gorgeous and really added to the experience. The level of detail on display was simply breathtaking! It takes getting used to it first, but the action scenes really benefit from the added smoothness. I wouldn’t want to see it any other way!

  7. Nice review John!  I’ve been a little worried about the mixed bag of reviews this has gotten early on, but I am excited none the less.  I’m glad you liked it and dug the book.  I read The Hobbit after seeing “Fellowship of the Ring” and having no prior exposure to the books, and I loved it.  Looking forward to more of the same from Jackson and company…

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