by Michele Pearson:
I will admit, I have been a royal Tolkien fangirl about this movie since I first heard it was a possibility right after the release of Return of the King. I have had extremely high expectations for how true Jackson would remain to the book and how the whole world will translate onto screen. (translation: I wanted to see the dragon!!!) Thank the lord my fangirl heart was not broken.
The Hobbit begins with Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit living in the Shire. He lives a peaceful, quiet life; never going on adventures or doing anything unexpected. Then Gandalf the Wandering Wizard appears in Bilbo’s life offering the very adventure Bilbo has never desired. Shortly following Bilbo’s refusal, thirteen Dwarves appear on his doorstep and turn Bilbo’s peaceful world upside down. The Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, are about to embark on a journey to reclaim their homeland of Erebor from the dragon Smaug. They hire Bilbo on as a burglar and, along with Gandalf, begin their long journey home to the Lonely Mountain. Along the way, they encounter Orcs, Goblins, mountain Trolls and a nasty little creature named Gollum. And this is only the first of three films.
Does the movie stick straight with the book? Yes and no. You will recognize many scenes straight from the book (especially a very “precious” one) but you will also meet some characters that were rarely mentioned in the book itself but were described in more detail in later companion works Tolkien wrote for the entire series. Also, since this is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings films, there is a stronger tie in to the previous films than to the book. Timelines and certain events have been altered somewhat to fit in the Peter Jackson universe as opposed to the original universe built by Tolkien himself.
I have watched this film twice, once in 2D digital and the second in 3D. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch it in the 48fps 3D as my theater is not one of the few theaters in the country able to broadcast in this format. While I enjoyed the film as much the second time, I did not feel that the 3D gave the film anything over the standard 2D release. I have heard that watching the film in 48fps 3D is amazing and well worth the extra money at the box office. Regardless of the version you do watch, the cinematography is beautiful. I did take issue with some of the CGI work being obviously CGI, something that was more apparent in the 3D version than the 2D. There were some parts that did drag for a moment but all in all, I have no real issue with the film as a whole.
This is definitely a film to catch at least once on the big screen but unless you can catch it in full 48fps 3D, stick with the regular film. You won’t miss out on anything visually and the CGI effects won’t be as noticeable. I think that this was a wonderful transfer from page to screen and look forward to the next two films!
Michele Pearson is a contributor for DarkMedia. She covers Vampire Diaries and any other films, books, etc that come her way. She reads everything from Lonesome Dove to Game of Thrones and loves epic tv series like Doctor Who and Star Trek: TNG. Michele also loves a good horror film and was able to channel that love as a judge for Shriekfest 2012. Follow her on Twitter at @GirlInRowB and check out her blog at http://www.girlinrowb.com.
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