FilmBah Watches: The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

The Lord of the Rings trilogy can be said to be one of the most defining cinematic event in the lifetime of some audiences. It was the Star Wars for a generation and for something that has such a place in the hearts, it is not hard to see how nostalgia could be mistaken for anticipation with the arrival of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Almost a decade since the conclusion of the trilogy with Return of the King, Peter Jackson has followed the path of George Lucas to bring back fantasy fans back to Middle Earth with a prequel by adapting the child-friendly The Hobbit, to remind us of the glorious yesteryear when fantasy movies was awakening to a new golden age.

And to glorious yesteryear, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes us through again.

As the first in the two-part-later-turned-trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit by Tolkien, An Unexpected Journey begins on the 110th birthday of Bilbo Baggins as we saw in The Fellowship of the Ring, just moments before Frodo runs off for the memorable opening scene about the punctuality of wizards. Instead of making a passing mention about the book that Bilbo was writing in The Fellowship, it becomes the framing device that takes us 60 years back in time when a younger Bilbo Baggins meets a wandering Gandalf on a fine morning.

This leads to the introduction of the exiled dwarves of Erebor and their prince Thorin Oakenshield, who have lost their mountain home in a brilliant exposition of gold, fire and betrayal. According to the portents, it is time for the dwarves to reclaim their kingdom from Smaug the dragon, and Gandalf has advised them to bring along the home-loving and reluctant halfling if they were to complete their quest.

From then on, it's almost like we've been given a tour back to the wonderful fantasy world of Middle Earth, its lore, the landscapes and the mildly tuned scores of Howard Shore that we have made synonymous with The Shire, the elves and the long road ahead. The focus on the dwarves bring new material to the fray, but waves of nostalgia would surely wash over those who meet old friends like Saruman the White, Galadriel, Lord Elrond, hacked orcs, and of course, Gollum, even though they are shown with different sides. However, such reminders does seem overladen at times, for instance when you begin recognising landscapes where pinnacle events would take place in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which feels that we are taken more of a trip down the memory lane, than developing us to embrace The Hobbit trilogy.

Yeah, I missed you too, even though you totally deserved to melt in the fires of Mt. Doom for pulling an Evander Hollyfield on Frodo

In terms of the narrative, it does feel that Peter Jackson is intending to pad out a trilogy but I have no knowledge about the appendix material of the original novel to see if they were added as new scenes in An Unexpected Journey after Jackson decided to add a third film in the midst of production. Certain scenes read as though they only took several pages to get over with, but Jackson is fully intent of translating them into dozens of minutes of footage to drag out An Unexpected Journey to end 15 minutes short to a magical 3 hours. Still, it is not something that would have an effect on the experience in the theater; only a concern on whether we would be shortchanged by the time There And Back Again is released.

However, An Unexpected Journey is not just a window to look back at old times, but a door for new ways on how viewers would watch a movie again. I'm happy to report that my personal experience with the HFR (48fps) was eye-opening and dispelled my hidden fears that it would be a gimmick no less. The smoothness and clarity may have been distracting at first, but I soon adapted to the fluidity of the camera movements that give a more livid presence to the events that were unfolding. I will even add that the HFR was actually a boon to the 3D and this is probably the ointment to sooth the forced strain on the eyes as the 3D projection seem to blend well into the background by the added sharpness and clarity from the higher framerate. This is a possible winning combination that will make me be more inclined to 3D screenings and a point filmmakers will have to consider, if exhibitors needed a legitimate justification for the added ticket prices.

Thank god none of them were like Boromir.

It's hard to say anything bad about An Unexpected Journey to give an impression that it was not a flawless masterpiece, so I will attribute the negative side of this guilt trip to this one kid who was in the viewing when I was watching it with a couple of schoolmates who were with me when the first trilogy was first released in cinemas back in 2001...

FUCK YOU, KID! Not only you could not appreciate the fantasy tropes from your loud and incessant questions (You seriously thought the dwarves were a nightmare when they left Bag End?), you punctured the epic moment when Gandalf saves the dwarves from the goblins with your reaction by loudly saying 'd4 H3ll?' when everyone was in silent awe.

The Hell? Really, kid? Gandalf saves the dwarves and that's all you thought? The same Gandalf who saved The Fellowship from the fiery wrath of The Balrog in the Mines of Moria with his most quoted phrase? Seriously?

Oh, that's right. Maybe you weren't even BORN yet. So that's why you thought it was unawesome. You should rue the day you were born because all you have for the most defining movie event in your childhood now is a saga about an emo bitch who never listens to her parents, gets fucked by a vampire who belongs to a whole species that doesn't have the balls for a final showdown because they shat glittering bricks from a vision by a girl.

'D4 h3ll' indeed. I pity your childhood.