Ian McKellen stars as Gandalf the Grey is “The Hobbit.” The movie, based on the prequel to the “Lord of the Rings” series, tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who goes on an adventure filled with elves, dragons and wizards.
“The Hobbit,” released Dec. 14, is a film that attempts to sweep one off their feet and suck them into a dream world full of grandeur and glory. Whether or not one will like the film is based largely on whether or not one is willing believe in dragons, wizards, magical accessories, dwarves, etc.
Speaking of dwarves, “The Hobbit” does nothing short of throwing them in the audience’s face. Where “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy had a more than nice mix of humans, elves, dwarves and hobbits, “The Hobbit” contains a main cast of men four foot and under. There are a couple of elves that appear, but their combined screen time can’t pass 10 minutes. It certainly makes Gandalf (Ian Mckellen) a sight for short, I mean sore eyes.
Since I am willing to indulge in fantasies such as “The Hobbit” I enjoyed the movie. In my opinion “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy is better, but “The Hobbit” does an alright job of keeping itself in the realm of Middle Earth.
In comparison to its predecessors, “The Hobbit” comes off as a bit cartoonish and tries for a playfully cheeky tone. Don’t worry, there are no Disney princesses to steal the show, in fact, there are almost no girls at all.
Aside from a few minor flaws, see the movie and you’ll understand, “The Hobbit” is a pretty good flick. There is almost no plot, but the director, Peter Jackson, whipped a lovely batch of movie from an almost all unknown cast, a less exciting book and gap between films of almost a decade. It’s amazing what he can do with an entire studio emptying its wallet into his hands.
About the almost no plot thing, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is basically what it sounds like. It was more of a taste of things to come than actually getting into the plot. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and company are on their way to a former dwarf kingdom, now inhabited by a dragon named Smaug, in the hopes of ridding the kingdom of Smaug and regaining the dwarves long lost land. The movie is all about the journey to get there and the trouble they get into on the way.
“The Hobbit” is a good launch pad for the rest of the, now, trilogy and goes a long way in setting the audience up for the next two films. Middle Earth setting, which is actually in New Zealand, is stunning and one can only wish for its return sooner than Dec 13, 2013.
By: Andrew Noonan
