It may not be The Lord of the Rings, but we’re only getting started. We’ve got a few less hobbits, a lot more dwarves, and the same epic sense of adventure. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the start of another great trilogy by director Peter Jackson. I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations, perhaps even in ways I had not expected. Let me say up front that I have never read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, so I had very little knowledge of what was to come or what might happen, other than there being a hole in the ground, in which there lived a hobbit.

The fate of Middle Earth may not be at stake this time, but The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is no less exciting and adventurous. And it just feels good to be back in Middle Earth, enjoying a new story with all the familiar, lovable trappings.

Movie Rating: 5/5: Great.

Starring that guy from the British version of the Office

The Lord of the Rings films are my favorite of the great geek trilogies, so I was definitely looking forward to The Hobbit. Yet after seeing it, I felt as if something was missing; some special spark, some level and grandiose. Then I realized that I was comparing this one film to the entirety of previous trilogy, all the way from Fellowship of the Ring to Return of the King. And in that regard, of course, The Hobbit doesn’t hold up, because this is just one film of a whole new trilogy. There is much more adventure to come and more movies to see. And this new trilogy is definitely off to a good start.

Almost everything about this new movie succeeds. The story is a strong one and seems perfect for what we know of Middle Earth. The humor is delightful and definitely funny, and doesn’t over-saturate the film, unlike the action. There were times were I rolled my eyes at just how quickly the characters were thrust into another action scene, but they were still enjoyable to watch. The CGI didn’t bother me in the least. And the characters are especially fun, whether it’s seeing old favorites like Gandalf and Elrond, or meeting all the new dwarves; though unless you brought some kind of cheat sheet with you, only a few of the baker’s dozen dwarves really stood out. With the exception of Thorin Oakenshield, I forgot all of their names almost immediately.

But most importantly, Bilbo Baggins was one awesome hobbit. Much more badass than his nephew Frodo.

I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but I did not see the film in 3D or in the controversial 48 frames per second. I don’t cotton to that 3D nonsense if I can help it, and I’m not film academic, so I’m not eager to try out Peter Jackon’s experimental new form of movie making. Besides, I’ve heard the 48 fps looks like weird crap, so I stayed far away from it. I just wanted to enjoy a nice movie, thank you very much.

And some nice scones too, maybe

And I did enjoy it, I really did! This was a well-made film that strolled along nicely during it’s nearly 3-hour running time. And the time didn’t bother me in the least. I have no problem with long movies, and sometimes I feel that the standard 2-hour time limit is a little arbitrary. As long as a movie is this good, I do not mind the length. Surely I am not the only one who has marathoned the LOTR special editions, right? But while we’re on the topic of length, I would have to say that the movie doesn’t really get ‘great’ until the final third. The first long length of film is a bit of an odd duck. The beginning, I felt, was kind of weird. Not only do we start off with an unnecessary Bilbo and Frodo prologue, but the movie then immediately launches into an extended, CGI-heavy flashback about the dwarves and the attack by the dragon Smaug. While I suppose this was necessary to set up the rest of the tale, it still felt a little out of place at the very beginning. The movie had just started, and already we were expected to know and memorize all this dwarf stuff.

Thankfully, the real story kicks off soon after, and right from the beginning it’s fun. Martin Freeman is fantastic as Bilbo Baggins. He’s nervous, quirky and polite to a fault, at least in the beginning. When dwarf after dwarf suddenly starts showing up in his little hobbit hole, it’s he most he can do to not freak out and have a panic attack. The scenes in Bilbo’s house are a lot of fun, especially the dwarf songs.

Sing us a merry tune

But it’s here that the dwarves simply fail to impress. They’re a fun group, of course. But there are 13 of them! And all of their names are so familiar: Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Nori, Dori, Ori and all the rest. I’m sure it would be easier to keep them separate in the original novel, but film is a visual medium, and not a single name stuck with me. Sure I could recognize which one was the old dwarf, and which one had the funny hat, but other than that, they all blended together. Not that this was a deal breaker, but it was a little disappointing. The one dwarf we knew about in advance, Gloin (from ‘Gimli, son of Gloin’) didn’t even do anything!

I don’t know what happens in the rest of The Hobbit, so maybe some of the dwarves really come into their own. But for now, they’re just vehicles to drive Bilbo from his home and into his great adventure. They might as well have been a talking bus with multiple personality disorder.

And once we’re off, the story just doesn’t let up. Either Bilbo and the gang get up to some mischief – like that bit with the trolls – or we’re cutting to some other action-packed scene, such as Radagast the Brown vs. Evil. The whole start of the adventure is like that, and I found it distracting at times. Radagast was entertaining (especially for children), and it was fun to meet another wizard like Gandalf, but there were just too many cutaways. We also saw Thorin’s history with the evil orc leader Azog, and how he got the name ‘Oakenshield’. That gave the film some more back story and a dastardly villain, but it felt a little extraneous. It may have been in the book, but did the dwarves really need a generically evil band of orcs trying to kill them at every turn?

Look out behind you! It’s orcs again!

At least it gave the movie more action scenes, and the movie definitely loved those.

Trolls, orcs, goblins, wargs, rock giants, it’s one action scene after another. Sometimes the good guys are being chased, sometimes they’re being manhandled, and sometimes they’re even fighting in fast-paced, slicey dicey scenes. If you love action, this movie has you covered. So it’s surprising that some of the best scenes in the film are the slower, quieter scenes.

First, I loved the scene at Rivendell, which seemed to be put into the film solely to foreshadow (or reverse-foreshadow) the events of The Lord of the Rings. And while it was fun to see that callback, I’m a little worried that this stuff about the Necromancer won’t get resolved in the next two Hobbit films. Isn’t the Necromancer really Sauron? And how does he go from a guy hiding in an abandoned castle to a giant, lidless eye? Though I suppose that might happen in one of the upcoming Hobbit films. I’m eager to find out. Otherwise, the scenes with Elrond were quite fun. As was Saruman the White’s general annoyance when dealing with Gandalf, that was a hoot.

He’s getting too old and evil for this

Second, the absolute best scene of the movie – and I’m sure many people will agree – was the game of riddles in Gollum’s cave. I knew vaguely of that scene going into the film, and it was wonderful. Gollum was as devious as ever. I saw an interview with actor Andy Serkis about the improvements to Gollum’s animation, especially in the face, and it definitely shows. Gollum is wicked, twisted, and ultimately pitiful, and it was fun watching as Bilbo stayed his hand, which, of course, is referenced later in The Fellowship of the Ring. Major props to both Serkis and Freeman for that delightful scene.

He loves ‘knock knock’ jokes

And that brings me to Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, the standout highlight of the film. I said it in the opening, and I’ll say it again here, Bilbo is just way more badass than Frodo, and I had no idea. Frodo tended to just get whinier and whinier during the course of The Lord of the Rings (though I guess he had a good excuse), but Bilbo just gets more heroic. It’s a fun transformation to watch, the polite little hobbit first deciding to go on the adventure, and then over the course of the film, gaining his courage and inner strength. I especially loved the scene where the dwarves had escaped Goblintown and Thorin dismissed Bilbo, only for the spry little hobbit to take off his magic ring and reveal that he was still with them, and that he had learned an important lesson about having a home. That was a very touching moment, and one of the best scenes in the film.

Of course, it was then immediately interrupted by by a savage orc attack, but such was The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. There was always another orc attack, right around the corner.

And now the long wait begins for the next films. The Desolation of Smaug will be released a year from now, on Dec. 13, 2013. And then we won’t have to wait much longer for the final film in the trilogy. There and Back Again will hit theaters on July 18, 2014! So we only have to wait 1 1/2 years instead of two. 

So what did you guys and gals think of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?