Here is my first take on The Hobbit, which I saw a week ago. Most fan reviews I've read are positive and similar in spirit to mine, while movie critics tend to be less forgiving, naturally.
The Hobbit – 1st viewing
(Spoilers galore!)I had such a good time at this movie! For the first 40 minutes at least, I had a big grin from ear to ear that just wouldn’t go away. The physical beauty of this Middle-earth is just so rich and so lovingly done that you want to reach out and hug it. Hobbiton from overhead, gorgeous Bag End, ravishing Frodo, dear old Ian Holm, followed by adorable Martin Freeman, beloved Gandalf and the wonderfully varied Dwarves, Bilbo’s pantry (!), the trunk with, o joy, an Alan Lee portrait of the young Bilbo to match the one he did of Elijah’s Frodo—are just a Tolkien fan’s dream. And I didn’t expect the wonderful back story showing Erebor in its glory along with Dale, followed by the destruction of Smaug and the sad turning away of the Elves. That was fabulous!
I re-read The Hobbit just last week, a dangerous thing given PJ’s habit of taking hold of canon, tweaking it, twisting it, turning it on its head and then completely tossing it out. The tarting up of the story was shameless. But it’s a tribute to how wonderful everything else was that I didn’t much care. (It certainly helped to have come to terms with the embroiderments in TTT and ROTK already.) I put up with the endless extraneous Warg attacks, the Azog bit and the reworking of the troll scene (no discernible improvement on Tolkien). More bothersome was the drumming up of some sort of dramatic tension between Thorin and Bilbo. Radagast and his rabbits were a hoot, and I loved the preview of the spiders and the Nazgul at Dol Guldur. The lovely scenes in Rivendell were a treat, though I wish Saruman hadn’t been such a git. It would be nice to see a better, wiser wizard before we are given the diminished one of the Two Towers. Then the Dwarves leaving without saying goodbye properly to Elrond made me sad; I guess the writers think everyone’s getting along is just boring. The stone giants and goblins were great, though the chase scenes were way too long and chaotic; Gollum/Bilbo going at it were spot on. I like that PJ took time with the big moment before Bilbo leaped over Gollum to escape (and the familiar theme of the Ring and of other parts of the story were great to hear, just like an opera!). The last scene with the Wargs was just over the top corny Hollywood shtick, especially the attack led by heroic Bilbo. I was rolling my eyes a lot. The ending with the thrush and Smaug’s awakening, though? Superb!
I thought the casting and performances were a big success, though I did think Ian’s Gandalf was a bit mannered at times. Maybe he always was, and that’s just who his Gandalf is. I love him anyway. Martin Freeman couldn’t be more perfect with his combination of down-to-earth hobbityness and spunk. Richard Armitage as Thorin is so noble looking, I expect him to be above all that surly, suspicious stuff he’s given to do.
I think we’re in for quite a ride in the next two movies. There really is a lot of story to tell, and with PJ’s extra excursions into whateverland, it should be a great deal of fun.
