The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – review

Martin Freeman as the quiet, peace-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

The most talked about film since the last most talked about film – we have had plenty of big blockbusters this year – has seen fervent debate surrounding its length. This is not just the 169-minute duration of this current feature, but the prospect of two further three-hour Hobbit movies to come over the course of the next two years.

Despite widespread acclaim of Jackson’s previous three-part The Lord of the Rings saga, the length of the films was subject to criticism, but the length was justified by the epic nature of the story, the intensity of description in J.R.R. Tolkien’s prose and even purely the groundbreaking vision and ambition of the enigmatic, fantasy-nut director.

In terms of the books, compared to the size the Lord of the Rings, the prequel (The Hobbit) is a minor novel and the tale of Bilbo Baggins’ journey is dwarfed – mind the pun – by the Frodo’s monumental expedition. So you might say it is extremely bold – or self-gratifying – to take this novel and effectively stretch it out over three films and hope not to leave the viewer feeling cheated. But then Tolkien fans now have longer to bathe in the glory of yet more Middle-Earth adventures.

The story follows 13 Dwarves, a wizard (our trusty Gandalf) and the unassuming Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, on a journey to reclaim the lost Dwarven Kingdom of Erebor. This is a young Bilbo (played by Martin Freeman in his trademark awkwardly- charming style) and the tale is told from the perspective of an older Bilbo [Ian Holm] writing a book for Frodo [Elijah Wood] looking back at a time where he was more than just an ordinary Hobbit, 60 years before the point at which The Lord of the Rings begins.

In this time the Dwarves have become a hobo race ever since their land was all but destroyed by the fearsome and terrible dragon Smaug, who torched everything with his heinous fire-breathing, before claiming Erebor, the Lonely Mountain and taking up residence in the castle, bathing in the huge plunder of gold horded inside.

The wandering Dwarves were soon further decimated in a war with Orcs, a battle in which the Dwarf King Thrór was slain by the brutal pale Orc, Azog the Defiler [Manu Bennett]. The viewer sees all this back-story in the form of flashbacks.

Now led by battle-heralded warrior, Thorin Oakenshield [Richard Armitage] – who cut off one of Azog’s arms in the same battle – and guided by Gandalf the Grey [Sir Ian McKellen], the Dwarves decide that it is time to go back and reclaim the kingdom that once made them a proud race.

Although this is the Dwarves’ quest, the focus is – as the title would suggest – on the young Bilbo Baggins of Bag End; a modest Hobbit from The Shire. The journey he finds himself getting roped into is unexpected indeed and despite being amongst warriors and wizards, this is about the making of a “Halfling”, which Hobbits are also referred to as.

Despite Thorin Oakenshield’s continued scepticism about the presence of Bilbo in their posse, Gandalf assures him and the Dwarves that this young hobbit has an important role to play, as the crew’s burglar, and that he will prove himself vital in their mission.

Bilbo is no warrior; he is meek and more interested in the quiet life. He does not possess the pride and inbuilt bravery of the Dwarves, but he comes to show – with and without the aid of the One Ring which he finds/steals from Gollum [Andy Serkis] – that he can be resourceful, canny and eventually courageous.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is slow to start, beginning with a comic farce in which Dwarf after Dwarf arrive, uninvited by Bilbo, to his small house in raucous fashion, much to his displeasure, and everyone and everything they encounter on their subsequent journey gets its extended time in the spotlight, but despite the film’s duration there are not many dull moments.

The group are never far from danger, as threats periodically lie in wait, like Orcs, Goblins, hungry Trolls and even Stone-giants. We are also shown the nature of the awkward relationship between the Elves and Dwarves and we get to see members of the White Council in discussion, including Galadriel [Cate Blanchett], Elrond [Hugo Weaving] and Saruman [Christopher Lee].

It is Gollum though who steals the show, with Serkis wonderfully revelling in the character, making him creepier, funnier and more enigmatic than ever, as “Sméagol” and his “precious” play a game/battle of riddles with Bilbo in an extremely intriguing scene.

We may now have to wait for another couple of years and 6 more hours of onscreen action before we reach the end of The Hobbit saga, but this first instalment is as vast and visually-impressive as we have come to expect from Peter Jackson – with the added bonus of 3D – and although a little predictable at times, it is undeniably entertaining.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D (12A)
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, James Nesbitt, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Sylvester McCoy, Christopher Lee, Manu Bennett.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D is showing at the Hackney Picturehouse until mid January.
Running time: 169 minutes