The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure.
The Hobbit, an adored children's book written as late back as 1937, has now hit the big screens of the blockbuster world. The film has caused much anticipation and demand from the public who are eager to experience the film adaptation of J. R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. The film before its release had already held high expectations as director Peter Jackson oversaw the productions of additional Tolkien publications that some Hobbit fanatics might be aware of... The highly successful production of the Lord of the Rings trilogy that Jackson created is the "what happened next" to the adventures that lie within The Hobbit.
For those who are unfamiliar to The Hobbit and indeed to that of Tolkien, the story dives into a fantasy world that is full of a plethora of mystical creatures, magical mayhem and unimaginable fiction where anything becomes possible. The story follows that of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins (a member of a race of imaginary creatures related to and resembling humans, living in underground holes and characterized by their good nature, diminutive size, and hairy feet) and his adventure across a fantasy world filled with danger, fantasy and exploration. Bilbo's adventure begins when he is greeted by wise wizard Gandalf who has decided that Bilbo is to go on an adventure of a life-time, that he is yet to know about, or indeed reluctant to participate in. Soon after Gandalf greets Bilbo with his unwanted presence, thirteen dwarfs intrude into Bilbo's solitary, quiet lifestyle turning it into a whirlwind of chaos and pandemonium, far from his comfortable armchair in front of the fireplace.
Echoing the events of the book, the film adaptation works closely to that of the novel, capturing the memorable moments and adventure that Tolkien sets out for Bilbo to experience and the reader to enjoy. In numerous cases the saying "not as good as the book" has been thrown around left, right and centre and to capture the events of the book accurately is somewhat of a challenge for directors and writers to achieve. However, this is not the case with The Hobbit as Peter Jackson has managed to bring the story to life allowing the once imagined characters and settings to become a reality.
Much of the enjoyment throughout the film can be gained from the characters who are well grafted and captured brilliantly. The thirteen dwarfs all have definable characteristics that make them stand out from one another as well as bringing an individual experience to the storyline. The focus on small individual aspects to characters (especially the dwarves) really deserve appreciation as these little aspects really make a huge difference. The mixture of humour, anger and a great love for food are all formed into one, allowing depth and notability toward the dwarf characters, rather than them appearing as a generic short, bearded man wielding a battle axe.
Furthering the enjoyment of characterisation is the performance of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins. Hitchhiker's Guide (2005) and Sherlock (2010). Bilbo Baggins is a very sheepish individual who is content with the quiet lifestyle in his hobbit home. Freeman draws upon the Bilbo's unique characteristics to closely represent the true style of Bilbo Baggins that readers had to previously imagine. Freeman is highly in-tune with his character and his performance is faultless in representing a well structured character with all of his quirky mannerisms. A few may have questioned the decision for Freeman to play such a big role but they will not be disappointed.
In terms of the story being captured as a whole, or at least a third of it, Peter Jackson had to work with the idea of the film being based on a children's story. As audiences will know the fans of The Hobbit does span wider than just children as individuals of all ages will be familiar with the story and are eager to take enjoyment from the film. With this in mind Jackson has the task of portraying Bilbo's adventure in a way that will satisfy all ages. For some this may prove to be a difficult task especially as the Lord of the Rings franchise was not a child based novel, allowing the tones to be dark and violent. Jackson takes a lighter approach from his earlier productions but in a way that is not displeasing. He injects a fair amount of humour into scenes which helps capture character but also appeals to the family theme of children and adults appreciating simple humour. These elements of humour also help to break up the scenes and drama to add light heartedness to the narrative, in a way that does not distract or drag out the story. Fight scenes are replicated in the epic style in which one would expect but the violent visual style of bloody violence are toned down and replaced with the effective use of sound. More focus follows the impact of weapons crashing onto armour and the collision of swords than decapitating limbs, but as mentioned the audience is aware of the novel style and can sympathise and agree in saying that Peter Jackson does well in appealing to all ages of the audience when it may be difficult to do so.
Finally, Viewers also might be interested in knowing that Jackson also injects the effective elements from Lord of the Rings such as the use of visually pleasing aesthetics and boastful sounds effects and music. Capturing the natural beauty of New Zealand helps the feeling of the fantasy world become alive and the stunning greenery and towering mountains not to mention some of the best CGI, making The Hobbit also visually stunning to watch. This is all topped off by the bolstering backing of sound, helping to add elements of danger, fantasy and combat that propels you into the adventure itself. With this compiled with loveable characters, tense battle scenes, playful humour and a full flowing narrative its not hard to see why The Hobbit is becoming an adventure of a lifetime.
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