Re: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
It's nowhere near the revelation that the Lord of the Rings was, probably because The Hobbit isn't the breakthrough that set the standard for a lot of fantasy themed movies that followed LOTR. It's also a bit mind boggling and irritating to sit through for the first hour, as it feels like you're listening to your grandfather tell you a story with a ton of digressions. I can't help but question why they decided to turn what was originally a 19 chapter book into 3 movies that will probably run about 3 hours each - it really feels very unnecessary and could definitely use some editing. It takes nearly an hour for them to get out of the Shire alone and you have to sit through a lot of Dwarven folk songs - this is really more of a film for the fans that didn't get enough from Peter Jackson's first time around.
But it does manage to continue the spectacle that the Lord of the Rings trilogy managed so well, even if a lot of the work does feel very familiar - the chase through the orc lair is very similarly shot with sweeping camera shots like the first movie was with the Balrog lair.
But I have to admit that the casting works quite well and the movie does give plenty of head nods to the Lord of the Rings trilogy (including numerous cameos from the cast of the original films - and they do a pretty decent job of keeping them looking younger than they did in their own films).
It's not a bad film per se, but it really does go overboard in the detail in the eyes of a casual viewer. Hard core fans, however, can expect a feast of a Middle Earth tale.