By FEAR CHURCHWELL – Web Staff
Peter Jackson’s much anticipated movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey released on Dec. 14, 2012, had the expectations of being just as good as the groundbreaking Lord of the Rings movies.
The movie starts in the peaceful town of Hobbiton. When Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is offered to go on an unexpected adventure. At first, Bilbo is very reluctant to go on an adventure. Unfortunately, the plot seems just as reluctant to develop.
As a book, The Hobbit is a fairly short read, but it was decided that The Hobbit would be split into three distinct movies.To make this possible, The Hobbit has many tedious and pointless scenes that refuse to get to the point. The slowly developed plot sets a boring tone throughout the movie. It seems that half of the movie was spent in Hobbiton, and when they finally did leave the plot was still very slow to develop.
As the movie goes on, the viewer becomes more and more annoyed with the poor attempt to lengthen the plot of the movie. Because of the slow to develop plot, even the most exciting parts of the movie, such as the fight with the trolls or the goblins, failed to completely engage the audience.
The special effects, however, do bring some light into the movie, as they look impressively realistic. In one particular scene, while Bilbo and the company of dwarves were crossing the mountain pass, it felt as if the battle between the stone giants was actually real.
Despite the great graphics and special effects the producers refused to put in the full body of Smaug, a great fire-breathing dragon that is the main antagonist throughout the story. It seems that, even with the top-notch special effects, Peter Jackson is trying to make the budget of the movie as low as he possibly can.
Although The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey originally brought excitement to all Tolkien or Lord of the Rings fans, it does not live up to the standards previously held by Jackson, and will certainly not be remembered or praised nearly as well as The Lord of the Rings in the years to come.
