![]() ![]() We evaluate it against the very highest standards, and though it’s found wanting on that level, that’s still a long way from being anything but terrific entertainment. Tolkien’s vision is undiminished, and Jackson’s efforts here feel no less reverential than they did a decade ago with The Lord of the Rings. None of this should diminish The Hobbit’s very real strengths, which only a few other movies in history can match. While the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings feel even better than the theatrical runs, this one feels a bit worse, and I suspect I know which version will see more play in the future. Those films had to cut the story to a minimum to make it fit in the allotted theatrical time, making the new material a case of appreciated breathing room rather than egregious padding. Along the way, he learns the nature of fear and courage, as well as picking up a few baubles that Lord of the Rings fans should find familiar.Īnd in this case, it feels more like double-dipping than the Extended Editions of The Lord of the Rings did. Chosen by Gandalf ( Ian McKellan) as the “lucky number” addition to a company of thirteen, he journeys towards the Lonely Mountain to help the dwarf Thorin ( Richard Armitage) reclaim his ancestral homeland from a dragon that has taken up residence. He got a lot of help from cast members both old and new, topped by Martin Freeman’s pitch-perfect rendition of the put-upon hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. It works largely because the story remains so charming and Jackson knows it so well. ![]() ![]() Director Peter Jackson and his colleagues filled it by pulling huge amounts of backstory from Tolkien’s archives, as well as expanding the danger represented by the mysterious Necromancer (a subplot only hinted at in the book and basically used to get the wizard Gandalf out of the way). An Unexpected Journey covers only the first six chapters of The Hobbit, an impossibly small amount of time for such a large film. ![]()
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