The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first installment in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy—the much awaited prequel series to the ubiquitously acclaimed The Lord of the Rings Trilogy—based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, or There and Back Again.
The trilogy’s second and the third installments viz. “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “The Hobbit: There and Back Again” are scheduled to release in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey presents the first part of the quest undertaken by an artless hobbit named Bilbo Baggins and a band of vagrant dwarves to help the latter reclaim their lost kingdom from the clutches of a fiendish dragon named Smaug. During the course of the journey Bilbo and company must always remain wary of the dangers lurking in the shadowy avenues of the Middle-earth. And the sooner they learn to trust each other’s instincts the better would be the odds of their survival.
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson once again shows why he is hailed in the film circles as an auteur par excellence. When it comes to the fantasy genre Jackson truly has no equal. An Unexpected Journey serves to be a visual spectacle of a very unique kind, one that appeals both to the soul and the intellect. While one is dazzled by the movie’s visual sumptuousness, it’s quite difficult to overlook the emotional subtext—most evident in Bilbo’s homesickness and the plight of the dwarves who have been driven out of their rightful dwellings by a ferocious usurper. It’s indeed awe-inspiring to see the way Jackson manages to strike the right kind of balance between style and substance.
Overall, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is an exhilarating cinematic experience for viewers of all ages and groups. Vintage Jackson, the movie serves to be a fine specimen of masterful storytelling. Unlike most modern-day movies of its kind, An Unexpected Journey never lets story take the backseat and while technology plays a pivotal part the real emphasis is always on the movie’s plot. Most of the sequences in the movie are beautifully crafted. The one in which Bilbo encounters the ever so spiteful Gollum remains this critic’s absolute favorite. While the movie’s use of CGI and VFX is quite exemplary in itself the 3D and HFR effects serve to be a real icing on the cake that makes the movie quite unique even in comparison to its predecessors. Jackson manages to elicit worthy performances from his entire cast of actors. An Unexpected Journey has set the ball rolling for the final two installments of the trilogy, but what still remains to be seen is whether it would be possible for Jackson and team to match the success of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, both from the financial as well as critical point of view?
Rating: 7.5/10