Last updated on August 15, 2020
I saw the Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey. It is good, very good in fact. It is not perfect, but very few things are. I like how they handled the added elements and from everything I know about Tolkien’s middle earth, which is actually quite a lot, they did not stray over much from the cannon found in appendices and his other writings.
It was nice watching Sylvester McCoy playing Radagast. He is a lively and expressive actor, which I suppose you need for that sort of character. All the actors are good, and while there is just an edge of too much silly at times, it doesn’t quite cross the line.
I saw it in 3D with the High Frame Rate. I am actually a little disappointed I couldn’t find a non-3D HFR version showing. The effect is odd. The HFR makes it not look right, at first. I got over it about 20 minutes in, but the initial impression was, “This is not film.” It was like watching a video tape of someone acting for film. Like I said, after the first 20 minutes I just stopped noticing. It just looked like the movie from then on out.
There has been much hey made of the fact they split it into three films. I get the complaints, but ultimately, I don’t disagree with them. There is enough story in the book of The Hobbit, that it would be hard to fit it all in a standard film story format. They would have had to cut some stuff. Instead they went the opposite direction and added in all the hinted at bits, the supplemental material from sources that would never get filmed. I like what they have done and the first film is off to a good start. I definitely recommend the film.