In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit.
That is my childhood and I'm sure for many others it is too. And here's the movie(FINALLY) and I must admit that despite some annoying stuff, I was very, very pleasantly surprised at how darn awesome this movie is. It is absolutely my favourite movie of all Peter Jackson movies(that opinion might change when the next ones come out). So let's get started. The prologue was long yet entertaining and introduced newcomers to the backstory. However, the scene between Frodo and Old Bilbo was out of place. I don't know if anyone has seen the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring but there's a scene where Bilbo starts writing this novel. With a completely different beginning. Then someone knocks on Bilbo's door and Bilbo calls out for Frodo who is already gone to surprise Gandalf. He says and I quote "Where is that boy?!". Why would he say that when he knew Frodo would be going? What happened to his hair? Alas, no answers. But since most of us are better familiar with the theatrical(and canonical *sigh*) version, this can be annoyed and one can enjoy this to the fullest. Or can we? Um... "you haven't changed a bit" really doesn't work in the first LOTR movie anymore, Gandalf.
And this is only the beginning of a sea of plot holes. The worst of worst is, as you might guess the Council scene. Honestly what the hell?
1. How do you resurrect the Witch-King of Angmar if he's supposed to be undead, a fact that the characters know in the first movie.
2. Since when is the Witch-King of Angmar visible?
3. Is the White Council really that small?
4. The Witch-King was buried?! How do you bury the undead?
What. The. Hell.
Oh, yeah the story: In the land of fairy tales, a wizard called Gandalf convinces a small Hobbit called Bilbo to join a company of Dwarves in taking down a dragon and regaining the Dwarf kingdom, Erebor and all the gold in it.
This is one of the first 48fps movies and I must say that for most of the movie, it really made the action smooth. But in the Frodo/Bilbo scene, I must admit I felt as if the movie was on 2x.
I really liked the movie for it was a lot more lighthearted than LOTR. Also, some old LOTR mistakes have been fixed(Elves finally speak Elvish! Dwarves speak Dwarvish!) and some have been worsened such as the flight from Goblin Town(ridiculously impossible as is the fact that the characters are practically invulnerable).
My favourite scene was naturally Riddles In The Dark. OMG, Gollum/Bilbo brought out the best of the best of the best. I wanna rewatch it now.
The scene of finding the One Ring was totally different from the Fellowship's prologue but that's understandable(one could say that the prologue version was basically an imagined version of it).
The actors: Gandalf, Elrond, Gollum, Galadriel, Saruman are all perfection as usual. Martin Freeman makes a hell of a likable Hobbit and I'm really glad that cloaks aren't the Hobbit fashion in this film. Richard Armitage made an understandably gruff Thorin, but I feel certain that it was overdone. The book Thorin was gruff and royal, but in a more comical way. The movie Thorin I found too serious and too single-minded. Balin was almost exactly as I imagined him(well no but he acted like it). Bofur was a nice comic relief(never thought anyone would focus on him). It's all nice to see a little more variety in Dwarves, during LOTR days they all seem like Gimli clones.
Radagast the Brown was kinda crazy but I did take a liking to him.
And finally, it's nice to see Middle Earth a little more "alive" than in LOTR. There are references to Silmarillion and all.
Can't wait for the next movie! I recommend this to all LOTR/Hobbit/Silmarillion fans. However, to newcomers I suggest you read the Hobbit book first.
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