The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

  After revisiting the Lord of the Rings trilogy to prepare myself for The Hobbit, I was worried that this new Tolkien trilogy could be as painfully corny as I found the great Lord of the Rings trilogy after re-watching it. Thankfully Peter Jackson manages to subdue the corniness and create a fascinating and exciting story. I don't feel that The Hobbit should be made into three films though, as the book is relatively short. However, if the next two are as good as the first then I'll have no complaints.
   Bilbo Baggins has a comfortable life in the Shire until Gandalf convinces him to join the dwarfs in a quest to regain their homeland. Martin Freeman does an excellent job as Bilbo Baggins and as a younger Ian Holm. It is also fun to see some of the old characters again, even Elijah Wood as Frodo returns! Somehow no one appears to have aged even though it's been a decade since Lord of the Rings.
   I was also concerned with the length of the film, but once again it manages to impress by keeping the storyline interesting and diverse, breaking up the dwarf quest with story developing scenes and flashbacks of what had happened to the dwarfs. There is an enjoyable mix of characters from Lord of the Rings, such as Gollum and new ones like goblins, stone giants and the Pale Orc.
   I'm very much looking forward to the next two installments to see if they live up to the first. It's a pity that they're being spread out over three years though, maybe every six months would have been better.

For fans of Lord of the Rings, Tolkien and an adventure.

Stars ****

Picture from www.telegraph.co.uk