Up front, you should know that I am a huge fan of Peter Jackson and an equally big fan of the Lord of the Rings films. I am a major fan of Ian McKellen as Gandalf and he is superb in THE HOBBIT, Jackson's 169 minute long prequel to the LOTR films. Also a big fan of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and how Andy Serkis doesn't have a special Academy Award by now for his motion capture character work in the movies is beyond me. I'm a new fan of the best actor in this new film, Richard Armitage as Thorin. It was great to see Elijah Wood, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett in the roles we all loved in Lord of the Rings. So, with all that being said, how can I not be a fan of The Hobbit? Maybe its that the first two hours are so excruciatingly boring that my first ten minutes of goodwill burned out very quickly. Maybe it's that all the dwarves are pretty interchangable, so you end up not caring much about any of them.....but I am betting that it's becuase Peter Jackson decided to stretch this very thin source material into three 3 hour movies and it's just stretched too damn thin. The special effects, set design, costumes, music by Howard Shore, all great. But oh MAN is this thing slow. Once Bilbo gets separated from the group and meets Gollum, the film MOVES and becomes a terrific movie, but for me it was too little, way too late. The only thing unexpected in this journey for me, was the sheer boredom of it's first two thirds. A very disappointing C.
I am surprised by this rating, but totally get it. My husband struggles to enjoy this flick. However, my youngest daughter and I relish it and watch it routinely.
Some of our favorites scenes are: the surprise dinner party and the singing afterward, racing through the open fields while Radagast the Brown leads away the pack of wargs, and of course the rock giant fight. And who doesn't love the giant eagles?
The book was a part of my early years, re-reading it was a joy, and seeing the elements come to life so magically on screen was enjoyable. It is rare, for me, that books are brought to the movie screen well and this one hits the mark.
There…