vinyarb

Not content with grossing 2.92 billion with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson is luring us back to Middle-Earth with yet another 3 films, adapted off the prequel The Hobbit.

This time, we follow the adventures of Frodo’s uncle, Bilbo Baggins, as he joins a band of dwarves together with Gandalf to reclaim Lonely Mountain and its treasures. Lonely Mountain had once been the home of the dwarves, until the dragon Smaug, drawn by the vast amount of gold accumulated in the caves, drove them away and settled right in.

If you’re wondering how Peter Jackson plans to expand a novel into 3 feature length films (An Unexpected Journey has a runtime of 170 minutes!), the answer is simple: Drraaaaaaaag it out.

Don’t take my word for it, ask my wife. She actually dozed off during the 1st third of the film. That’s how slow it was. But once the momentum started building, it was pretty enjoyable. Visuals are top notch as we’ve come to expect from a film of that magnitude.

Story wise, its a much more intimate tale of redemption and a more personal journey for the dwarves than it was for the fellowship. And I never thought i’d say this, but, the dwarves looked pretty cool and erm.. even suave (I’m referring of course, to Thorin, the dwarve King).

All in, an enjoyable teaser to the rest of the adventure.

Would have been better had it been shorter and paced tighter.

Rating: 7/10