The Story:
Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) decides it is time to recount the epic story of his journey years prior with Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and a group of dwarves who set out with Thorin (Richard Armitage) to reclaim their abandoned kingdom that had been overrun by the dragon, Smaug. The movie then flashes back to young Bilbo's (Martin Freeman) adventures in the wild. Naturally, the adventure is only halfway done by the time the credits roll...
Could it have been told in one movie? Yes. I see what they are going for here, besides the money, they are trying to recapture the majesty and triumph of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and on that note, they succeed.
Back in the director's chair, after claiming he wouldn't, is Peter Jackson. Really, if you're going to wrap up the Tolkien series with a big fat bow, you might as well bring the guy with the vision who did it all already, back to the fold. That and he brought back a whole host of characters from the trilogy to make a cameo or extended appearance including Frodo (Elijah Wood), Elrond (Hugo Weaving), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Gollum (Andy Serkis) and Saruman (Christopher Lee).
Which is both interesting, and annoying, at the same time. Naturally, as I lamented when it first came out, I would have preferred that the Hobbit had been filmed first since story-wise it came first, so that when you meet these people, it would have been for the first time. But alas, what can you do at this point?
Very nice that they were able to all come back and reprise their characters, though not having read the book in 25-30 years, I can no longer remember if all of the scenes they were in were even in the book. My first thought is no, and this was simply a further means to tie the Hobbit closer to the Rings trilogy...
: )
The cinematography once is again is spectacular as Middle Earth comes to life by way of New Zealand. The movie is a bit long, with many extended sequences of walking (marching) through the wilderness that could have been trimmed for time... but when you're going in planning on making a 2 parter, I suppose you pad for the sake of making it worth our time and money, and not stretching too far that you turn it into a trilogy!
Anyway, I quite enjoyed the return to Middle Earth, and I look forward to the epic conclusion.
Final Grade: B+
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Low. I own the Lord of the Rings trilogy and have never watched them again since the first time. Hard to work in such a massive time consuming epic into a busy life. Though given the choice, I would prefer to watch this over the Trilogy any day. Just like the book.
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