'The Hobbit' film review

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Since 2001, film director Peter Jackson has captivated audiences across the world with his meticulous cinematic perspective. Since its debut, Jackson’s Hollywood rendition of the beloved "Lord of the Rings" book trilogy proved to be one of the most successful cinematic masterpieces.  As the trilogy fell into the vault of history, Peter Jackson jumped on the bandwagon to film the final stage of the J.R.R. Tolkien legacy, part one of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".

On the evening of December 13, The Woodlands Tinsletown Theatre was flooded with Tolkien enthusiasts and adoring fans of "Lord of the Rings". Late night moviegoers were ready for a relative continuation of Peter Jackson's cinematic style, but more importantly they were ready for an epic adventure.

The beginning of "The Hobbit" portrayed recognizable features relative to the previous three "Lord of the Rings" films. The musical score featured the traditional song, “The Shire (Concerning Hobbits)”, in the opening scene along with an appearance of a young and curious Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Although the sites and sounds of the Shire remained the same, the increased frame rate was evident in the first scene of the film.

For the past eighty years movies have traditionally been shot at 24 frames per second but for "The Hobbit" Jackson decided to shoot with 48 frames per second. Such advanced technology along with 3D/XD features allowed viewers to sample the most crystal clear picture in the world.

As the story slowly picks up the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is convinced to be a part of a dangerous journey along with a wise wizard named Gandalf and thirteen stubborn dwarves. The goal of the journey is to return the Lonely Mountain to its previous state in which dwarves lived happily among a thriving society. Many things stand in the way of reclaiming the Lonely Mountain such as devilish monsters like orcs, trolls, and eventually an evil dragon named Smaug (not seen until the second movie).

Along the journey Bilbo Baggins is often left on his own facing daunting difficulties such as an agonizing game of riddles with the deformed Hobbit known as Golum/Smeagol. Along with action packed fillers and beloved battle scenes, Jackson doesn’t hesitate to throw in the dry humor that only true Tolkien lovers would understand.

To fully understand the film, a prior reading of the book would help. Although "The Hobbit" is profoundly similar to "The Lord of the Rings", differences are obvious throughout the two hour and forty-six minute film. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy focused more on mammoth-scaled battle scenes and epic sieges that sometimes carried on for longer than thirty minutes. "The Hobbit’s" purpose was not solely about battle scenes but was essentially a story about both adventure and collaboration among different races throughout Middle Earth.

Many people who didn’t read "The Hobbit" were utterly confused because they expected one full-throttle battle scene after the next. The characteristics of the film in comparison to "The Lord of the Rings" tell me that Jackson appropriately served justice to the original novel, "The Hobbit".

All in all, I believe "The Hobbit" has the right credentials to be named the best film of the year. Tears were shed, laughs were loud, and the characteristics of the beloved "Lord of the Rings" trilogy were reincarnated through Jackson’s brilliant lens. The Hobbit is a classic example and message to Hollywood of an adventure worth paying ten dollars to experience. 

I give "The Hobbit" 5 out of 5 stars.