The Hobbit (Thoughts)

The Hobbit (Thoughts)

Despite some pacing and camera issues, I really enjoyed The Hobbit. It felt like nice prequel to the LOTR movies. The interactions between the Dwarfs and Bilbo are some of the best scenes, but the action scenes are also cool to look at and remind you of Fellowship of the Ring. And, many scenes do recall Fellowship. Keep in mind, this is only the first half of a story too.

-MGM: Unlike the first trilogy, New Line isn't the only studio making this film this time around. MGM shares producing the film with New Line. It seems a bit strange at first, but I guess that was part of the legal settlement.

-Martin Freeman : Freeman is very good as the young Bilbo. He is a very charming Hobbit and seems to channel Ian Holm in every way. Freeman fits into the Middle Earth world nicely.

-Ian McKellen : He is back as Gandalf. He's playing him as a slightly younger version from Lord of the Rings. He's a blue wizard in this movie where as the first series has a gray outfit.

-The FX is much better in this movie. It shows what a decade makes in CGI effects. Gollum is even better in this movie. Somehow, they've made him even more lifelike. Plus, there are some nice action scenes with FX too.

-48 Frames: Now, this is where the problem with the film rears its ugly head. The extra frames really bother me and make the film look cheap in the non-FX driven scenes. This is a major problem with the look of the film. The movement are so smooth that it looks downright cheap. I couldn't help distance myself from the original trilogy. It felt more suited for a videogame than a movie. I am fine with a crisp picture, but this isn't what I wanted. It needs a bit of work before they do this again.

Overall, I really dug the story and the character interactions, but the 48fps are too distracting for many scenes that it brings this movie down a bit. However, it is good to see the world of Middle Earth again, and Howard Shore's score brings back the memories. Plus, it was also nice to see some characters from the LOTR as well. So, if they can get back to 24 fps, the second movie will be watchable.

Grade: B