Movie Notes: The Hobbit

The Hobbit (2012)
Director: Peter Jackson

When considering how to make a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, as understood and consumed by modern American culture, it would have been difficult for Peter Jackson to have done a very accurate interpretation of the book as written.  After all, The Hobbit is a jolly fairy story about a middle-aged comfortable English gentleman of independent means who decides to go on an adventure with a group of somewhat humorous dwarves and a good-natured wizard.  It's children's literature.

So, Peter Jackson tried to cast the story in a more serious cast.  More in line with Tolkien's own recasting in his appendices and Unfinished Tales - that is, the story as told by Gandalf.  This allows Jackson to take into account the greater context of which Bilbo was blissfully ignorant.  So, the additional material is true to the world, if not to the spirit of the novel being interpreted.

Unfortunately, when you bloat a simple story with complicated themes, it's going to be hard to keep the story flowing in a natural way.  The first half of The Hobbit, where much of this greater context is found (Radagast is particularly terrible) is therefore terribly dull.  Once Jackson launches his action sequences (intentionally sillier and less frightening than the ones in the Lord of the Rings), things get more interesting.  At that point I got immersed in the story and found myself disappointed that the movie was ending when it did.  Which is good!

Also, as opposed to the action sequences (which are adrenaline-inducing), the best part of the movie was actually the Riddles in the Dark sequence.  Which is as it should be!

So, all in all, this is not an amazing movie.  It's a fun one, though, once you get into it.

Libby and I intentionally sought out a theater showing it in 48fps.  I wanted to experience it closer to the way the director intended.  I found the higher frame rate really distracting, at first, but eventually I got over it.  It does make everything crisper looking, and there's perhaps more a sense of actually being there.  Unfortunately, it also exposes the special effects to be what they are, and in that sense Libby found it distracting for the whole movie.  Computer animation, sets, and costumes look like computer animation, sets and costumes.  I don't know if this is the future of the movie industry, but my preference is still for 2D film at the normal frame rate.