We interrupt the regular schedule of this blog to make a brief announcement regarding the quality of the recent live-action adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
An Unexpected Journey is the first of what will be three movies based on what might be my favorite novel of all time. For those of you who haven't already this story: I was a sick little kid with asthma, and when I was hooked up to my nebulizer, the only thing that I could do was listen to my Mother read to me, until I became old enough to be able to read myself. My book of choice was The Hobbit. When I became old enough, I read it over and over, and pored over the map at the beginning for hours. Yes, I mean hours.
I have been waiting for Peter Jackson to make a movie of The Hobbit since around the time his adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring came out. In other words, twelve years, give or take a few months.
I was naturally super-excited when 'Sools decided to make a CJL trip to see The Hobbit an event, mostly because I know that he of all people is a highly competent organizer, and that I could trust him to make certain that everything was well-coordinated. It was. Except for when my ticket fell out of my pocket between Victor's car and the movie theater, and I by sheer chance managed to locate it, lying on the asphalt of the movie theater parking lot.
So how was the movie?
An Unexpected Journey is an excellent portrayal of the beginning of The Hobbit. Not only that, it adds two major side-plots, one hinted at in the Tolkien saga, the other one, to my knowledge, not appearing in any part of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, or (obviously) The Silmarillion that I remember. (However, they could be part of an appendix, part of Tolkien's extensive notes, etc.). In my opinion these side-plots do not detract at all from the main story, but help keep the viewer engaged. One of them, I know, stars a hero more or less neglected in the tales of Middle Earth -- the other introduces what I believe to be an original villain.
To a Hobbit fan such as myself, it was wonderful to see so many of the familiar scenes enacted on a big screen, with all of the special effects budget that they so richly deserved. To begin with one minor scene (in both the book and the movie; not a big spoiler), I do not think that the moviemakers could have depicted the Stone Giants of the Misty Mountains any better. The book is vague about their exact appearance, and their motives for rock-throwing. The movie depicts them in the liminal space between manifestations of the raw forces of nature, and sentient beings. There is no doubt that there really are giants throwing rocks at each other -- yet the giants emerge from the mountains themselves, and, to be honest, reminded me of nothing so much as earth elementals from Dungeons and Dragons by their appearance. Also excellent was the way the movie fleshed out the Dwarves' personalities. Tolkien really only mentions the specific personalities of a few of the Dwarves (Thorin, Balin, Bombur, etc.), and a few of the Dwarves do not even have occasional character traits attributed to them -- I do not think that there is anything significant ever mentioned about Bifur, for example. The moviemakers, knowing that of the fifteen main characters, twelve of them cannot be mere stereotypes, make an effort to give all of the Dwarves personal quirks and tags. My Mother will need to give more input on this issue, but I certainly feel as if there was a very deliberate effort to clothe all of the Dwarves distinctly, to avoid their appearing like clones.
There were absolutely scenes from the movie that could not have existed without these side-plots. For example, in the book, no worgs pursue the company until after they leave the Misty Mountains. However, their earlier appearance, explicable by one of the added side-plots I have mentioned, helps keep the pressure up on the company (as well as the audience), and makes what could have been a montage of aerial shots of the Dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf hiking through the craggy New Zealand countryside into a gripping game of cat-and-mouse. However, such additional action details (usually, the moviemakers' changes add rather than subtract action) always remain true to the story: just because Bilbo has a little bit more time with Sting in his hand in the movie than in the book does not transform him into Sir Bilbo the Fearless, or Ninja Baggins. I approve: movies are paced differently than books, and a perfect adaptation of a book script into a motion picture, even if the book was originally a comic books (I have Watchmen in mind right now) can draw fire from movie critics without emotional ties to the original book. There's also one scene sure to thrill Tolkien fans who don't mind a little bit of liberty taken with what might have happened behind the scenes at linchpin moments of The Hobbit -- and it's just too juicy a morsel to give away. I heartily approve, though, and hope that, when you see this scene (believe me, you'll know it when you see it), you'll agree with me.
Of course, there are dozens of missing or altered details. I really don't care, but for those sticklers out there, here's a short list of aspects of "An Unexpected Party" (Chapter 1 of The Hobbit) that do not appear in An Unexpected Journey.
- Bilbo does not go on and on about all of the Hobbit legends about Gandalf, and his interest in an adventure is much subtler.
- Took family history.
- Reference to second breakfast, elevensies, etc.
- Dwarven hood colors (but, as I mentioned before, this is better for the movie).
- The elvish word "burglar" can also be interpreted "expert treasure-hunter."
- (Most) Dwarf beverage preferences.
- No green smoke rings from Gandalf.
- "Struck by lightning, struck by lightning!"
- The note left on the mantlepiece, which Gandalf brings to Bilbo's attention.
Do not mistake me. There were excellent lines and references, often cut and pasted directly from the book, not at all lost on me, such as the Legend of Bullroarer Took, adapted brilliantly into the movie script, so that it did not at all feel like a non-sequitur . Though I did not have a copy of The Hobbit in front of me, I'd bet a drink at the Green Dragon that Gandalf's reminder to Bilbo of his ancestry is lifted word-for-word from The Hobbit.
I obligatorily need to mention how much I loved the way in which the movie portrayed the famous riddle game. "Riddles in the Dark" is probably my favorite chapter of The Hobbit, and I highly commend whoever was responsible for the script, storyboard, and precise editing of the movie's depiction of the epic confrontation between Bilbo and Gollum. The psychology of the whole scene is magnificent, and not just Gollum's schizophrenia and Bilbo's very real fear, but every single line that the two of them exchange. It is probably the best scene in the entire movie, and will be very difficult for Peter Jackson to top in parts II and III of The Hobbit.
If I could have asked for any differences in the movie, in terms of its general production, I would have requested better music. The musical score was rather uninspiring, except when the tunes were drawn directly form the Lord of the Rings movies. I sometimes wonder if the Mordor theme from LOTR will become like the Empire's theme from Star Wars -- I can't hum a single bar of the music I heard last night, though.
An Unexpected Journey makes viewers smile, laugh, and grip their seats in suspense and and anticipation. It shocks, interests, frightens, and winds up. Highly recommended; in theaters if you can, on home video if you can bear the wait.
Oh, and did I mention? I had the opportunity to watch this movie with a lot of highly-attractive people beside and behind me. That might have been one of the best parts; thank you all for being my friends!
~JD
"You fool, Warren is DEAD!" ("The Statement of Randolph Carter," The Necronomicon, H.P. Lovecraft).
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