The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Review

*SPOILER ALERT- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED*

While this movie was not what I was expecting, and certainly not what I would call "perfect", it was still an amazing movie, that I already want to see again. It is definitely worth your time whether you've read the book or not! Let me get the not-so-good out of the way and then I'll talk about the good stuff. I also want to preface this by saying that I have read The Hobbit more than once, but it has been a long time since I re-read it last, so please don't jump down my throat if I don't remember something exactly how it happened. Okay... here we go!

The one thing that was bugging me almost the entire movie, is that Gandalf tells Bilbo that since his blade was of Elvish make from Gondolin, it will glow when orcs are about. The problem with that is that it only started glowing when goblins were around. That, and why didn't Orcrist and Glamdring glow? They were made from the same Elves from the same city! It's not a big deal, but it was really bothering me.

Okay... I like the fact that they added Radagast the Brown to the movie, but did they have to make his wig have bird poop all over it? He's supposed to be weird- not freaking insane! And the rabbit/hare sled? I'm not sure that's Tolkien kosher, but I could be wrong...

To me, there was too much comedy in the film. Most of the time it was welcome, but it made the balance of epicness, suspense, drama, and funny bits off-kilter. I think it would have been better if they had made the jokes less frequent. That would make them more memorable and special. I think this was just another case of "Gimli-fying" the movie. By that I mean that they made characters that were pretty serious in the book the comedic relief. Don't get me wrong- it doesn't usually take away from the movie, but I feel like it was taken a bit too far in The Hobbit.

Alright Peter Jackson... if you're going to put pictures of Beorn in the posters, pictures, and ads for The Hobbit #1, then PUT HIM IN THE FREAKING MOVIE! I know that he's going to be in #2 (especially since the rock/outcrop/thing that the Dwaves, Bilbo, & Gandalf gets dropped off of at the end by the eagles strongly resembles a bear's head), but why put him in posters, and then not have him in the movie your advertising partially using him. I just don't get it.

I'm just gonna come out and say it... Nori's hair is freaking ridiculous and I hate it! His beard and moustache are cool, but his hair is stinking dumb. Ugh! Honestly, at first, when I first saw the character design for the Dwarves, I wasn't really all that impressed, but most of them kind of grew on me. Nori did not.

This one isn't really a bad thing or a complaint, but I found it very strange that Bombur said absolutely NOTHING the whole movie... it was kinda weird. Not bad, just weird. Also- he uses a huge spoon/ladle thing as a weapon... not sure how I feel about that yet.

...And now to the good stuff :)

OH MY GOSH, THE MUSIC!! I freaking love Howard Shore, and he did an amazing job with An Unexpected Journey. Also, the Misty Mountains Cold song/theme is my favorite part of the movie- don't ask why because it just is. I love it! Totally going to buy the soundtrack!

Without seeing the movie, I was really nervous about the characters themselves, specifically the Dwarves. After seeing the movie, I have no problems with any of the characters, personality-wise. My favorites are Balin and Bofur. I actually was surprised myself, but I actually like Kili and Fili as well (explanation of this in the next paragraph)! The characters I'm still nervous about- at least in personality and/or execution- are the ones entering in the later movies. Those characters being Tauriel, Bard, Thranduil, and Legolas.

I love the explanations to things I read and understood in the book, but never really thought about how it might have come about, like when Gandalf brought the sunlight about to turn the trolls to stone. I also like the reasoning behind why Kili and Fili don't have beards (which really bothered me before- I thought that the reason why they did that was to create a man-candy character for girls to drool over like they did in Lord of the Rings *cough*Legolas*cough*), but I like the idea that they haven't grown their beards out yet due to the fact that they are at least 50 years younger than all of the other Dwarves in the party (and that's a fact from the book!). That and they played well off of each other in the movie. I also dug all of the Lord of the Rings, appendices, and Silmarillion references throughout the movie.

The 3D is great, and this is seriously how it should be done from now on. No more crappy, post-production afterthought, wallet fattener 3D, but good, intentional 3D. This is coming from a person that is not a fan of 3D at all, and has said that it's just a money-mongering gimmick. The only movies that I've seen that have had good 3D effects in so far have been Avatar and The Hobbit. That's it, and that's a crying shame. More movie makers should be following Peter Jackson and James Cameron's lead- at least in the realm of 3D movies.

I will be seeing this movie again, so I may come back to this review and explain things further, change my mind, etc. Also keep in mind that while I did gripe and nitpick about a few things, they certainly did not detract from the movie as a whole, I'm just a huge nerd who loves J.R.R. Tolkien's books!

Overall, it was a great movie, and a good film adaptation to the book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars! GO SEE IT ALREADY!!