Moroni's Review of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"

The very first book I read on my own was "The Hobbit" at age seven.  (I read it before I read the Book of Mormon.)  Then at ages eight and nine, I read "The Lord of the Rings" series.  As a young parent, I read all of these books to my kids.  In the days before our ranch had electricity, I would have my kids around me and read to them the works of J.R.R. Tolkien by candlelight.

So to say that this movie franchise is important to me would be an understatement.  Seeing these movies translated to the big screen for me has been a dream come true. When "The Fellowship of the Ring" came out in 2001, my excitement reached a fever pitch that had not been experienced since the original Star Wars trilogy.  And it did not disappoint.  It was everything I hoped for.  When "The Two Towers" came out, I already had tickets, and my then-wife, Temple, and I drove through a blizzard to see this movie, with our infant in a car seat.  We were driving past diesels that couldn't make it up the hill - just to see Middle Earth on the big screen.  For "The Return of the King", we went to a midnight showing - in sub-freezing temperatures.  They set up a medieval tent in the parking lot, and I had a cold, my nose dripping like a faucet, waiting to get into the theater.

In other words, "The Lord of the Rings" became a Christmas tradition for me for a few years, and, after that, when it was all done, it never really seemed like Christmas.

So it was with great expectation that I awaited the release of "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey".  I so wanted for this movie to finally come out, and what a journey it was for this movie to arrive!

Years ago, there was an online poll about which director - other than Peter Jackson - would be fitting to direct a movie version of "The Hobbit".  The answers were mundane - Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, etc.  My answer was quick - Guillermo del Toro.  This was pre-Pan's Labyrinth.  I had only seen "Blade II" and "Hellboy" by this point.  But I knew - he was the man for the job.  So I was ecstatic when he was selected to helm "The Hobbit".  It was perfect.

Then came the problems with the rights being owned by the floundering MGM, along with sniveling from the Tolkien estate.  There were delays after delays, and, after two years, del Toro had to bail.  It was a devastating blow.  (He did retain screenwriter credits.)  Peter Jackson returned to direct, and it seemed like the devil himself tried to prevent this movie from being made - labor disputes, animal handler's complaints.  But it finally arrived.

So part of our family Christmas was for sixteen of us to file into two cars and head to the movie theater.  There was even a snow storm!  Several of my kids have read the book, and they were excited, especially my ten year-old son, Aidan.  We donned the 3-D glasses and were transported back to Middle Earth.

The previous trilogy was breathtaking, but this time it seemed as Peter Jackson filled the screen with more sweeping landscapes from his homeland.  It made me miss New Zealand!  If there was any place that I would chose to live, it would be New Zealand.  The music also carried many hints of the previous series.  We were transported back to a familiar place, and many familiar faces were there.  Ian Holm as the aging Bilbo, Elijah Wood as Frodo, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Cate Blanchett as Lady Galadriel, Andy Serkis as Gollum, and a 90 year-old and spry Christopher Lee as Sauruman.

One of the brilliant moves of Peter Jackson was to raid Tolkien's appendices for more material.  There are several back stories inserted to flesh out the story, and provide fodder for two more movies.  There is a dazzling introduction sequence that sets up the dragon Smaug and the loss of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain.  Radagast the Brown, Gandalf's associate, is inserted into the narrative to set up the Necromancer's evil invasion of Mirkwood.

The story sticks fairly close to the book apart from the added components of back stories.  Martin Freeman is Bilbo, right from the book.  There are so many dwarves that it is hard to get a good sense of who they are, apart from their sullen leader, played to the bone by Richard Armitage.

I was happy that they put more songs in the movie as J.R.R. Tolkien's writings are laden with songs.  The movie has more of the whimsical feel of the book.  That pleased me as well.

I didn't like how most of the orcs and goblins were CGI.  Call me old-fashioned, but I like my monsters wearing make-up.  The computer animation did allow for the creation of more grotesque creatures, though.  There, that is my sole complaint.

Otherwise, this movie is perfect and entertaining in every way.  It won't win any Oscars, but, in my book, it is the best movie of the year.  What need do I have to go see "Les Miserables" when I can just go see "The Hobbit" again?