The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

This film got a lot of flack when it debuted way back in December 2012. Be it the uncomfortable 48fps motion, or the fact that the film had barely any meat at all, this was the film that many felt was the start of Jackson's undoing of his legacy.

The film starts off with a prologue with old Bilbo (played by Billy Boyd again) reminiscing about his adventures as he writes his book, and we're immediately brought back to many decades before with a younger Bilbo (played by Martin Freeman) as he's recruited by Gandalf to join 13 dwarves in their quest to reclaim their home from a dragon.

The dwarves, unlike the fellowship in LOTR, are a rather forgettable lot, where the ones worth remembering are Thorin (the leader), Balin (the big nosed wise-man), and Kili (the handsome dwarf who will factor into another story somehow). The pace of Journey is among the worst among the three, as it took close to an hour before Bilbo really starts his adventure, with the rest of the movie just as mundane, safe for the Gollum encounter and... oh, that's about it really. An Unexpected Disappointment that relies too much on the nostalgic factor to say the least.




Things start to pick up in the second installment, as the company of dwarves + a hobbit traverse through towards the Lonely Mountain while being pursued by spiders, orcs, elves and humans alike. More Sauron backstory is explored with the unnecessary Dol Guldor sidequest with Gandalf, obviously meant to set up the events in LOTR,  hogs up a chunk of the running time, and the reemergence of Legolas (who has never appeared in The Hobbit novel), feels more like an out of necessity fan service (not to mention to create a forbidden love triangle between Legolas, Kili and a new female elf).

The Desolation of Smaug is a lot more action packed than An Unexpected Journey, with the obvious highlight would be Bilbo's meeting with the tenacious Smaug the dragon, acted brilliantly by a motion captured Benedict Cumberbatch. We also start to be Bilbo's role in the trilogy begin to diminish, despite Martin Freeman providing one of better shining light in this ever expanding cast. Instead, we have got more grouchy Thorin and even more Radagast the Brown, who doesn't appear in the book at all.


Wanting to conclude The Hobbit like LOTR, the final installment, also the shortest Jackson Middle Earth film so far at two and a half hours, centers on an all-out war between five armies, whereby audience aren't exactly sure who the five are. Thorin, who was grouchy for losing his home and gold, is still as grouchy as ever even after claiming his home and gold. Wanting to claim a slice of the wealth, elves and humans team up to attack the Lonely Mountain, but the attack of the orc army had everyone to put aside their differences and fend off the evil forces. The CGI armies look poor even in comparison to 2003's Return of the King.

Smaug, who stole every scene he appeared in the previous flick, is very short-changed here, as his role ends rather brief and prematurely, in his place we get more pantomime comic relief moments with the annoying Alfrid. Even less presented is yet again Bilbo, who's now relegated to a bystander in this not-so-epic war. An unfitting conclusion, just when we thought Desolation had restored the faith. Even the shorter running time than usual couldn't steer this film away from feeling draggy and never ending.





Despite the hate, I still thought that The Hobbit trilogy was still an enjoyable watch. There's plenty of fun scenes to be had, and the returning characters and references are a treat if you're a fan of the LOTR series. However, Bilbo, who ought to have been the trilogy's main star a la Frodo, but he's sidelined for even more preludes to LOTR, which made The Hobbit feel more like an overlong bloated prequel than a potentially enjoyable standalone series. You can't put the blame solely on Perter Jackson, as it may be the work of the studios to stretch the adaptation to such lengths. Guillermo Del Toro's direction might have had a different result, with his preferred use of practical monsters costumes might look more in the vein of the real-looking creatures in LOTR (which has aged well) than the CGI orcs seen in the Hobbit.