The Velvet Café

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was launched in Sweden on December 12.

I was delighted when I learned about the date. You see, it’s my birthday. So as a gift to myself I made sure to get hold on tickets for the whole family.

You see, I’m a Tolkien fan at heart. I’ve lost count on how many times I’ve read the LOTR trilogy, but a rough estimation is that I re-read once every three years. I’m almost as big fan of the movies and have watched them many, many times.

I tell you all this to let you know that I’m unashamedly biased regarding The Hobbit movie. I entered the screening with not only 3D glasses, but also rose-coloured glasses, with a mind set to enjoy my birthday present as much as I possibly could.

There are other film bloggers out there who will pick The Hobbit into pieces, who will mock it and hate it for ever so many reasons. Some of them will do it in a very entertaining way. Some will just be whiny and boring. I’ve already seen it happening and I’m sure more will follow in the next few weeks.

To some extent I can agree with the complaints. This is especially true when it comes to the look of the picture. The 3D/48FPS version does indeed sometimes look like a cheap TV production. It’s too bright, too clear and it doesn’t fit well for a fairy tale themed movie. I think a blurrier, veiled picture is helpful when you need to sustain your disbelief. I don’t necessarily think it’s wrong to try it out. Of course the film industry needs to reinvent itself constantly and look for new technologies that can improve the experience. Development comes with a cost: you need to try things out and sometimes it won’t work the way you hoped. This is one of those occasions.

But I’m not going to dwell any further in the nitpicking area. It’s already crowded there and I have other places I’d rather like to explore.

So here give you ten things I love about The Hobbit

 
1. Martin Freeman
I couldn’t possibly think of any better choice for the role as Bilbo Baggins.

2. The Score
When I watched the trailer, the dwarf song sent shivers through my spine. I love that melancholic melody and it turned out to be one of the reoccurring musical themes. I love this music and I could easily listen to it outside of watching the film.

3. Ian McKellen
The party is new and all those dwarves are admittedly hard to keep apart, but fortunately Gandalf is still around and Ian McKellen is as good as ever.

4. The Shire
We only get a short glimpse of it and I would have loved to spend more time there, but I have to say that I think they really made a great job of catching the spirit of the Shire in all of the Peter Jackson movies. And the appreciation that Bilbo has for his home makes me feel more homely as well – even if my home is sadly lacking in the terms of round doors.

5. The words of wisdom
I never grown tired of the words of wisdom that are delivered once in a while, most of the time by Gandalf, lines such as: “true courage is about not knowing when to take a life, but when to spare one.” To be fair this feel a bit like repetition from LOTR, but so what? I’m nodding in agreement anyway.

6. The length
I would have preferred if a little bit less of this time had been spent on fighting-and-chasing scenes, which get a bit repetitive after a while. But at the end of the day I’m a Tolkien fan at heart and want to spend as much time as possible with those people on adventure.

7. The sceneries
Unless you weren’t aware before of how beautiful New Zealand is, you’ll know it after watching this film. I went there in 1987, long before the LOTR tourism boomed. After watching this I’m more keen than ever to go back one day.

8. Bilbo and Gollum guessing riddles
This scene is the high point of the movie. I never grow tired of watching Gollum. To be honest the film version has taken over the book version in my mind. I don’t even remember how I pictured Gollum before the movies were made.

9. The message
The theme that runs through this film is the same one as in LOTR, namely that you don’t need to be a strong, rich and famous to make a difference. A small and insignificant person can end up being the one who saves the world before you least know it. Your life can turn out to have a meaning far beyond what you had imagined. All it takes is courage and faith.

10. The video diaries
As much as I loved the LOTR films, I always thought the best about them was the extra material. Equally I think the video diaries of The Hobbit are absolutely wonderful. It brings you into the illusion that you’re a member of the film crew and that Peter Jackson is a good friend. A wonderful place to be.

So that was ten things I loved about The Hobbit. I could easily list 20 things I didn’t like about it, but I won’t because there’s no lack of such lists and they won’t make me any happier.

All in all I was happy at my birthday present to myself and to me that’s all that matters.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, US/NZ 2012) My rating: 4/5