Peter
Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy was a huge success. Not only did it garner
widespread critical acclaim, it also managed to appease the obsessive Tolkien aficionados
who treat the source material with the kind of reverence normally reserved for
religious writing. Despite this, however, rumours abound that Jackson has
played faster and looser with his adaptation of The Hobbit...
Toying with
the cinematic form (3D, IMAX, 48 frames a second) is always risky, but the
director’s biggest risks here have been in his storytelling: expanding Tolkien’s
slender tome into three movies is something of a stretch, even with additional material
culled from Tolkien’s own appendix to the Return of the King. Can Jackson’s
artistry justify his decision making, or will he be accused of selling out his
legacy?
Capitalising
on the goodwill earned in his original trilogy, Jackson immediately returns his
audience to The Shire and its inhabitants: both Ian Holm and Elijah Wood
reprise their roles in the prologue. It’s a wise move, instantly transporting
fans back into a reassuringly familiar world. It’s a move which works doubly
well as young Bilbo Baggins’ (Martin Freeman) home comforts are destroyed by a
band of gluttonous dwarves raiding his dining room and devouring the contents
of his pantry.
Along with
the returning Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen), they are Bilbo’s companions on his
Unexpected Journey to the Lonely Mountain. There, the group will attempt to
reclaim the dwarves’ home and steal back their treasures – stolen from them
years previously by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo’s role is to be that of burglar: he’s
even smaller than the dwarves and Smaug will have never smelt a hobbit’s scent
before.
In
comparison to Frodo’s attempts to eradicate evil and save Middle Earth, this is
an altogether slighter tale – reflecting its origins as a book for children. As
such, the dwarves are largely comic caricatures, there are songs, fart jokes
and a generally lighter tone.
That’s not
to say this is a knockabout farce, however. There are numerous flashbacks of
battle-sequences and beheadings which are far closer in tone and content to the
original films. These are gruesome, dark and scary – and by far the best scenes
on display. It’s a strange dichotomy, though – the comic fun and slapstick of
the crudely drawn dwarves’ adventures jars terribly with these scenes.
These
contrasts exist throughout: introducing a whole new cast of characters was
always going to be difficult, so Jackson seems to have decided not to bother.
Instead he focuses on just a few of the dwarves, adding back-story and
personality to a select few. This might have been a wise decision, but it’s
undermined by his determination to re-visit characters like Saruman, Elrond and
Galadriel who have no place in the original novel. Rather than this mixture of
old and new, the film would’ve benefitted greatly from a sharper focus.
In the
editing room, too, Jackson might have worked more effectively by adhering to
the mantra of ‘less is more’. As wonderful as it is to see Sylvester McCoy back
on screen as the eccentric brown wizard Radagast, his scenes could easily have
been culled from the film without affecting the storyline in any way.
Similarly, absurdly long chase sequences (almost cartoonish capers) would have
benefitted from judicious editing.
Thankfully,
the performances are good. Martin Freeman justifies Jackson’s faith in him
(production was closed down for several months to accommodate the filming of
Sherlock), Richard Armitage’s brooding Thorin Oakenshield has charisma and
gravitas, and Ken Stott’s twinkly-eyed Balin is a lovely creation. As is often
the case, however, it’s Andy Serkis who steals the show.
The famous
encounter between Gollum and Bilbo is by far this film’s greatest moment.
Despite being disguised beneath layers of CGI, Serkis’ motion-captured
physicality and expressive vocal performance lend Gollum a genuine humanity.
The to and fro between the two characters as they riddle back and forth is
utterly beguiling – and, despite the outcome being pre-determined, there is a
genuine sense of peril given how high the stakes are.
It’s a shame the rest of the film didn’t match the high standards
of this showdown. An Unexpected Journey is, as we all expected, far too long
and a little self-indulgent. It’s also wildly inconsistent, with elements of
fantastic drama sitting uneasily alongside elements of farce. Peter Jackson’s previous
output has been at its strongest when playing to a more adult audience, with
wrong turns taken when dumbing down for the young ‘uns. Here, he doesn’t know
what to do, and his film suffers for it.
Let’s hope lessons are learned before the next instalment.
And the one after that...
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