By JACKSON CRUMBLY

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of this three part trilogy. The  setting takes place before the well known Lord of the Rings begins. Several new characters are introduced in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, who are not in Lord of the Rings. One is Biblo Baggins (Martin Freeman, Sherlock), plus 13 dwarfs.

Baggins and 13 dwarfs team up with Gandalf, to journey halfway across Middle-earth to face Smaug the Dragon and take back the dwarf’s homeland. While on the journey, Baggins finds a ring that will later be in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Along the way they encounter goblins, giants and must come face to face with their old enemies; the Elves.

The Hobbit shot in New Zealand, which makes for beautiful scenery; its forest mountains and grassy hills look like one Middle-earth.

With all the new faces, it is comforting to see familiar ones too, like Gandalf, (Ian McKellen, X-Men as Sir Leigh Teabing).

Even with all the stunning ad anema together familiar elements the 13 dwarfs were not involved nearly enough and lacked personality. Theses new characters could have played a more defined role and even added witty humor to the film. There was action throughout the whole movie, which made it even more enjoyable. One does not need to have read the books to understand what is going on through the movie.

The Unexpected Journey and is entertaining keeps one on edge of his seat throughout the nearly three hour movie. Some may find it disappointing simply because the expectations for the movie were set by the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies, who are linked to the Hobbit. Peter Jackson made a masterpiece out of the Lord of the Rings series and were indulged in it and expected an even better movie out of the Hobbit.

The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings are separate trilogies, yet they do link together. However, it’s not vital to have information on either one before starting the other trilogy, but it does make things more clear.

While action packed, The Hobbit was entertaining but dragged out at times. None the less a great movie, for adventure and fantasy lovers. After watching the movie, anticipation and desire to the next two movies increases.

The 411

Title: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Release date: 12/04/2012

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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