The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

 The Hobbit is the first step on Tolkien’s long journey into Middle-earth. The story is set in Middle-earth sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, and portions of the film are adapted from the appendices to Tolkien's The Return of the King novel. An Unexpected Journey tells of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is convinced by the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) to accompany thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) on a quest across Middle-earth to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. I saw the movie twice, within a short space of time (all right, four days!), and just loved it all over again. Amazingly, the book has never been out of print, and encouraged by the book's critical and financial success, the publisher requested a sequel. The Lord of the Rings was the result. So much has been written on that subject I won’t even try to offer an opinion, suffice it to say that I am a huge fan of the book, and regularly reread the tome.

I read a few reviews of The Hobbit movie before I saw it and although there were some complaints, I was undeterred. I went determined to enjoy myself. I did not notice the 48 versus 24 whatever per second that people said made it blurry or ‘unreal.’ I did not notice the length—I could have sat through another three hours quite happily. And as for one critic saying all the dwarves were the same, well, they were not at all. With the second viewing, I noticed small but pertinent details that gave every character his unique aspect. I absolutely loved the grand, nay, spectacular setting, and being a huge fan of the LOTR trilogy, it was wonderful to see the fantastic scenery again unfold on the big screen. Some critics complained that the quest was drawn out and could hardly fill the time allotted to it. However, The Hobbit’s quest is smaller, more intimate, and the fate of Middle-earth is not the issue. The fate of the dwarves’ home is the central theme, as well as Bilbo’s personal growth into a brave hobbit. Here, as well, is where the One Ring makes its first appearance. Everyone’s individual quest is naturally scaled down, but no less important than the grand quest of LOTR.

However, the best part of my trip to the movies was this: a visit to a bookstore in the cinema complex displaying a host of books dealing with The Hobbit and LOTR. Books. Real books. Books in print. Books with richly embossed covers and fabulous illustrations. Not e-books. That, for me, was the best part. How can anyone expect to appreciate the grandeur of Tolkien’s vision on a Kindle or e-reader? So, when all is said and done, just remember that real books are an unexpected adventure in themselves.