It takes little effort to believe that when John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
scribbled the first lines of a world inhabited by dwarves, elves, dragons, and
other fantastic beings, he never imagined that the fruit of his imagination
would become a worldwide phenomenon, explored with the best of cinema
technology, in the form of the film "The Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey" by New Zealander director Peter Jackson.
Philologist and professor of English and English literature, Tolkien
is considered a leading expert in Anglo-Saxon at his time, teaching at the
prestigious Oxford University. But fame came through the books he wrote, and
his most famous work was "The Lord of the Rings", which hit theaters
in a trilogy, also directed by Peter Jackson.
Despite all this fame, the first work of Tolkien's magical world of
Middle Earth was "The Hobbit", which despite having been designed in
the late 20s, was only first published in 1937. "The Lord of the
Rings", a continuation commissioned by the publisher, came much later, in
1954.
Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) is a respectable, conservative hobbit.
Like most hobbits, Bilbo loves the tranquility of his home, loves good food,
attends celebrations of neighbors and friends, and is totally averse to travel
and adventure.
One day he is visited by Gandalf (Ian McKellen), one of the five major
human sorcerers. Better known as Gandalf the Grey, the wizard presents Bilbo to
a company of thirteen dwarves (Bofur, Ori, Kili, Fili, Dwalin, Oin, Bombur,
Dori, Gloin, Balin, Nori, Bifur, and Thorin Oakenshield), which aims to recover
their underground kingdom, invaded by the mighty dragon Smaug.
The group is led by the brave and proud Thorin (Richard Armitage),
heir to the kingdom destroyed at the Lonely Mountain. Smaug is a dragon who
long ago pillaged the dwarven kingdom of Thorin's grandfather and since then
sleeps in the vast treasure.
The plot involves other characters like elves warriors, man-eating
trolls, stone-throwers giants, bloodthirsty orcs living in caves, immense and
heroic eagles, and evil wolves, "wargs", who are allies of the orcs.
On his journey towards the Lonely Mountain the group faces numerous
dangerous situations, and they must seek the help of the powerful Elrond (Hugo
Weaving), the Wise, and Gollum, a strange creature inhabiting an underground
lake, from whom Bilbo steals a ring which will prove being extremely powerful.
The original story was divided into three parts, so that the current
movie explores in great detail the beginning of the journey. While in "The
Lord of the Rings" there was necessity of condensing a lot, generating up
to an extended version, the problem here was the inverse.
Some fans feared that because of this the pace got too drawn out, so
it would be necessary "padding out", as the people says. Actually,
that might be felt by those who read the book. For anyone who stumbles upon the
story for the first time, it is remarkable how the film with almost three hours
pass quickly. This allowed even the brief appearance of the characters
Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Saruman (Christopher Lee).
If in the previous trilogy special effects were impressive, in the
current movie they are ubiquitous, with more details, including the treatment
of the actors, especially the dwarfs, who have to stay on a reduced scale when
they are next to Gandalf or the elves.
The work of Andy Serkis, recreating Gollum again, was flawless, though
few people have no idea how he looks in reality, since the image of the
deformed hobbit is all built on the computer, from the movements of the actor.
The filming was done in 3D cameras, which translates into more natural
three-dimensional effects, when viewed in one of these rooms. "The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey" brought something new to the cinema, which was
filming in HFR, or High Frequency Rate.
Since the introduction of talkies, it was standardized that filming
and projections would be at 24 frames per second, which gives the illusion of
movement, and allow the execution of the soundtrack that is recorded on the
tape.
HFR means shooting at 48 frames per second, twice what we are used,
and which serve to convey a better sense of continuity, avoiding those
"stops" we realize, especially in panoramic drives.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is an interesting and
entertaining film that will please the whole family, although some scenes may
frighten younger children. It's an opportunity to relive the magic of Tolkien's
universe, with all the magic that the world of cinema can provide.
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