The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Super Director Peter Jackson stunned and excited many when he announced that he would make The Hobbit and the Middle Earth film ended up in three parts. The first was An Unexpected Journey which was released last week. The story follows a young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) who lives life the usual Hobbit way, but is asked by Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellan) to go on a journey to reclaim dwarf land which was devastated years ago by dragons. In the first part after Baggins agrees to join them on their quest, they are faced with many problems. The ongoing grudge between The Orcs and The Dwarves escalates in the beginning, with The Elves finally helping out The Dwarves, despite their alliance ended years ago. The Orcs go after the leader of the Dwarves, Thorin (Richard Armitage) - who despises the Orcs after they killed his grandfather in the great war - which leads to all of the group being endangered by them as well as Goblins. There is also a great appearance from Lord of the Rings' fan favourite Gollum (Andy Serkis) who engages in riddles with Bilbo as he retrieves the ring. There are obstacles on the way and many exciting moments, which leads on to the second of the trilogy which will premiere next year.

Overall, it wasn't the greatest film I've seen this year, but it set up well for the next two films. The first of a trilogy is usually not as good as it only sets the scene and it can't have too much action so that it doesn't overshadow the next films. My one criticism was the pace in the first half hour of the film. It could have cut some unnecessary footage which made the progression of the film slow and left many viewers bored at first. As the film went on, the excitement rose and it made the film delightful as well as enjoyable to watch. I cannot wait for the second of the trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug.

Rating: 8/10

Best Part:The riddles of Gollum and Bilbo Baggins.

Worst Part: The long wait for the film to kick in.

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