Imagine being an outcast forever doomed to travel the world in solitude, for your only home has been destroyed and taken over by a malevolent being of immense power. With nearly all your friends and family slain during the battle to protect your land, the only thing that keeps you going is your extreme lust for vendetta against the one who took away the only life you’ve ever known.

We all know of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels. Unlike the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes place 60 years before and focuses on the life of Bilbo Baggins, Frodo’s uncle.

One calm, beautiful morning while Bilbo is blowing smoke rings outside his hobbit-hole, Gandalf the Grey pays him a visit, informing Bilbo that he would like him to join in on an adventure. Bilbo, of course, refused, for Hobbits live a very safe and content life in which adventures are unthinkable. Little does Bilbo know, he will soon be a part of a quest to help a group of brave dwarfs reclaim the kingdom and riches that were taken from them years ago by Smaug the dragon.

Bilbo, Gandalf and their dwarf friends must face carnivorous Trolls, evil Necromancers, white Orcs and snarling Wargs. Will they survive the terrible obstacles and complete their quest? Or will they fall subject to the evils of their journey?

The Hobbit is, without a doubt, the best movie of the year. When I heard Peter Jackson was making the film, I was honestly giddy. I grew up watching Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and I love Tolkien’s work therefore, my excitement had no bounds.

There were multiple things I liked about the movie. For one, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins was phenomenal. I was looking forward to seeing him play the part and I wasn’t disappointed. I was also impressed with Jackson’s interpretation of certain scenes and sets. It was as though he used the mental images from my mind while I read the book as references. Jackson did a fantastic job weaving lighthearted scenes throughout an overall suspenseful and action-packed film. He also added the perfect amount of comic relief. It was a flawless combination.

However, there were a few things about the film I didn’t enjoy. Let me begin by saying splitting The Hobbit into three movies was a terrible decision on Jackson’s part. For a considerably small novel, that’s a bit excessive. In order for the movie to keep a constant flow of action without drawing out the amount of dead scenes, Jackson had to create a lot of filler that wasn’t in the book, such as the White Orc and the necromancer. As entertaining as it was, it made the amount of antagonists in the film unnecessary. Because Jackson is a detail-addict, it seemed to me to be a desperate attempt at making the storyline more complicated and detailed than it needed to be.

I could nit-pick every single part of the film that bothered me or differed from the novel, but I will spare you by saying The Hobbit is one of my favorite books and I had extremely high expectations for the film. Therefore, I probably have more to complain about than most. Don’t let me keep you from seeing the film yourself.

If I could rate this movie, I would give it 8 out of 10. I’m a sucker for fantasy and adventure and The Hobbit is the epitome of both those things. Despite my negative feedback, the rest of the movie was up to par and very satisfying. It was worth the wait and I can’t wait to see the next installment.

14rmoravek@usd489.com