Theatre - Gopalan Grand Mall
Show - 17-Dec-2012, 4PM
Status - 60-65%
Warning: A lot longer than I thought! Had started writing this review two weeks back. Constant laptop crashes confined this to notepad. Noticed it just a while back and decided to complete the review.
My love affair with the middle earth lore started with the Lord of the Rings. A dusty, old book I found in a regular forage in the Trivandrum British Library. It was a time before the films and I had never heard about Tolkein before. The book was extremely slow to begin with after giving it a fair chance, it simply blew my mind.
Middle earth became an obsession and read everything I could get my hands on. Even The History of Middle Earth, a twelve-part series that analyzes the development of LOTR. (Trivia - Aragorn aka Strider was originally a Hobbit, the long lost cousin of Frodo!) In comparison to the epic LOTR, I found Hobbit a bit too plain. It was written as a children's book and before he developed the middle earth lore. The one ring is simply a ring of invisibility.
Fast forward to the films. I found the LOTR films to be fantastic and probably the best film series ever made. I was amazed at the characterization because everybody was just like I imagined when I read the books. Best part were the hobbits. I found the previous depictions to be appalling, specifically in the old LOTR games for DOS.
That said, I was sort of appalled when they announced the making of Hobbit. I was even more puzzled when they talked about making it a 2 part flick. Another cash grab was my thought. Peter Jackson cut out Tom Bombadil from LOTR for a good reason and entire Hobbit was sort of Bombadilish to be frank. It didn't sit very well with rest of the middle earth lore as well. Seeing Guilermo Del Toro attached to the project was a relief, but his departure and entry of Peter Jackson left me a little cold towards the entire project.
On to the film review.
I decided to watch the flick after looking at a few positive reviews and the trailer. One of the better decisions I made as far as watching movies go! Outstanding is the only word for how Peter Jackson has weaved the story. The screenplay has taken the best parts from Hobbit, removed everything that stood in the way of a good movie, and added significant content from the LOTR appendices. Splendid effort that would make Tolkein proud. The plot became a lot more exciting with stone giants, wargs, and Azog the white orc.
Performances are top notch. Martin Freeman eases into the role of Bilbo. Dwarves were aptly cast and kudos to Peter Jackson to make them look distinct from human dwarves. Ian Mckellen is in his elements as Gandalf.
Technically, the film is superb. Lavish middle-earth locales where the line between reality and CGI is blurred beyong recognition. The pacing of the film is Peter Jacksonesque. He takes him time to set things up and if you are expecting a quick fix of 2 hours, the film may feel dragged at places.
Ultimately, the Hobbit makes you never want to leave middle-earth. Hope that the Tolkein estate gives permission for rest of the work as well.
TL;DR: The Hobbit is a gorgeous comeback to the land of middle-earth. A must watch for folks who have even a passing interest in fantasy.
Rating: Excellent.
Show - 17-Dec-2012, 4PM
Status - 60-65%
Warning: A lot longer than I thought! Had started writing this review two weeks back. Constant laptop crashes confined this to notepad. Noticed it just a while back and decided to complete the review.
My love affair with the middle earth lore started with the Lord of the Rings. A dusty, old book I found in a regular forage in the Trivandrum British Library. It was a time before the films and I had never heard about Tolkein before. The book was extremely slow to begin with after giving it a fair chance, it simply blew my mind.
Middle earth became an obsession and read everything I could get my hands on. Even The History of Middle Earth, a twelve-part series that analyzes the development of LOTR. (Trivia - Aragorn aka Strider was originally a Hobbit, the long lost cousin of Frodo!) In comparison to the epic LOTR, I found Hobbit a bit too plain. It was written as a children's book and before he developed the middle earth lore. The one ring is simply a ring of invisibility.
Fast forward to the films. I found the LOTR films to be fantastic and probably the best film series ever made. I was amazed at the characterization because everybody was just like I imagined when I read the books. Best part were the hobbits. I found the previous depictions to be appalling, specifically in the old LOTR games for DOS.
That said, I was sort of appalled when they announced the making of Hobbit. I was even more puzzled when they talked about making it a 2 part flick. Another cash grab was my thought. Peter Jackson cut out Tom Bombadil from LOTR for a good reason and entire Hobbit was sort of Bombadilish to be frank. It didn't sit very well with rest of the middle earth lore as well. Seeing Guilermo Del Toro attached to the project was a relief, but his departure and entry of Peter Jackson left me a little cold towards the entire project.
On to the film review.
I decided to watch the flick after looking at a few positive reviews and the trailer. One of the better decisions I made as far as watching movies go! Outstanding is the only word for how Peter Jackson has weaved the story. The screenplay has taken the best parts from Hobbit, removed everything that stood in the way of a good movie, and added significant content from the LOTR appendices. Splendid effort that would make Tolkein proud. The plot became a lot more exciting with stone giants, wargs, and Azog the white orc.
Performances are top notch. Martin Freeman eases into the role of Bilbo. Dwarves were aptly cast and kudos to Peter Jackson to make them look distinct from human dwarves. Ian Mckellen is in his elements as Gandalf.
Technically, the film is superb. Lavish middle-earth locales where the line between reality and CGI is blurred beyong recognition. The pacing of the film is Peter Jacksonesque. He takes him time to set things up and if you are expecting a quick fix of 2 hours, the film may feel dragged at places.
Ultimately, the Hobbit makes you never want to leave middle-earth. Hope that the Tolkein estate gives permission for rest of the work as well.
TL;DR: The Hobbit is a gorgeous comeback to the land of middle-earth. A must watch for folks who have even a passing interest in fantasy.
Rating: Excellent.
