Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The first thing that should be said about The Hobbit is that it is NOT The Lord of the Rings. The former is a children's story, the latter is an epic. So, don't expect to get the same experience from each. That being said, even I couldn't help but hope that The Hobbit might replicate the magic emitted from Peter Jackson's previous series of work. Regrettably, it does not. I think a large reason why might have to do with the fact that The Hobbit was published as a single book while The Lord of the Rings was several. So my question is, "Why take three separate films to tell the story found in one book?" I could be wrong, but I would speculate that the motivation had more to do with maximizing revenue than artistic considerations. I think one can see this while watching the movie for multiple reasons, not the least of which is that it feels grindingly slow. They had to find some way to fill up all that extra time, didn't they? Also, it has been several years since I have read the book, but there are many things in the film that I don't remember at all. After a bit of research, I learned the reason why: the writers had to add so much crap that wasn't in the book in order to justify the outrageous length of this film. There is a whole fabricated subplot of the company of hobbit, wizard and dwarfs being pursued by a large number of orcs seeking revenge, which I suppose is to resemble the tension brought about by the Black Riders chasing Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring. It does indeed add tension, as without it the film would feel quite empty. But, again, this has to do with unnecessarily telling the story in three long films, not with any failure on Tolkien's part. But with that added tension comes the cost of being reminded that this film doesn't have faithful adaption of the novel as its highest goal, but rather to make boatloads of money. In addition, I did not find it enjoyable to watch. When I wasn't feeling bored because of the slow pace of the film, I was feeling overwhelmed by scenes that seemed to be contesting the Star Wars prequels in terms of who could fit the most crap in a single shot. It was like watching a video game. By the end I was too exhausted to appreciate the narrowness by which the protagonists escape destruction (since it becomes too many to be plausible) and any sentimental feelings between Bilbo and his dwarf companions. Ultimately, what I hope is that once the second two films are completed that it will be possible to edit them in such a way that we can have a one volume film that is faithful to the novel and pleasant to watch.

Movie Review: The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

First off, no one can deny how beautifully animated The Adventures of Tintin is. That is quite a feat in itself. Was it a good movie? Forgive me for saying so, but I feel that Steven Spielberg's style has become overly predictable and played out (he also cannot do comedy; the WWII spoof 1941 is a cliche-filled demonstration of that). It is not a bad movie; it is actually pretty entertaining with a myriad of impressive action scenes (the amount of time it must have taken to make them is mind-boggling). It does, however, get a bit long and makes me wonder to whom exactly it is marketed. Those familiar with the original inception of the character (the comics ran from 1929-1976) or perhaps a younger audience? I think that the length may push the limits of attention spans, especially for these demographics, and may be difficult for the latter group to follow (or maybe it was just me). It is not that it is particularly long at 107 minutes, but one learns from commentaries to Jackie Chan movies that the average American audience member only has the patience for about 3 minutes of constant action before he or she starts to lose full attention. The fact is that Tintin has so much action it becomes a bit exhausting. For some, absolutely, this is a good thing. However, there seems to be something about the movie that doesn't sit well with me. Perhaps it is that the narrative doesn't seem to be on par with the visuals, which appears to be the trend with many high budget movies. It keeps me from giving it a full recommendation, though I do endorse it for any who enjoy computer animation, or hearing the voice of Daniel Craig talk from a non-Daniel Craig body as well as the impressive range of voices that Andy Serkis is able to create.