A reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.
The Thriller
THE HOBBIT
The movie "The Hobbit" is divided into three segments: The Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies. Directed by Peter Jackson and based on J.R.R. Tolkien's children's book, but the movie is nowhere near children's material.
The first part of the trilogy, The Unexpected Journey, showed a home-loving Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, whose home was packed with a lot of food with no intentions of any adventure—a nature he wasn't accustomed to. Then fate twisted when he met a wizard called Gandalf who sought that he join the company of dwarves as a burglar to help restore their kingdom of Erebor—where a dragon now sits buried with treasures.
This journey didn't come with promises of safety, but one thing was assured to him by Gandalf: peradventure he makes it alive, a promise of a changed life. In the first segment, Baggins and the dwarves encountered enemies along the journey, barely surviving each encounter until they made it to the mountains.
The second part of the trilogy is The Desolation of Smaug. Just like the prophecy, they entered the city of Erebor where the dragon Smaug dwells in the mountains. Eventually, Smaug was defeated, but that only aroused the five armies that had been waiting for the dragon to be destroyed so they could capture the mountains and the treasures in it. And that led to the third part—The Battle of the Five Armies. When Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the dwarves, reclaimed his mountain, the treasure suddenly possessed him with an evil that made him less concerned about people, and pride took over him as he watched the armies—who had come to assist him in killing Smaug—being slaughtered.
The hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, became one of the major characters that aided the victory of the dwarves. He wasn't a warrior; rather, he was one who sought comfort in a courageous hero with the help of a ring he found when he met Gollum, a creature with whom they played a riddle game. The journey indeed changed Baggins, an adventure he was never prepared for.
The Review
Martin Freeman's portrayal of Baggins is the absolute high point of the trilogy. He balanced reluctancy in the first segment, warmth, comic timing, and quiet heroism effortlessly. Richard also brings genuine gravitas and tragic depth to Thorin Oakenshield, making his descent into dragon-sickness believable and compelling. It also shines in the area where the trilogy strikes back into character development. The first segment, The Unexpected Journey, is a masterclass in tension and character work. Similarly, the confrontation between Baggins and the dragon.
The movie added depth with the wizard Gandalf's side quest investigating the Necromancer. The musical score in the movie fits well and remained sweeping and emotional.
However, the weaknesses of the movie had to do with unnecessary subplots and the inclusion of the love triangle between Tauriel (the elf girl), Kili, and Legolas. Also, the over-reliance on the digital green-screen environment and computer-generated Orcs.
Overall, I enjoyed the storyline, the performances, and the message the movie gives out to people who pay close attention to it. I could sum the lesson up in one simple sentence: sometimes an unexpected journey may be the revealer of what we are capable of becoming.
Rating: 79/100
