the film opens with something of a mini prequel, we are taken back to the town of Bree and the Prancing Pony pub. Seeing these familiar settings as experienced in Lord Of The Rings trilogy was somewhat warming and reminiscent: doing well to remind the audience that this in fact all in the same universe as LOTR. However, the first living thing we see on screen is Peter Jackson in his cameo, walking across the street and eating a carrot, and so the audience has reality slapped straight in the face reminding them of who made the film and yes...he likes cameo's. Oddly enough this mixture of light hearted comedy mixed in with serious story elements sets the mood for the entire film. In absolutely every single key scene there is a sprinkling of humour, and there simply no need for it. The film is inconsistent in it's mood and the best example of this is during the main 'chase' sequence.
Bilbo and the Dwarfs find themselfs in wooden barrels in some rapids as they fend off Orcs. At the same time, Elfs in the form of Logalace and a sexy 'she-elf' are also fighting Orcs. Within this pinnacle chase, there are some very graphic and bloody maneuvers, but not 5 seconds later there are elements of humour through some fat ass Dwarf rolling into a group of Orcs like a bowling ball. The humour degrades the seriousness of the story line and the darkness and highly graphic fighting scenes make the humour seem badly placed and often unnecessary. This constant mixture of complicated and violent combat sequences and humour, means it's hard to adjust to a particular frame of mind for the film to make any meaningful or in-depth impact on the audience.
In terms of characters I want to love them individually, but I've been given no opportunity to do so. Non of the characters show any emotion, be it outwardly in general or towards each other. In comparison to Lord Of The Rings, the audience is able to pinpoint each of the characters emotional states within the fellowship and what role they play within it. I think I can distinguish more between Snow White and her seven Dwarfs than I can this group of Dwarfs, even after having already seen them on screen for more than 5 hours. Other factors also hinder the opportunity to connect emotionally with the film, for example Stephen Fry's character as the master of laketown. He seems like a town leader you may come across in a pantomime. His character should of been more of the steward of Gonder in The Return of The King. Instead he is a silly drunken 'village idiot', which again reminds you of the childlike writings of the original book.Which is all well and good, but clashes horribly with other more serious undertones throughout the film.
Besides from acting and group dynamics, another very important feature that a film should utilise in order to influence the way you feel and connect with the film is the soundtrack, or the lack thereof. There is absolutely no rememberable soundtrack to this film, in this regard it is the complete opposite to Lord of The Rings.
CGI - this film should be retitled 'Bilbo and his fellow CGI companions'. This film is very CGI heavy and feels over used, even in scenes where a simple stunt double could have been used to perform acrobatic manoeuvres...CGI has been used instead. This constant synthetic look just makes you feel ever more detached from the film and characters. And for those who have seen the film already, I hope you agree that the molten gold looked extremely poor.
There seems to be a lot wrong here, in truth the film was ok, good even. but for saying who made it and it's hype, it should have been better!
I give this film a 7/10
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