The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey review

The Hobbit : an unexpected Journey is first of the three installments of epic fantasy adventure film based on the 1937 novel "The Hobbit" and it will be followed by The Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

The movie starts in flashback of 60 yrs where a young and reluctant hobbit "Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman)"  is hired by Gandalf (IIan Mckellen) as a burglar to accompany thirteen dwarfs in their quest of reclaiming Lonely Mountain, currently which is under control of Smaug the dragon.

The movie is very slow to start with but picks up the pace when the expedition led by Thorin,embark on their quest. You get sense of Deja-Vu when you see the old characters, same old place of action i.e. Middle East, the ever so beautiful Rivendell, The old room in Shire and off course the gorgeous royal elf Galadriel.

Movie is 169 minutes too long, the movie is all about dynamism built around characters, probably few too many. Freeman as the reluctant hobbit has been endearing and his Riddle session with Gollum is one of the highlights of the movie. Thorin as leader of the dwarfs is impressive and so is the ensemble cast of dwarfs. But at the heart of story is the old wizard Gandalf the Grey.

The movie is great if you are L.O.T.R aficionado, as you can connect it with the sequels. Compared to L.O.T.R. the movie is bright. I enjoyed this movie despite being an avid fan of The Lord of the rings as i did not expected it to match the former. 

It's over all a good watch. A perfect ***1/2