It's been a while. . . . .. but sometimes you see a film that spurs you into writing again.
The Hobbit did just that for our man in the balcony Mark Tygart. What follows is his review of the The Hobbit.
Enjoy -
I wobbled
into the theater secretly expecting the worst, nursing a head cold with the
voice of Jar Jar Binks echoing in my head “Meeso happy to have a hobbit film
that will make my trilogy look good’”. I had heard all about the labor
disputes, animal deaths, slow first act and the sudden expansion to a trilogy
designed simply to boost Warner Brothers stock. I had heard all about Jackson’s
ugly new 3d process. I sat down sick with despair, hoping against hope, but
expecting a turgid mess. I heard the cheers of that those who would force my
beloved genre films off the screen and return us stories about lovelorn
accountants dating badly in Buffalo.
To my
surprise this didn’t happen.
I found
myself back in Middle earth again. I found a my first real novel bought to
stunning life as dwarves, dragons, wizards and warriors confronted each other
across the stunning New Zealand landscape and gave me a dollop of Jackson’s
Tolkien magic.
Yes the
small faults that some critics harp so endlessly about are there if you look
hard enough. The biggest fault for many is that isn’t a film trilogy based on
the Lord of the Rings but a film trilogy based on The Hobbit. The Hobbit has
great stuff in it, it is an adventure family classic, but it is not the epic
fantasy Lord of the Rings. One reviewer complained about a bunch of stone
giants that show up at one point, without explanation, to bash each other to
death. He assumed this was a pointless
Jackson addition.
The reviewer
had obviously never the book. The stone giants are in there, I promise. In the
Lord of the Rings they would have had an appendix chapter and footnotes.
This story
has Tolkien is trying out themes and ideas that would flower in the Rings
trilogy. Still who wouldn’t want to see Gollum’s riddle game with Bilbo or
Bilbo’s riddle game with Smug? This story has its own charms and deserves to
seen on its own Harry Potter terms. So go see it.
Any trip
back to Middle Earth is a trip worth making. It may not be the Rings trilogy
but it isn’t the letdown that was Star Wars prequels either. It is, like its
hero Bilbo Baggins, an unexpected holiday treat. I look forward to further
adventures.
Go see it !
Mark Tygart
