PART ONE: THE DESCRIPTION
Erebor. It wasn't always the Lonely Mountain. Once it stood as the diadem of Dwarven might, the crowning jewel of all Middle Earth, filled with the wealth of countless generations, not least of these being the divine Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, the gift of the heavens. There dwelt Thror, King under the Mountain, who all people of Middle Earth paid homage to: Elves of Mirkwood, and Men of Dale, the City of Bells. The name of Erebor meant safety, honor, and the promise of a wealthy future.
But a promise can be broken, broken by a single choice. And such was the choice of Thror, who left his realm to watch its own back while he worshipped his own god: Gold.
The watchful nights came soon, and darker days closed in on the Lonely Mountain as Thror's love of gold replaced his love of Erebor.
And then he came.
He was a fire Drake of the North, a king among Dragons, and his love of gold was no weaker than Thror's. The wind of his wingbeats shook the mountainside. Bells tolled in Dale. The young prince Thorin prepared the dwarves for a desperate defense while his grandsire fled to the treasury. Dale fell first, bathed in rivers of flame, ashes rising from the ruins of its bell towers, and Human screams filling the air. But Dale was not the Dragon's prize, for where the gold lies, there, too, will a Dragon.
The gates of Erebor exploded, wreathed in fire, and the mighty Dwarf warriors, famed for their military prowess, were flicked aside and trampled underfoot like so much chaff. Smaug had come to Erebor.
Thorin, cast aside by the Dragon, raced to the treasury, but Smaug was already there, and despite Thor's screams of grief, the Arkenstone was lost. And so, too, was Erebor. The cries of fleeing refugees, wounded, young and old, man and woman, echoed off the barren mountain. Thorin attempted to rally his people, but their fear overcame them, and many were lost.
The Elves of Mirkwood saw the smoke rising from their greenwood, but when they had finally arrived in force, their King, Thranduil, turned away from the people of Thror, abandoning them to their own fate despite Thorin's plea for help.
The refugees of Erebor and Dale wandered, homeless and alone in the wilderness, searching for a place of safety, led by Thorin, who alone of all his kin had kept his wits in the chaos.
Years passed, and the people of Erebor assimilated into the colonies of Men, fallen from their noble heritage and left to their own devices.
When Thror tried to lead his people to the ancient Dwarf realm of Moria, they were met with the army of Azog, the giant Pale Orc and ruler of the abandoned halls. Thror and his army met in battle with the Orcs, but Thror was beheaded by Azog, and Thrain fled in crazed terror, leaving the young prince Thorin to lead a losing fight.
Thorin, enraged by his grandsire's death, charged the Pale Orc in a suicidal attempt to turn the tide of the battle. Azog disarmed the prince and cast him down in moments, but Thorin would not be defeated so easily.
Wielding nothing but an oak branch as a shield, he kept the Pale Orc at bay. Azog struck and battered the stiff oak branch time and again, and brought the prince low, but when his final blow was thrown, Thorin rose up and struck his own blow, stopping the Pale Orc for good.
Outnumbered and dispirited, the Dwarf army took heart again at the sight of the young prince's bravery, and drove their enemy back.
But there was no celebration. No cry of victory. For the loss was beyond measure, and the few who survived could not retake Moria alone. Thus were the Dwarves of Erebor ousted, and thus did Thorin Oakenshield become their king.
But far to the west, in a land of simple comforts and even simpler folk, there lived in a hole in the ground, a Hobbit. Smaller than Dwarves, unknown and ignored by the rest of Middle Earth, the Hobbits are an honest, cheerful people, unadventurous and content to be left to their own warm hearths and delicious (Very large amounts of) food.
Such a Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins. Despite being one of the 'strange, adventurous' Tooks on one side of his family, Bilbo has no interest in adventure, change, or discomfort. And who would? He is a Baggins, after all--not some blockheaded Bracegirdle from Hardbottle!
But a sudden and unexpected visit from the wizard Gandalf changes all that. Gandalf is planning a quest, you see, and is looking for someone to share in an adventure. Despite Bilbo making it very clear he is not interested in such an enterprise, Gandalf arranges a party at his home without his knowledge, and appears with a company of thirteen Dwarves on his doorstep, all of them ravenously hungry and rather mannerly-illiterate.
There are Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Dori, Nori, Oin and Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, and, to Bilbo's chagrin, the ousted King Thorin Oakenshield, who is no more interested in Bilbo's participation than the Hobbit himself is.
But Gandalf insists that he has chosen Bilbo Baggins as the fourteenth member of the company and the lead 'burglar' for the job. The quest: Return to the Lonely Mountain Erebor and reclaim it before anyone else makes such a gamble. It is believed the Dragon Smaug has died or left the Mountain, and that the incredible wealth of Erebor lies unguarded. And Gandalf so happens to have a map and key to a secret backdoor.
Despite Gandalf inciting the resurgence of Tookish spirit in him, Bilbo refuses to go on such a wasteful quest, being uninterested in lacerations, evisceration and incineration by Dragon. But in a moment of sudden and insatiable Tookish thirst for adventure, Bilbo decides to undertake the journey with the traveling company, and soon finds himself swept away in a dangerous trek across Middle Earth, past squabbling Trolls and Goblin Towns, over and under deadly mountains, and away from ruthless pursuing Orcs. And in the midst of it all, Bilbo uncovers a certain Ring of Power that is tied to Middle Earth's destiny in more ways than he can imagine.
But what fate awaits the Company at the end of their Unexpected Journey?
PART TWO: THE REVIEW
It's fun. It's exciting. The characters are pretty well developed, and the ones that aren't quite as well developed have unique peculiarities that set them aside from each other (Oin uses a horn as a hearing aid, Bombur is highly overweight, Bofur has a wicked Scotch/Irish accent, etc.).
I've read the book as well, so I know where the movie errs from the traditional story. I think the changes Peter Jackson made to the book were needed for movie adaption, considering there was a lot going on in the background of the book that it didn't describe that we get to see now.
The story keeps the whimsical, fun feeling of the book, which I like, but also has some touching character scenes and epic battles. So duh, I'm happy. I've heard a lot of people have complaints about the 48 Frames Per Second it was filmed at, but here's a little secret: most theaters across the globe didn't really show it at 48 fps! Besides, most of the complaints I've heard about it have been about how 'it looks hyper real' or 'really fake' or 'too colorful'. But none of those have anything to do with frame rate.
The color can be a bit vibrant, and some things (to me) can look a little fake, like some shots of Azog (I think mainly because he's so white). But again, those things aren't frame rate. Those are effects.
The script was great in some places, but there were a few cheesy cliche lines in it, such as when Azog says 'drink their blood!' Never heard that line before! Actually, that one line is pretty much the only big thing I don't like about the movie. Cliches clutter up scripts and writing, so why use them?
The plot was engaging and you could really sympathize with the characters (Gandalf's awkwardness and slight lack of self confidence, Bilbo's reluctancy, fear, humor and homesickness, and Thorin's anger at the Elves and desire to reclaim his homeland). My personal favorite scenes are the unexpected party at Bilbo's house, and the battle of Azanulzibar in Moria.
There's humor, there's action, there's plenty of story plot, and the acting and filming was incredible!
All in all, I really enjoyed this movie, and despite there being a few things I didn't care for, I look forward to seeing the next two installments, and getting to finally judge the movies according to the whole of the story, and not its three separate parts!
PART THREE: CONTENT REPORT
The movie has epic battle scenes full of violence and swashbuckling moves. Thror is beheaded, things are burned and destroyed, Smaug pretty much is the equivalent of a nuclear bomb in measure of destruction and death, and the Company kill their share of Goblins, Orcs and Warg Wolves. Also, it is insinuated that a certain character living underground named Gollum eats goblins and pretty much anything and anyone he can get, shown by the fact that he attempts to kill Bilbo with the intent of eating him. Gollum and all the other villains could be scary for younger kids.
I don't personally think this counts as content, but Ori uses the slang word 'jacksie' once.
PART FOUR: RATING AND CONCLUSION
I give it four and a half stars, simply because of a few small, cliche lines. Other than that, I love it and am SO super excited for the next two movies (Insert drooling rainbows pic)! If you're a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and/or Peter Jackson, or if you just like fantasy, you'll definitely want to watch this movie!
So that's two reviews now! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hopefully it was helpful! Now go watch the movie ASAP!
Peace.
Matt~
