The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A critically acclaimed, box office record-breaking fantasy trilogy revisited by an original director years later, to give audiences a trio of prequels that nobody really wanted - sound familiar? Anyone concerned that An Unexpected Journey was going to be Peter Jackson's version of The Phantom Menace can put those fears to rest; this return to Middle Earth is still hugely entertaining, if not exactly up there with the quality of The Lord of the Rings.

Starting right before the party that kicks off The Fellowship Of The Ring, a returning Bilbo (Ian Holm) and Frodo (Elijah Wood) set up the story, flashing back 60 years to when Galdalf (McKellan) recruits a much younger Bilbo (Freeman) to help a troupe of dwarves reclaim their home that has been taken over by Smaug, a particularly nasty dragon. The opening hour of the movie deals with Bilbo's hesitations to join the group, as well as introducing us to the thirteen dwarves - the fat one, the smart one, the one that's good with arrows, etc. - with particular attention paid to their leader Thorin (Armitage), who comes across with a mix of Aragorn's heroics and Boromir's cynicism. The rest of the movie sees the motley crew making their perilous journey towards the dragon, crossing paths with everything from trolls, orcs, giant wolves, the elves at Rivendale and a strange creature looking for his preciousssss...

Unfortunately for An Unexpected Journey, as is the issue with all prequels, already knowing the fate of some of these characters deflates some of the tension. On top of that, it has the fantastic Lord Of The Rings Trilogy to measure up against. The best parts of the movie are the holdovers from the original; Jackson's fantastic camerawork, Howard Shore's epic score, New Zealand's stunning scenery, McKellan's stealing of every scene he's in, returning characters played by Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett and Christopher Lee adding some heft to the proceedings. And then there's Gollum (played to perfection by Andy Serkis), back to further push the envelope in special effects. Martin Freeman's Bilbo is a far more appealing lead than Elijah Wood's Frodo, and once you get through the mostly monotonous opening hour, the movie shifts into top gear and doesn't let up until the closing credits.

From a technical aspect, the IMAX and 3D are both fantastically utilized, but the controversial 48 frames per second issue does take some getting used to; the interiors look like an American soap opera on a hi-def TV, while the special effects can sometimes look like a video game cut-scene. But none of these particularly affect the overall quality of the movie, and despite a forgettable set of supporting actors and a sense of foreplay leading up to the main event - 2013's The Desolation Of Smaug - this is still one of the better blockbusters of the year.