The Hobbit: What to Expect
In less than a month, starting the 14th of December, the theaters around the world will be hit by a wave of magical pictures, or simply put — another Peter Jackson movie. Tolkien fans and basically anyone that appreciates a good movie will be lining up to see the first movie in The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy that made a blast a decade ago. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the highest-grossing franchises and definitely the one with the biggest sweep of Academy Awards.
Tolkien's world is one of the richest in the world of fiction, and in The Hobbit trilogy we'll get to see a bit more than what's written in The Hobbit. Yes, the book itself might be a bit smaller than The Lord of the Rings, and it might not have enough material for three movies, but Peter Jackson is set to make it happen. By adding scenes from appendixes in Tolkien's other books, he is on the road to creating another triple masterpiece.
While the setting of this new trilogy might be different, you'll still be meeting with some old faces and heroes. Old Bilbo Baggins, Frodo's uncle, is in fact in the center of the plot. Remember his stories in The Lord of the Rings about the adventures he had when he was young? If you don't, this will freshen your memories as we see him take a journey of a lifetime. Don't worry, though; all the action will be backed up with a lot of dwarves, elves, orcs, goblins, shape-shifters, spiders, sorcerers, wargs, and a lot more friendly or not-so-friendly faces.
Oh, and let's not forget the awesomeness that is Gandalf (the Grey). After all, what would a little Hobbit (no pun intended) be without the great wizard who has always been there to both get them into a messy job and then save their lives along the way? This renewed (as in, not the one you remember from The Lord of the Rings) fellowship will set on the quest to save a lost dwarf kingdom, but as everything Tolkien it won't be an easy task as their road will be paved with various challenges and challengers. We'll even meet with the famous character known as Gollum, and we'll see with our own eyes Bilbo acquiring the Ring, that little golden piece of jewelry that will shake the whole of Middle Earth. But that's more of a Lord of the Rings talk; we'll mostly focus on shaking giants and dragon(s) and other creatures that can eat you whole in one bite.
Though beside making a great movie adaptation out of books, what makes Peter Jackson's work stand out is that he puts just the right amount of action, comedy, drama, and all other elements. Never too much, nor too little. It's as if he's made a formula on how to keep the audience entertained throughout the whole movie and to ask for more. Anyone who has seen the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings movies can testify that they prefer those over the shorter ones.
And while we have yet to see if Peter Jackson will live up to his expectations once again, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will definitely be a movie worth watching, especially for the population that's been anxiously waiting for it. Will it break The Avengers' gross record? Will it swoop the Academy Awards? Will it surpass the success that The Lord of the Rings movies have? That, we can only wait and see, but it sure is headed to be a box office gem.