21st December 2012: the end of the
world, according to Mayan prediction, but through the darkness shines a small
ray of hope; seven days before, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will
be released in UK cinemas. Granted, this may seem a small comfort to a lot of
people, but to Tolkien fans everywhere, it’ll be worth dying for, especially
since Peter Jackson’s behind it. Shrouded in mystery from the beginning, the
project slipped through the hands of a number of directors due to issues with
copyright, until Jackson, who had previously stated he wanted nothing to do
with The Hobbit, finally agreed to take it on. After some consideration,
it was decided that the film would be split into two parts, the second, aptly
named The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Many though, will be wondering
how Jackson will pull it off; he has the abilities, certainly, but what can we
expect from this long awaited set of films?
The crucial
difference between Jackson’s previous venture - The Lord of the Rings
trilogy – and The Hobbit, is the change of tone. While The Lord of
the Rings is based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s thousand page epic and features
heavily the themes of death, evil and the impending doom of an entire nation, The
Hobbit is more of a fairy tale; a treasure hunt intended primarily for
children. There are certainly a few darker moments in the original book (the
chapter ‘Riddles in the Dark’, for example, in which Bilbo meets the creature
Gollum is particularly unnerving), but they are nothing compared to the hoards
of orcs and black riders that threaten the fellowship throughout The Lord of
the Rings. The question is will Jackson take full advantage of these darker
aspects and use them to create a more sinister piece, or will the focus be
mainly on the story’s childish qualities? Interestingly enough, the trailer
hints at both. On one hand we see shots of Gandalf walking through a ruined,
grey stone courtyard, possibly Dol Guldor, the dark lord’s stronghold in
Mirkwood: a place only mentioned a few times in the book, yet which seems to
feature strongly in the film. The lighter aspects, on the other hand, come in
the form of dwarves; introduced in a high-speed montage with various different
beards and face-shapes, they look to embody the film’s much needed comical
side.
Another unanswered question on everybody’s
lips is when the cut-off point will be. At what moment will the first film end
and the second begin? It’s more than likely that the film will not end on a
cliffhanger, but instead come to a close on a quieter note, with a slightly
ominous feeling to it: a foreshadowing of things to come, as was the case with The
Lord of the Rings films; although it’s hard to even speculate at this point
– who knows what the scriptwriters have come up with?
Aside from tone, something that must be
mentioned is the ridiculous amount of creatures in The Hobbit that talk
using human voices. From the Cockney accents of the three trolls that the
company stumble upon, to the whispering spiders of Mirkwood, Jackson is going
to have to be careful not to make this film seem like a trip into Narnia; he
will need to maintain the intelligent gravity that The Lord of the Rings
so clearly demonstrates and not let it stray into the land of childish
absurdity. The cast list does however include Benedict Cumberbatch, best known
for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, who will be playing the voice of Smaug,
the dragon that inhabits the Lonely Mountain. Considering Smaug’s character in
the book and also Cumberbatch’s previous roles, we can expect the unveiling of the
dragon to be a scene full both of magnificence and comic sarcasm. It’ll also be
interesting to see how Jackson approaches the filming of this scene, for he has
to take into account the fact that Bilbo will be wearing the ring, and will
therefore be invisible. No doubt he’ll think of something.
A quick glance at the official cast list
reveals not only Martin Freeman playing the hobbit himself, Bilbo Baggins, but
a whole host of characters that do not appear in the original book. Whether
this is Peter Jackon’s attempt at fleshing the plot out (bearing in mind the
book is only three hundred pages long), or an ingenious marketing strategy to
get more people to pay to watch it, it will be interesting to discover when and
where these extra characters turn up. Easily recognisable Lord of the Rings
actors such as Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) and
Christopher Lee (Saruman) do not actually appear in The Hobbit. Neither does
the character of Radagast – a wizard and nature enthusiast with similar powers
to Gandalf – played by Sylvester McCoy. Even in the most insignificant of
roles, it seems that every famous face possible is in these two films in one
way or another; both Evangaline Lily and Flight of the Conchords’ Bret
McKenzie are set to play elves, and even comedian Billy Connolly will turn up
as dwarf-lord Dain Ironfoot.Eyebrows may be raised at this celebrity cast list, maybe even causing a few sceptical critics to label the films as ‘commercial spin-offs of the Tolkien franchise’, but The Hobbit is something entirely different – a film that has the potential to be even bigger than The Lord of the Rings, for not only will current fans flock to see it in their masses, but parents will drag their children; there are very few people who can say that The Hobbit has not been a part of their childhood in some form or another. Fans have been waiting years for these films to be made, so with only seven months until An Unexpected Journey is released, levels of anticipation are set to reach breaking point.
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