Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs
24 FRAMES PER SECOND VERSION: A -
Martin Freeman,
Ian McKellan, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Hugo Weaving, Cate
Blanchett
Based on The
Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Screenplay by
Peter Jackson,& Fran Walsh & Phillipa Boyens & Guillermo
Del Toro
Directed by
Peter Jackson
This
review is a few days overdue, and with good reason. The Hobbit, as we
have long known, was to be split into two movies, which then became
three movies. But to further complicate things, after my initial
viewing of The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey at an
exclusive press screening, presented in the new 48 frames per second
version, I realized
that each chapter has in fact been split into two movies – the good
version and the bad version. In order to review the film, I had see
both.
For
those who are not familiar with the concept of 48FPS, it's the
setting on your HDTV that makes everything look like it was shot on a
security camera. It is Not High Definition – High Definition is
determined by the number of pixels, not the frame rate. But 48FPS
provides a crisp, clear picture that is truly unparalleled. It's a
perfect image. As long as nothing moves, I which case it looks jerky,
almost as if the film has been sped up. Of course, this is merely a
trick of the mind – it's actually closer to what we see in real
life than an actual movie is. That being said, the photographs we see
on the cover of Maxim
are arguably more real than the Mona
Lisa. That doesn't mean
we should choose them over art.
In
addition to the jerky movement, 48FPS provides an image that is
genuinely TOO perfect. It provides no room for artifice: what you see
if what you get. Every imperfection is right there in front of you,
visible to the naked eye and glaringly obvious. This presents a
problem for many films, as one can actually see the make up the
actors are wearing, but when the film is an elaborate epic fantasy
it's a genuine disaster. The
Hobbit is filled with
spectacular sets, computer generated visual effects and elaborate
prosthetic and make up, and 48FPS renders all of these useless,
because the art of illusion is dependent upon a certain distance
between the audience and the subject. When actor Graham McTavish
enters Bilbo Baggins home as Dwalin the Dwarf in the regular,
reliable 24 frames per second version, we see a a broad shouldered
dwarf with tattoos all covering his bald head, and a bulbous nose and
long beard. When we see him enter Bilbo's home in the 4FPS version,
we see at best an actor in heavy, if laughably unconvincing, make up,
and at worst we see some idiot who's come to Comicon hoping to get
his picture taken with Lucy Lawless.
The
C.G.I. Looks more like a cartoon than ever before (Phantom
Menace and Harry
Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
have nothing on this) and the lines around the image that have been
superimposed are distractingly visible, and sets that would otherwise
look completely convincing at locations in Middle earth look like
tacky amusement park attractions. Metaphorically, you can see all the
strings.
I spoke with Chris Hansen, perhaps
Utah's most successful and respected film make up artist, and he had
had this to say about 48FPS. “Though its all translucent silicone
these days, it doesn’t matter. It looks like a documentary on bad
prosthetics and bad CGI. Hollywood needs to understand what doesn’t
work about their new technology. 24 fps and film grain built what we
understand as cinema, and the new movement in 48 frames per second
digital needs to adjust to this since prosthetics and CGI. cant, and
never will.”
And
if this isn't bad enough, 48FPS causes splitting headaches and nausea
for some people due to motion sickness. I frankly wanted to crawl
into a hole and die afterwards.
Among
the reasons director Peter Jackson gives for this format is that
reduces the motion blur that comes with 3D. There is some truth to
this, but honestly the reduction is minimal, and when it makes every
major motion look choppy throughout, it is hardly an improvement.
This process is a complete failure on every level: the nicest thing I
can say about it is that the raindrops coming down did look amazing.
But is that really the only positive thing you want to get get
visually from a film 2 hour and 45 minute film made on a $150 million
plus budget?
Now,
on to the movie.
Because the 48FPS version does not deserve to be called a movie.
On
the day of his 111th birthday, with his nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood)
leaving to wait for the arrival of Gandalf the Grey in the Shire,
Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm, reprising his role from the Lord of The
Rings trilogy) decides to write down the full story of the adventure
he took 60 years before, when Bilbo (now played by Martin Freeman)
was coerced by Gandalf into hosting a party for Thorin Oakenshield
and his band of Dwarves: a party that doubles as Bilbo's recruitment
to serve as the Dwarves' "burglar" to help them steal their
treasure back from Smaug The Dragon. Though Bilbo refuses at
first, he decides to join the company on their journey to the Lonely
Mountain.
Compared to the sweeping, emotionally
charged, fate of the world in the balance tales told in The
Fellowship of The Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of The King,
this is light adventure. The Hobbit
was an adventure novel somewhat akin to Treasure Island,
where The Lord of The
Rings was
an unparallelled epic saga. It is to Jackson's credit that, for the
most part, he recognizes the difference and, despite the padding out
to three films, let's the story play as simply what it is rather than
trying to make it more profound. He does take some liberties, adding
more foreshadowing of the events that are destined to shake all of
Middle Earth, most notably a meeting between Gandalf, Elrond (Hugo
Weaving), Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Saruman (Christopher Lee.).
This sequence is compelling, and it is fun to see Jackson fill in the
blanks to explain the many odd disappearances Gandalf makes
throughout the book, and I loved the idea that the reason for the
these strange absences was that Gandalf was even then investigating
the coming danger of the ring. Unfortunately, this sequence also
dominates the Rivendell section of the film to such an extent that
the transcendental beauty of the Elven Kingdom is underplayed, and I
never felt the enchantment that Bilbo ultimately leads Bilbo to go
back there so many years later.
But
The Hobbit: An
Unexpected Journey is
a wild ride, very well acted and full of exciting action and nice
character moments. The dwarves a magnificent, McKellen's Gandalf as splendid as ever, and the relationship between Bilbo and Thorin (Richard
Armitage) provides for many of the film's best moments. The
action packed sequence in the Goblin Kingdom stacks up favorably with
the “Mines of Moria” in
Fellowship, even
if, like George Lucas before him, Jackson has become a bit too
reliant on CGI creatures, and many other sequences will keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Part of me does feel that some of the comedy with
Gollum (once again brilliantly portrayed by Andy Serkiss) was a
little too broad, but on the other hand, he was a much lighter and less
grim character in this book than the pathetic yet frightening vision
we see in Lord of
the Rings, and
it works well enough and provides a highly entertaining sequence, and the moment when Bilbo decides to spare Gollum's life is easily the best in the whole film. The Goblin King (voiced by Dame Edna) also had some moments that were too much for me.
Seen
as a movie, which in this particular case means seeing it not as the
director intended, The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is
a delightful epic blockbuster that leaves you anxious for the next
chapter. It may not achieve genuine greatness in the same way that
LOTR
trilogy does, but it really isn't meant to. It's meant to be exactly
what it is, and it's a lot of fun.
But
next time, if it's presented in 48FPS, I'm definitely skipping the
press screening.
The
Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
is Rated PG-13 for violence, suspense and very mild profanity and
vulgarity.
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