by Liberty Mccleskey & Braden Blair (Movie Review: Liberty; Book Review: Braden;)
The Movie:
Recently in the world of cinema, a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy was released to tell the tale of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Director Peter Jackson comes back nine years later after the completion of the Lord of the Rings series in an attempt to wow us again.
The Hobbit tells the story of Bilbo Baggins in his youth and his discovery of the ring. In this movie, the cast and producers portray a charming recreation of Tolkien’s vivid imagination, at the same time bearing in mind their potential young viewers. The Hobbit is actually, to the surprise of those who haven’t read it, a children’s book.
As far as technical achievements, the makers of this movie could not have done a better job. However, despite the phenomenal graphics, many details were added in The Hobbit movie that were not in the book. Many of its scenes were derived from Tolkien’s other works, such as the Semilarian, confusing many viewers who have read The Hobbit.
Though some parts of the movie supported more of a comical approach than Tolkien’s dark suspense, many people who did not read The Hobbit felt it was a success, striking the right balance of suspense and comic relief. All in all, those wedded to the original book might invest in another movie, and those who have no preconception of the story, may enjoy it quite thoroughly.
The Book:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy recently gained a new movie in the family; however, the book has been around since 1937. With total sales just shy of a billion dollars, the movie was a huge success, and the book is the fourth most sold book since it’s conception, with more than 300 million dollars in sales. The Hobbit was a great book, yet fairly confusing if you didn’t read the other Lord of the Rings books, as many details explode over the course of the next three books.
The Hobbit is about Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, who hosts a party for a band of dwarves. In the midst of the party, Bilbo learns that the dwarves want to remove the dragon Smaug from the Lonely Mountain, an ancient home of dwarves which was taken over by Smaug. The wizard Gandalf shows them a map that reveals a secret door in the mountain. They are ambushed in the Misty Mountain, and Bilbo is separated from the group. Down in the bowels of the mountain, Bilbo finds a ring and then runs into Gollum, a strange creature that was driven crazy by the power of The One Ring. While being chased by Gollum, Bilbo puts on the ring, which turns him invisible. Following Gollum, he finds his way out of the tunnels and meets up with his troop of dwarves. Bilbo and the dwarves go into the Mirkwood Forest, and despite being told to stay on the path, they step off of the path. Not long after, the group runs into some wood-elves, which capture them. Bilbo frees the dwarves while the elves are having a party. The only unguarded way out of the stronghold is down the river.
After their harrowing adventure through the forest, the group arrives at the Lonely Mountain, and opens the secret door. Sneaking into the lair of Smaug, Bilbo discovers that the dragon has some missing scales on his belly. A friendly Thrush relays the information to Bard, the defender of lake-town. When Smaug attacks the town, Bard shoots an arrow that hits him in the heart.
Many books do not seem realistic due to a lack of intricate details, but The Hobbit is one of the few that seems extremely realistic. The characters are written with excruciating detail, so you seem to know them on a very personal level, unlike most characters of books, in which you often don’t know what drives them, where they are from, or even feel emotionally tied to them at all. Overall, the book was an exceptionally good book that has been cherished for years, and is definitely worth reading.