By: Russell R Cera
When someone refers to something as "much of the same", you can probably bank on the idea that they aren't very enthused about it. This couldn't be any further from the truth in regards to the first teaser trailer for The Hobbit 'An Unexpected Journey', from Peter Jackson, director of 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy. In fact, it is that very "sameness", if I may make up a word, that many if not all fans of the original trilogy were hoping for, and it ensures that regardless of it's smaller stature, we will receive yet another treasure, much like the additional footage on the extended versions of LOTR. Watching the trailer is almost eerie in a way, in that outside of Martin Freeman's appearance as Bilbo, it feels as if we are visiting the same people and places all over again! Oh wait, of course! That's because we are! Well sort of, in many cases. Nothing seems to have changed. Not the wide scope cinematography, nor the effective use of flashbacks and flash forwards that Jackson employed previously, nor the narration of Ian Holm as Bilbo.
Exactly! Thank you! Perfect!
When you note that all of the key players in making 'Lord of the Rings' have returned, from it's director to its writers Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens, to Richard Taylor and the wizards at Weta, to composer Howard Shore, to concept artists Alan Lee and John Howe, to all of the key actors necessary to reprise their roles, it's no wonder, that successful or not, by 2013 there will be six films in total that feel as cozy and comfortable as one!
One of the biggest questions leading up to this trailer is how Peter Jackson planned on utilizing the returning talents of Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins. Another was if and how they would use Ian Holm, if at all, to tie in the appearance change from him to Freeman. It seems that these two questions are immediately answered, and as expected, the entire two film piece will in fact be a flashback of Bilbo in later life (Holm), more than likely transcribing the details of his adventures into the Red Book of Westmarch or 'The Hobbit'.
Now there are a few things of course, that fans will just have to gulp down and get over regardless. The first of those is the previously mentioned appearance of a younger looking Bilbo (Freeman) when he should look much the same as he does when Gandalf first visits him (Holm) in LOTR. "You haven't aged a day." If taken literally, he shouldn't have. The ring brought to Bilbo the same extraordinarily long life as Gollum. However, we could make the case that the statement can be derived as figurative and complimentary over completely accurate. In other words, we have to just let go as staunch followers of Tolkien's words and just roll with it!
Another obvious mismatch are the appearances of some of the company of Dwarfs. Where I wrote a previous article about the subject, I will not reiterate the details here, however it seems that Jackson favored a diverse visual approach rather than sticking to the descriptions given by Tolkien wholeheartedly. Again, we have to take into consideration that there will be massive changes in film adaptation, much like there were in LOTR. Some of the diversions in the trilogy were preposterous to the books and others were cut (thank goodness). Some examples of this are Arwen's arrival at Helm's Deep to do battle and the reemergence of Sauron in the physical form to battle Aragorn. Now those would have been some inexcusable stretches!
Yet let's get off the negative, because those points are few. Before I wrap this up let's just note some of the highlights we should expect in The Hobbit and note the LOTR tie in pieces of the trailer itself.
• The narration of Ian Holm as Bilbo. The appearance of Holm is clear from the onset, and while I'm not sure that his scenes are not completely regurgitated from the Trilogy, it is a good thing to know that he was available to some extent to tie in the Bilbo of old to new. Or new to old?
• The appearance of Elijah Wood as Frodo and Biblo's relating the story as a flashback to him through the Red Book of Westmarch. This is a perfect devise to tie in the original films and I cannot think of a better way to do it.
• The return of the indelible Ian McKellan as Gandalf the Grey. It is incredible to see him once again back in charming Grey form as opposed to regal White. Of even more special note is the return of Christopher Lee as Saruman. This sets up for the back story of 'The Hobbit' which in fact was never presented in the original book but in a later publication called Unfinished Tales.
• Rivendell in all it's glory and the approach of Biblo to the Shards of Narsil. This is of course the blade that cut the ring from Sauron's hand and eventually the sword that is mended back to Anduril. Nowhere is such detail in the book of 'The Hobbit', yet this is another perfect tie in.
• The appearance of Kate Blanchett as Galadriel, the knowledge that Hugo Weaving will reprise the role of Elrond and the cameo appearance by Orlando Bloom as Legolas. Note the latter two do not appear in the trailer.
• Sting is unfurled by Bilbo. Enough said.
• Last but not least, the return of Gollum (Andy Serkis) both in vision and voice. I can only assume that his sequence will wrap up the first installment of the two piece interpretation of 'The Hobbit'.
Will 'The Hobbit' be the outlandish success story that 'Lord of the Rings' was? That remains to be seen, however it is almost sure to be a financial hit regardless of it's critical reception. While I assume there will be many critics chomping at the bit to fork over a negative review, I can't imagine how the two piece set won't garnish the same type of acclaim that it's predecessors did.
How can I say that?
It is that made up word I spoke of before - "sameness" - that nearly guarantees it!
