The Ironville School in Derbyshire’s community of mini-Tolkien scholars, the Myth and Magic reading group, have reviewed Peter Jackson’s latest Tolkien adaptation as part of our Hobbit Community project. Read below to hear what they thought of the film.
Where did all the magic go ?
Christopher Tolkien has caused quite a stir with his recent comment that Peter Jackson has "eviscerated " his father’s work through the film versions of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit which he dismisses as " action movies. " Maybe this judgement of LOTR is a little harsh – although the omission of Tom Bombadil was surely unforgivable! – but there can be little doubt that The Hobbit is an action movie, seemingly with a target audience of computer game playing teenage boys. The wistful and, at times, almost sardonic tone of the book is markedly absent from the " let’s have another battle, lads " treatment of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 classic.
There are redeeming qualities: Ian McKellen is again masterful as Gandalf, and the landscapes of The Shire and the Misty Mountains are truly evocative of Middle-earth. But Bilbo seems a strangely superficial character, totally overshadowed by Gollum’s superb portrayal. It was hard, therefore, not to wish that “my precious” stayed with its former owner! The dwarves fail to convince too, seeming at times like strange parodies of Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. The songs and dialogue during their initial meeting with Bilbo don’t capture the sense of breath-catching excitement, and impending sense of a trip into the unknown, which resonate with such power throughout the early chapters of the book.
If you like battle scenes, The Hobbit is definitely the movie for you. The conflict with the goblins goes on (and on!) as does the running argument with the Wargs, who will probably not go down as the greatest example of computer generated imagery in the history of modern cinema. The meeting with the Trolls is similarly prosaic, and could have been completed in half the time – which is true for the whole film. To justify the three hour length The Hobbit needs a continuing sense of magic which takes viewers deep into the heart of Middle-earth. This is rarely achieved.
Perhaps things will look up in the remaining two films, as Bilbo battles the spiders and wood elves in Mirkwood; and finally gets to meet Smaug. To be truthful, they need to, as the lack of mystery and wonder in Part 1 suggests Christopher Tolkien could be right in his criticism. Moreover, could J.R. R Tolkien himself be turning in his Wolvercote grave in Oxford at how little of the true essence of his seminal book for young people is present in the new film? Like a painstakingly created, and unique quality meal drowned in a tasteless gravy, the action and special effects in the film overwhelm the literary magic which has entranced millions of readers across the world for over 75 years.
Get involved
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Watch out for the blog posts from our Hobbit Community as they read their way through the book.
