A title worthy of this film. As we tread on sticky floors in a noisy theater towards empty seats, our minds are filled with expectations. Sometimes our expectations are met, sometimes they are surpassed, and sometimes we are met with the entirely unexpected. When I found my seat, my own mind was expecting a journey back to the Middle-Earth that I had grown to love in the epic Lord of the Rings trilogy from the early 2000s. Let’s, then, make one clear statement about The Hobbit: Lord of the Rings it is NOT. Nor should it be–but I was foolish enough to expect more similarities.

Certainly, we are visited by familiar faces: Gandalf, Bilbo, Frodo, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, Gollum. Let’s not kid ourselves, either. These characters are portrayed by actors who can truly act well. Not only that, but the new actors are as equally brilliant. Martin Freeman was a perfect Bilbo. Absolutely perfect. I couldn’t have asked for better. He even looks remarkably like Ian Holm. As for the dwarves, it’s really hard to like Thorin, who constantly doubts Bilbo, but that’s the way it is supposed to be. It’s really easy to love Balin, who seems much like a grandfather figure to both Thorin and oftentimes Bilbo. I also adored Fili and Kili, who made up the youngest of the company. It’s hard not to like a dwarf who is skilled with a bow and arrow when the usual weapon of choice for their race is the ax. Kili has become this film’s replacement Legolas.

Having read The Hobbit several more times than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I am more familiar with that story than I was with the Lord of the Rings before I had seen those movies. I had wondered and expected several things with this film:

1. Is it possible to individualize the dwarves? Yes. It is. They look distinctly different from one another. They all have different skills and personality traits. However, they also each have more or less screen time and lines than the next. As I said, it’s easy to like Balin, but that’s also because he’s got the most screen time apart from Thorin himself. Dwalin, though? Or Bifur? Hardly heard from.
2. How would the three trolls be handled? The trolls in the Lord of the Rings don’t speak, but in The Hobbit, they carry on full conversations with each other. I had actually expected the trolls to not speak. I had expected them to behave much like the cave troll in Moria in The Fellowship of the Ring. However, even though the The Hobbit does not seem to be consistent with The Fellowship in this matter, true to the book this film remains. Granted, it’s not what I was expecting, but I am glad that the trolls were given voices, true to the novel.
3. How is it even possible to make three films from the shortest book of the four, when one movie was devoted to each of the following three? Furthermore, how is it even possible to make a movie from only the first six chapters of The Hobbit? It was done in this way: additional content was added and embellished from the appendices, including the White Council backstory, Radagast the Brown backstory, and Azog from Moria backstory. Also the movie lengthens certain scenes from the story, i.e. the thunder battle.

This brings up a valid point, though. Lengthening some scenes, particularly the beginning scenes, made the pacing a bit slower than I had expected the movie to have at first. I think it’s because the theatrical releases of the Lord of the Rings films needed to move fairly quickly in order to fit everything in during such a short amount of time. This film has more time to tell the story, so it takes its time in the telling.

However, while I am fine with the lengthening of some scenes, I was not as fine with some others.

• I first fell in love with the Lord of the Rings, because I fell in love with Middle-Earth and its various locations: the Shire and Rivendell especially. I also particularly loved that the movie started with the Erebor backstory before starting in the Shire. I loved that we were able to see Erebor and Dale in all its glory before the arrival of Smaug. Since so much time was spent in those locations during the movie, I was therefore happy.
• But, going back to the thunder battle and running through the mines. All dwarves surviving both scenes and a couple others seems entirely unrealistic. How is it that the rock giant fell forward into the side of the mountain with just enough force to set the dwarves there relatively unharmed? How is it that all the dwarves made it through the labyrinth of mines unscathed? How is it that those three levels of wooden bridges held together as it feel many fathoms to the bottom of the mountain, only to break apart at the bottom, only to have the Goblin king fall upon it? How is it that all the dwarves survived all of that? Yes, the dwarves are made of very tough stuff. And they wear tough armor. And they survive because they are supposed to survive. But it all just seems a bit too unrealistic to me.

Which brings me to my last and greatest point. I didn’t want this to happen, but it did. I became annoyed during the watching of this film. I became irritated. Why? Because the Lord of the Rings films were so incredible due to their realism. Because computer graphics were used sparingly, only when absolutely needed. Orcs were real actors in real costumes wearing real makeup, unless portrayed in large numbers. This film? Everything was fake. Everything except the Shire, the Hobbits, the dwarves, the wizards, and the elves. All the orcs and goblins were animated. Certainly, the wargs and trolls were animated in the Lord of the Rings films too, but even then, nine years ago, they seemed much more real than they do now. You can see clearly when something is fake, which is a distraction from the entire film. It is akin to how I felt when I saw the Star Wars prequel trilogy, especially Revenge of the Sith. When that movie ends, it feels as though we move backward in time rather than forward. All the computer-graphic-intensive scenes made the films appear more like sequels rather than prequels due to the advancement in technology.

Perhaps, though, this is a conscious choice. This animated aspect alone distinctly sets The Hobbit apart from the Lord of the Rings films. But then, the novel takes on a very different tone than the later books do too. The Hobbit is written as a children’s story, whereas the later books were not. This movie, because of its increased animation, has the increased tone of being a children’s story. It’s very different than the Lord of the Rings films and the Middle-Earth that I grew to love, but in the end, I think I am fine with different. Especially when the different is still so epic and so awesome.

Especially when the different still has the same true heart and humor as the Lord of the Rings films–which comes courtesy of the screenwriters, who even know when it is best to say nothing at all. “It was pity that stayed Bilbo’s blade.” Of all the spectacular views from Rivendell, of all the time I relished in the Shire, I maintain that this scene was my favorite from the entire movie: Bilbo, invisible as he wears the ring, prepares to kill Gollum twice, and twice he pulls back his blade. Gollum’s face in this moment is truly pitiful. You can’t not feel sorry for him. But then, Gollum’s face and his actions in the entire Riddles in the Dark chapter is the best that I’ve ever seen from him. I laughed so often during those scenes. I was also nearly brought to tears.

Another aspect remained the same: Howard Shore. None other can compose for Middle-Earth. I won’t allow it. I loved the new themes composed for The Hobbit, and the old ones were introduced enough to remind us why we were there. I especially loved “far over misty mountains cold”, when the dwarves sing it at Bag End. However, “that’s what Bilbo Baggins hates” fell a little flat for me. Especially when the same song from the animated film is such a catchy tune. I was half expecting them to start singing that version. Howard Shore’s composition is good, but it just didn’t do it for me.

My last wondering was this: Where would the break happen? After the dwarves are rescued by the eagles, they are brought to a cliff, from which the dwarves and Gandalf and Bilbo can see the Lonely Mountain, Erebor. A thrush flies by them. It flies to the mountain. It begins to knock, foreshadowing the prophecy and eventual entrance through the side door of the mountain.

This knocking causes Smaug to stir. Focus on his eye. It opens.