Film Review: The Unexpected Journey, Part 2

It looks as though we're going to get through this film a little quicker than we made it through the Lord of the Rings ones. I'm sure this is because these are relatively newer and so I haven't had a decade of watching them regularly noticing all the little things I like to nit pick about.

Last week we were introduced not only to Bilbo (old and new), we also got the run down on the gang of Dwarves who Gandalf invited round for tea. They all had a bit of a singsong, but now it's time to learn just why they're there and get this journey underway.

42. Thorin has a bit of an Aragorn thing going on here. Except he's not so easy to like.

43. I like that Gandalf lights his pipe with his fingers. It's little things that make these movies for me.

44. Poor Gandalf, having to explain that he's never actually killed a dragon.

45. Significant moment of handing over the key. I like that the next film explains how Gandalf came to know all this. In fact, I like how these films help explain just why Gandalf decided to back a Dwarven crew with a random Hobbit, against a dragon.

46. Another little nod back to The Fellowship of the Ring with Gandalf getting all tall and shadowy.

47. The Dwarves really do have everything covered don't they. Funeral arrangements! Laceration! Evisceration! Incineration!

48. I do really like Bofur. He's so unhelpful.

49. By the sounds of things, Bilbo was a bit of tearaway in his youth, wasn't he?

50. I think golf played with goblin heads would be a lot more interesting than the regular game of golf.

51. A tale or two? More like six films worth!

52. If I was Bilbo, I'm not sure I'd leave the crew of Dwarves in my house and go to bed. Look at the mess they made of the pantry. The place could be stripped before you got up!

53. Time for another song. I've come to love all the songs in the books so I'm glad they slotted them into the film. Standing around singing of an evening seems like a very Dwarvish thing to do.

54. I love that image of the embers rising out of the chimney while the Dwarves sing about dragons and fire.

55. Bilbo's all 'yay, they've gone... oh... they've gone... hang on a minute...'

56. Time for another quick trip through Hobbiton. If I tried jumping a fence like that I'd probably faceplant on the other side.

57. Everyone except Thorin is pleased Bilbo's shown up. Nothing really seems to impress Thorin.

58. The betting on whether Bilbo would show up is a nice touch.

59. Home is now behind you; the world is ahead. Love.

60. Bombur snoring in moths is really gross.

61. Bilbo is sweet with his pony considering how awkward he was a few minutes ago.

62. Flashback!

63. This place should look familiar if you've watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy recently. That battle's taking place where everyone stopped to cry in Fellowship of the Ring after Gandalf fell in Moria.

64. This is all straight out of the Lord of the Rings appendices. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy when I read them now because I like how they worked so much of the story into these films.

65. I do kind of wish they'd made some mention of the whole 'burned Dwarf' thing (there were too many bodies to bury, so they were burned instead and there's great honour among Dwarves at having a relation who was a burned Dwarf).

66. I like that they learned their lesson about 'from whence it came' in the Council of Elrond scene and Thorin just says 'whence he came' here.

67. Watch out guys! Someone's out to get you.

68. I kind of love how they dodge the rights issue with regards to the names of the two blue wizards. Also, how old does Gandalf have to be to forget his colleagues names? Then again, he's got loads of names of his own, it must get confusing.

69. "Is he a great wizard? Or is he more like you?" Heh.

70. It kind of irritates me that the hedgehog is called Sebastian. What kind of Middle-earth name is that?

71. Then I get over it because the hedgehog is really cute and I don't want it to die.

72. And then it says thank you when he cures it which is beyond cute.

73. I know lots of people don't like Radagast's sleigh, but I kind of do. It makes sense for him to travel with animals and why not rabbits?

74. Thorin and Gandalf both want to be in charge. I think that's why they spark off each other like that.

75. Fili and Kili are like those kids at school who push the gullible kids into doing something for them, so they're not the ones getting into trouble. 'Oops, we lost the horses, Bilbo, you go find them.'

76. I think this whole bit is one of Mr Click's favourite bits in the while film as well.

77. It's so gross, but I do kind of like the bit where Bilbo is used as a hanky.

78. The trolls are one of my favourite bits in the book. I like how it's been done in the film except for the fact that they say 'burglar-hobbit' instead of 'burra-hobbit'. It's such a minor thing but I miss it.

79. The trolls are actually voiced by three of the guys playing Dwarves, so at this point some of them are fighting themselves. You'd think they'd play nicer together.

80. To be fair to the Dwarves, when it looks like the trolls are going to dismember Bilbo, they do surrender, even though it means they're going to end up as dinner.

81. I always wondered how they did the spit thing and imagined it was some sort of animatronics and computer trickery, but they actually did fasten the guys to a big spit and turn them round and round. The behind the scenes stuff is fascinating.

82. Thank goodness Thorin figures out what Bilbo is doing and shuts up the others. Not that it works for very long.

83. "Who's that?" "No idea." "Can we eat him too?" Hehe.

84. It's funny how they had to have the trolls end up in a certain position because of the stone figures in Fellowship. I wonder if Peter Jackson would have done things differently if he'd known he was going to do this movie too.


Next week we'll make tracks to Rivendell.