The Hobbit : In the Press

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Richard Armitage said in Toronto, "I hope everyone takes their kids at Christmas and enjoys the film. It's something that all of the family can go and enjoy together and I think there are very few things that we can do like that today." [1] It seems that families all over the world did just that.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film took $84.8 million at the box office in North America during its opening weekend (14-16th December 2013), beating the previous record for a film opening in December, as well as the figures for the final film of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It also took $138.2 million in the rest of the world. Within a year, the film had grossed over $1 billion.

This was despite mixed reviews for the film. Critics' main concerns were twofold. Many felt there was too much padding to stretch a relatively short book into three long films (Peter Jackson has incorporated material and characters from elsewhere in Tolkien's writing).

Many reviewers also criticised his decision to shoot the film at 48fps, claiming that the hyper-real nature of HFR made it look like television and intruded on the story-telling. However, others enjoyed the greater clarity it offers, as well as the lack of blurring during moving sequences. In practice, most people will only be able to see the film at 24fps - in the USA, only 10% of the cinemas showing the film can screen it at the higher frame rate. And yet where HFR showings are available, they're very popular - Business Week reported that the best screen averages during the opening weekend were in HFR cinemas.

But there was almost universal praise for the acting, in particular that of Martin Freeman (Bilbo), Andy Serkis (Gollum) and Richard Armitage (Thorin).

In the New Yorker (17th December) Anthony Lane wrote, "No less welcome is Richard Armitage, scarcely known here, although he has throbbed hearts on a regular basis on British TV; he now pulls off the task, deemed impossible by every expert on Middle-Earth, of making a dwarf seductive. To be honest, the dwarves come across as a jumble of Brueghel faces, lit with grins, scrunched by scowls, and fronted by bulbous conks; only Armitage, as Thorin Oakenshield, the leader of the pack, earns consistent dramatic attention, and he brings the rumpus of the early scenes to a beautiful halt as he pauses to croon, in a yearning baritone, an anthem of dwarf-desire—Far over the misty mountains cold."

The Australian's David Germain (5th December) said "Richard Armitage debuts as dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield, ennobled from a fairly comical figure in Tolkien's text to a brooding warrior king in the mold of Viggo Mortensen from the Rings trilogy."

At the Slashfilm website (3rd December), Germain Lussier wrote, "The [dwarf] that stands above the rest is, appropriately, the leader, Thorin Oakenshield, played by Richard Armitage. Similar to Viggo Mortensen in Lord of the Rings, Armitage is a long-time character actor who achieves leading man status with this role. In fact, his character is so dynamic and awesome, Jackson and crew have created a totally unique foe for him to battle throughout the movie. [...] Armitage’s performance is the standout."

Others also make a comparison with Aragorn. "There’s an Aragorn-y vibe to Richard Armitage’s Thorin, the leader of the pack who brings brooding focus to the simple but emotive theme of wanting to find a home," said Matthew Leyland in Total Film (13th December). And in The Telegraph (8th December) Jennifer Vineyard wrote, "The jovial Dwarves, with their elaborate beards and bulbous noses, lighten the film's tone, and their king, Thorin (Richard Armitage), is a stalwart presence very much along the line of Viggo Mortenson's lonely ranger in the Rings movies."

The film sought to please children, teenagers and adults alike, both Tolkien fans and the general public. Judging by the attendance figures, and by the comments of those who have seen the film, it succeeded.

Source

[1] Union Station, Toronto, 3rd December 2012