In the literary world, once author Stephen King became enormously successful, his books seemed to grow in size.  Publishers, eager to cash in on his popularity, appeared to stand back and let him do whatever he wanted without the aid of a pesky editor who might have the nerve to reign him in a little.  I’m suspecting Hollywood is doing the same with director Peter Jackson.

After the incredible success of his three epic tellings of Lord of the Rings and the income it earned from not only the big screen but from the seemingly endless array of DVDs, plus the extended editions, Hollywood would have let him make a film out of the phone book if he had wanted to.  Instead, the director has turned his attention back to the characters of J.R. Tolkien  for The Hobbit, only this new version is not the complete story when it so easily could have been; it’s merely the first of three giant adventures.

Tolkien’s novel is a relatively small book, especially when compared to his giant trilogy that followed, yet Jackson has approached the 297 page turner in much the same way he approached Lord of the Rings.  At a running time of almost three hours, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first part of what will eventually be a nine hour production.  This isn’t artistic creativity, it’s Hollywood greed and an unbelievable indulgence on the part of a director who could have told the whole story in the amount of time it’s taken him to tell Act One.  Creatively he should have been reigned in; financially he’s probably hit the jackpot… again.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey takes place sixty years earlier, before LOTR.  “Where sickness thrives, bad things follow,” narrates Ian Holm as an aged Bilbo Baggins as he writes of his adventure for the benefit of his young relative, Frodo.

Gandalf (Ian McKellen) enlists the help of a young Bilbo (Martin Freeman) by inviting him to join a band of dwarves for a trek.  “I’m looking for someone to share an adventure,” he says to Bilbo.  Stolen treasure guarded by the deadly dragon Smaug needs to be reclaimed, and Bilbo and his band of brave dwarves are the ones Gandalf chooses to reclaim it.

Like LOTR, The Hobbit is a technical marvel.  The effects are outstanding, plus Jackson directs the action sequences with incredible skill and imagination.  All the cast from the LOTR films are back replaying the characters they played before, which brings up an interesting point when you think about it; all of these great character actors are now nine years older since the final LOTR production back in 2003 yet they’re actually playing younger versions of themselves.

Much has been written of director Jackson’s decision to film the production at forty-eight frames a second, twice the frames of a regular film.  Visually, the end result needs time for the brain to adjust, particularly as the film is also in 3D.  The image has such a startling quality to it it’s as though you’re watching a live transmission of an event being broadcast as it happens.  The Hobbit looks more like hi-def video than film.

In its favor, the production is more fun than LOTR and the characters more likable, plus casting Martin Freeman as Bilbo is practically perfect.  At some point in the future I’d like to see The Hobbit again, only next time I’d like it to be at twenty-four frames a second and without the 3D.  Pushing the boundaries of technical wizardry is one thing, but like the film’s unnecessary bloated length, sometimes a film maker, even a box-office champion like Peter Jackson, needs to be reigned in from time to time.

 MPAA Rating:  PG-13    Length:  166 minutes    Overall Rating:  7 (Out of 10)