The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Hey,
So I know usually write about the translation of historical books to film, and although The Hobbit and J.R.R.Tolkien's works are not technically historical fiction, they have recently been portrayed as films.

Anyone who knows me well will know I am a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films. I have watched all the extended editions, all the extra features and read the books and appendices. I also have Lord of the Rings Chess, Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit and am hoping to get Lord of the Rings Risk soon!

Now I recently read the Hobbit as having watched the Desolation of Smaug in the cinema twice and wanting to go see it a third time, and having got the Unexpected Journey on extended edition for Christmas and watching all the extra features, I thought it was about time to read the book.

I finished the book two nights ago and although the plot did capture me and I was caught up in it, I believe that is because I have become attached to the characters that I saw portrayed on screen. I developed affection for the dwarves and Bilbo because of the way they were portrayed on screen rather than how the characters were developed in the books. I actually found that apart from Thorin, the rest of the dwarves were put in mainly for background noise. Thorin's character was developed and you could understand where he came from and how he felt but you didnt really get much info on his relationships with the other dwarves.

Whereas in  Peter Jackson's movie, there is an obvious relationship between Thorin and his bestie Dawlin and his father like figure Balin and the relationship he has with his nephews Fili & Kili. I really related to the character of Fili and Kili, Fili having all the pressure of being the oldest and the next in line to the throne after Thorin and Kili having less pressure and being able to have more fun as the youngest and without the pressure of ruling on his shoulders. However I felt all these emotions because of the characters and Peter Jackson's film making skills not the book itself.
This meant that when I was reading the book, I was feeling rather put out by the lack of emotional depth I was feeling towards each character through their actions in the book compared to when I read it as though it was an extension of the films.
I have decided to write a post for each film compared to that part of the book and anyone who has also read the books and seen the films are welcome to comment.
When I watched the Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey for the first time, as a fan of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, I was very excited about seeing his next adaption of a Tolkien film.

I thought the first film was very good as an opening, it thoroughly developed the characters, you understand the relationship all the dwarves have and the scene with the dwarves at Bilbo's House certainly introduced you to them and let you established which ones are your favourite, and which stood out. Personally I am a fan of all the dwarves but a few of my favourites are Fili & Kili mainly because lets face it they are hot!

I also particularly like James Nesbitt as Bofur, the Irish accent and the humour, and also Adam Brown as Ori along with his on screen older brother Dori played by Mark Hadlow they are funny together specially in the extended bits of the Rivendell Scene, I also like Graham McTavish, a Scottish actor who pays Dwalin. I think the casting choices have been fantastic, the mix of well known actors, New Zealand actors and British actors make for a very interesting mix when put opposite each other.
I particularly liked that Hugo Weaving came back and that they managed to tie in the start of the Fellowship of the Ring with the start of an Unexpected Journey where Frodo is running of to wait for Gandalf to arrive in East Farthing Woods, which is where we first see Frodo in the Fellowship.

I also liked that they put lots into the Troll scene as it is particularly good scene in the book too and quite an iconic moment, The trolls are also briefly showed in the Fellowship on the Extended film when Frodo is in transaction into becoming a wrath after being stabbed with a Morgul blade on Weathertop.

  I also thought the way they read the moon runes on the map was very clever and very cinematically dramatic.

I also felt that the expansion of Radagast as a character was very good and actually brought a lot to the film and made for an interesting new character to explore.
I also liked the CGI effects that were used in the Goblin Town scene and felt that Azog was a very scary villain and the added affect of a type of orkish speech helped to make him seem real and fierce.
The development of the Necromancer as Sauron was very interesting and added a certain amount to the films and the story line and ties it in very well to the Rings Trilogy and the Battle of Middle Earth. Although many people have stated that it shouldn't be there because it is not an original part of the Hobbit book, I think it is very clever of Peter Jackson to add it in too his adaption.
I also as an added point loved the edition of some of Tolkien's songs and thought it was great that they were incorporated into the films.
Overall as a first film adaption it set me up nicely to 1) want to read the book and 2) wait for the next film impatiently. Now having read the book I feel that the first one was actually done very well and although yes it expanded many things that are not focused on in the book, these only added more depth and excitement to the story.
I will post a review of the 2nd instalment of the trilogy very soon :) The Desolation of Smaug!