With just ten days to go until Peter Jackson‘s fourth Middle-Earth-based film hits theatres worldwide (the reviews so far remain somewhat mixed), we’ve been granted a welcomed six minutes of footage from the upcoming The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to whet our greedy appetites. So far critics have praised the exciting action sequences and general scope of the journey, but remain critical of a middling opening hour and Jackson’s decision to shoot in 48FPS. Until you get yourself into a theatre to judge it for yourself, though, check out the clips below.
The first clip shows the pivotal scene in which Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) faces off against Gollum, with Gollum’s split personality making a humorous comeback as he ponders the notion of eating Hobbit. Then there’s two clips from the film’s opening, with the Dwarves causing Bilbo all kinds of trouble and getting Martin Freeman all Martin Freeman’d. We’re also treated to a clip of an exciting-looking Warg battle, in which the Dwarves take down a couple of the nasty brutes, and a scene set within the deep reaches of the Misty Mountains, where a huge (but very CGI’d) melee is underway between Gandalf, Bilbo, the Dwarves and a whole load of Goblins.
As far as we’re concerned, these clips look promising, but was it asking too much of Peter Jackson to try and repeat the magic of his first Tolkien trilogy? What do you think of the clips, anyway? Do you have as much hope for Bilbo’s journey as you did for Frodo’s? Is 48FPS likely to make you puke on the crown of the unfortunate person sitting in front of you? Let us know what you’re thinking in the comments section below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8mWLMxsnjco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lkjL727A2tY
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ORsNO1NLPDg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RxDR3jy8OKw
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theatres worldwide on December 14th, 2012 and also stars Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Barry Humphries, James Nesbitt, Christopher Lee and Richard Armitage.
Source: The Film Stage