As a Bond fan I loved the new Q, I loved the fact that for the first time in the last four films there was a memorable villain portrayed with show stopping vigour by Jarvier Bardem. This film hit every mark well and in Bond parley it hit the Bullseye and left its mark. I eagerly await the next film and I hope its not too long a wait this time.
Yesterday I visited my favourite local cinema to capture the Hobbit in all its full 48 fps glory. I was sort of edgy about this choice, early press reviews were mixed claiming a video like sheen to preceding and that the highly detailed image exposed flaws in make-up and environments.
Now I'm not a Tolkien fan, I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a cinematic work, as a piece of drama and as a bravo piece of film making. The Hobbit is a lighter tale that the Rings trilogy, it takes place in a happier period of middle earth history and is very much a children's tale told to entertain and excite.
Jackson is a director that excites ever since Bad Taste I have sought out each of his films. There is only one of his films that I find hard to be entertained by, and that is Meet the Feebles. Even when flawed his work still delivers. Kong is too long, but so many scenes post arrival to Skull Island hit the mark, I still love the film. Lovely Bones is another work that for me is a perfect adaption of the book but Its hard to say I could watch it again. Because you still have to get past the initial act that deprives the heroine of her life and that is I think the one element of the film that audiences find hard to get past. But moments, beats work powerfully for me having read the book well before it became a film I knew what to expect, and felt it was a brave choice for Peter Jackson to make after Kong.
Its a sign of our times that success in film seems now to be based on box office performance and not on how good the film is, or how on a story telling level it succeeds.
The Hobbit is good, no hell its great. Yes it is a good hour too long, yes out of 13 dwarves only three really stick out in the memory but with another two films yet to come there is time for them to shine. As the opening part it works on all levels and with a welcome dose of humour. Martin Freeman delivers a great Bilbo and not to many liberties are taken with the story. This is recognisably the Hobbit with a few minor tweaks which suggest big pay-offs further down the line. Nobody does Fantasy like Jackson and I came away from the film excited and with the damn Misty Mountains song cycling through my brain. The High frame rate issue I will tackle separately it deserves it. But I will be seeing this film again, it will be High Frame Rate and hopefully Dolby Atmos. I loved it and this is the perfect Christmas Present on which to end the yearn.
So now I shall ponder my views on the High frame rate and post within the next day or so when I have let it all sink in.
