Yes, we’re just back from watching The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey, and here’s a brief review (it containes spoilers so don’t read on if you’ve not seen it yet ;-))

The cinema in Penrith, Cumbria is fairly small, we’d booked our seats online as we didn’t know how busy it would be, and I’m glad we did as although the cinema wasn’t full (it was a Sunday lunchtime showing after all) we did ensure we got good seats.

This was the first film I’ve watched in 3D so I wasn’t sure what to expect, whether it was going to be little more than a gimmick which distracted from the film itself, it didn’t, instead it helped imperse me into Middle Earth in a way which I normally only experience in my head. I found the shots inside Bag End to be very well done, the views we had of it in the Lord of the Rings was excellent, but the 3D really drew you inside.

I was curious as to how they would start the film, and how they would introduce a younger Bilbo (Martin Freeman), the change from Ian Holme to Martin Freeman was seamless. When they first announced Martin Freeman as Bilbo I thought it was a good choice, and seeing him on screen you just know there wasn’t anyone else who could have played that part so well. In fact I didn’t have problems with any of the cast selected for the various parts in the film – though I did see a bit of Rossetti in Aidan Turner every now and then

The story was very close to Tolkien, yes there are bits added in, but then they very rarely make any book into film without changes, I didn’t see the additions and changes as a problem though. I’d heard a couple of critics complained about ‘slow sections’ in the film, and I came out of the cinema wondering if they’d watched the same film, or perhaps they have had their senses dulled years of constant action films with no plots.

Visually the film was a treat, and not only for Tolkien fans. I’m glad they got John Howe & Alan Lee back on board as concept artists, I can’t imagine anyone else taking those jobs on with such a level of dedication. When the film comes out on DVD I’ll be sure to play who sketched what It’s inspring to watch a film like this then consider how much work goess into creating it.

Highlights of the film for me would create a long long list, but returning to Bag End and the Shire on the big screen was a treat, as was seeing Rivendell again, and the views of Dol Guldur gave me goose bumps for some reason. As a fan of Tolkien I must say watching Bilbo and Gollum in a duel of riddles was excellent fun.

Did I have any negative views on the film, well, just one really, the mark Gandalf made on Bilbo’s front door was wrong, but I can probably live with that major issue

Many moons ago (okay, three decades maybe) I remember sitting at my desk trying to recreate Thror’s* Map, several hours later I’d created a crumpled piece of paper covered in ink which looked, if you squinted quite a bit something like a map. It was quickly filed in the relevant section of the waste paper basket.

A few years later and I was at a different desk but my task was the same, to recreate the map so that it looked just as I imagined it to be when reading The Hobbit, this time I baked the paper in the oven, creased it, cut it, rumpled it…. and it still looked, I have to be honest pretty feeble. So, when I first saw The Lord of the Rings on the big screen there was a glimpse of the map, but it was a brief glimpse at that, I still had a glimpse how the map should really look and it put my attempts to shame

Fast forward a few years and The Hobbit is only a few weeks from hitting the screen and an email arrives from Weta announcing some new Hobbit related merchandise, I click the link and there’s Thror’s map They’ve made it available in two versions, as a prop replica, and as a parchment art print.

I opted for the print and placed the order. One week later it arrives (not bad going NZ to UK in a week ;-)) and I remove it from it’s tube and packaging. The map is 12.6″ x 16.3″ and is printed on Italian Marina Conchiglia parchment paper and feels nice to the touch. The creases, cuts and stains are very well done and Daniel Reeve has created an excellent version of Thror’s map, now I feel the urge to visit some of the places shown on the map, time to dig out the book and have a read before the first movie hits the screens.

The only question is now, do I buy the other maps in the range…

*Yes, I know many refer to the map as Thorin’s Map, but it’s stuck in my head as being Thror’s Map from when I first read the Hobbit and that’s what it’ll be for me

Now, when I look at an illustration like this, I must admit I didn’t think it would be possible to recreate it in 3 dimensions and that it would still have the same visual impact. Then I saw the images on Weta’s webpage for the sculpture link and I realized it was something we really needed to buy. As it was only a few months until Christmas (in 2009 this is) we decided to treat ourselves and call it a combined present to us both. So, we ordered and sat back expectantly. This is where the technical issues crept in, there were, it appears, issues with the base which meant people who had already received their dragon were not happy with the piece. At this point Weta put the product on hold and scratched their heads and came up with a solution which to my eyes has improved the piece – I’m not a fan of simulated wood finishes and would have been tempted to replace it with real wood, yet the solution turned out to be replacing the simulated wood base with a polystone base which gives it a marbled appearance something I find more in keeping with the piece anyway. So, the deadline changed a few times for delivery, which given the production issues isn’t all that surprising really, then a week or so ago I received an email from Weta saying the shipment had arrived in the UK and was ready to wing its way to our address.

This morning, the van arrived and the doors opened to reveal a huge, and I mean HUGE box. I returned to the house – very carefully, and prepared to open it.

Upon opening the box we were greeted by unpacking instructions, not something I’d seen before, but then, this is the first dragon we’ve received by courier We carefully removed the outer box and opened the inner box, inside this was a spanner and a huge cube of polystyrene. The three bolts which kept the sculpture in position for shipping were quickly removed and we removed the polystyrene layer by layer.

Once all this was removed we stood back, and our jaws dropped to the ground, it is a stunning piece, really one you have to see in real life to get the full impact of. There are so many little details that you miss first time round that jump out at you when you look from another angle. It’s one of those pieces that we’ll spend quite some time looking at and slowly discovering new parts and details on.

So, what are you waiting for? there’s a limited number available Now, I just need to work out which body parts I need to sell in order to get the next sculpture.