Bret, Youve Got It Going On
Bret McKenzie is now best known as one half of Flight Of The Conchords , as well as being an Oscar-winner (thanks to his role as music supervisor on The Muppets ).
But, at the turn of the millennium, he was a jobbing actor, and as a New Zealand native, born in Wellington, McKenzie landed a minor role in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy as an unnamed Elf.
He appeared at Elrond’s Council in Fellowship, and even got a line in The Return Of The King (“M’lady… M’lady!”) that became a cult scene after the fact, thanks to the rise of Conchords .
Here he returns to act as front-of-house for Elrond’s palatial stopover, getting a handful of lines and a character name (Lindir). And a whoop from the audience, naturally.
Thunder Giants
Yeah, we’ve already mentioned Jacko’s propensity for a showstopping set-piece, but it bears mentioning more than once.
The thunder giants wreak havoc as the Company edge their way along the side of the misty mountain.
Rearing up, these stony titans fling huge chunks of rock at each other (for no apparent reason). It looks dazzling in 48FPS, with the rain-slicked boulder-folk appearing both ginormous in size and pin-sharp in clarity, but it’s Jackson’s invention that takes it to the next level.
Such as? The giant who whose head gets launched as a makeshift projectile. Or the fact that, midway through the ruckus, our heroes discover they’re actually perched on the thighs of one of the behemoths.
It’s these touches that elevate an incidental plot-forwarding device into essential cinema, and something that makes us glad Jackson didn’t scrimp on the running time of his adaptation.
Messenger Goblin
The Goblins’ Misty Mountain lair brims with such abundant detail that it’s often difficult to know where to look (this is where the 48FPS is most welcome, offering a combination of scope and clarity to rival IMAX).
While you might have to wait for repeat viewings (or that extended edition Blu-ray) to drink up the minutiae the sequence has to offer, one thing you won’t have missed is the Messenger Goblin.
Relaying messages via zipwire, like a rudimentary SMS (look, they don’t have smartphones in Middle-earth, OK?), he’s one of the coolest details in AUJ , a thoroughly disturbing blend of the cute and the grim.
And he’s played (via the magic of mo-cap), by Kenyan actor and stuntman Kiran Shah, who stunt-doubled for Frodo in Fellowship , and has the Guinness World Record accolade of being the “the shortest professional stuntman currently working in film”.
Back To The Start
Did anything get the LOTR nostalgia pumping like the opening scenes with Bilbo and Frodo?
OK, so this was where the 48FPS was at its most distracting: an initial shock to the system, at first it did seems as though Bilbo and Frodo were moving a little too quickly.
But a wave of sentiment washed that away, as the reason for Elijah Wood’s Hobbit cameo became forehead-slappingly obvious: Ian Holm’s older Bilbo decides to jot down his life story for his young relative on the day of his eleventy-first birthday party - as witnessed in Fellowship . Even the clothes they wear are the same.
Reading The Small Print
“Laceration… Evisceration… Incineration…” It’s all in the small-print of the contract Bilbo attempts to give the once-over before deciding to sign up to the mission.
Showcasing Martin Freeman’s impeccable comic timing as the contract unfurls and his confusion ripens into stupefaction, it’s an example of how the first half of the film plays much more humourously than its Lord Of The Rings equivalent.
We may have seen it countless times in trailers during the run-up to the film’s release, but we still couldn’t help chuckling when Bilbo collapses at the culmination.
The perfect everyman hero that we can root for and laugh at.
The Eagles Have Landed
Another direct reminder of The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, even if it harks back to one of the most divisive elements of those films.
Yep, the eagles had a lot of plot-hole haters up in arms. After all, why didn’t the eagles just fly Frodo and Sam directly to Mount Doom to deposit the ring? Job done.
Well, those spoilsports obviously didn’t think about the fact that the eagles could fall prey to Middle-earth’s flying baddies. And Gandalf is the eagles’ mate, not their boss.
While the fortuitously timed arrival of these feathery friends might irk similarly, their triumphant return needs to be celebrated. They look pretty cool flying the Company away from the Warg-pack, but what really makes this appearance is the fact we get to see them in action - tearing, flinging, and generally pwning the aggressors.
Another Dimension
The 3D in The Hobbit is typically deployed for depth rather than ostentation, although Jackson doesn’t shy away from a couple of flamboyant flourishes.
Like in the Dwarves vs trolls smackdown, when a hammer to the face sends a mouthful of teeth scattering out into the audience. Or inside the Misty Mountain, when a bridge is agitated, releasing a wave of bats from its underside.
We wouldn’t have wanted a whole film comprising these sort of touches, but when they’re employed sparingly, they help to add to the immersive texture of Middle-earth.
Erebors Got Talent
Inhabitants of Middle-earth never shy away from a sing-song (especially over a few brews at The Green Dragon), and that goes doubly for Dwarves.
After a comedy chorus at Bilbo’s expense over their impromptu Bag End feast, the Dwarves prove that can belt out a ditty with real heft.
With lyrics direct from Tolkien’s pages, the short guys harmonise for a rousing call to action. In Middle-earth, a real man needn’t be afraid of breaking out the baritone - just check out Aragorn at the ending (well, one of them) of ROTK .
The Goblin King
In another significant amplification of what’s on the page, the Goblin King gets an opportunity to shine (or at least glisten, slimily) on screen.
Played with unctuous glee by Barry Humphries (the Antipodean comedian better known as alter ego Dame Edna Everidge), the saggily jowled toad is the ringleader of the beasts inside the Misty Mountain.
He gets personal when it comes to attacking Thorin, weakening the Dwarf leader with a sly insult about his pa.
Even though the Goblin King’s role is expanded, we imagine he’ll get an extra scene or two in the extended edition of AUJ .
And while Gandalf dispatches him in such a way as to test the limits of the 12A rating, the Goblin King manages to wring one last comedic moment out of his death tumble.
A Quizzical Grimace
When Gollum made his debut proper in 2002’s The Two Towers (after being glimpsed briefly, in an early design incarnation, in Fellowship ), he became a new yardstick for synthespians.
For his brief appearance in The Hobbit , Jackson and co manage to raise the bar again, investing Gollum’s face with unprecendented levels of detail.
As the mo-cap creation contorts his face into a frustrated grimace trying to answer one of Bilbo’s tricksy riddles, the characterisation is staggering.
No small credit is due to Andy Serkis’ digitally captured performance, and fittingly the actor has become a pioneer in the medium.
If the next two Hobbit films cleave close to the source text, then this will be the last time we’ll meet Gollum.
But that’s not to say Serkis’ fingerprints won’t be seen across the rest of the trilogy, as he’s also the Second Unit director.
