Imagine if no one told you the movie you are going to be watching is in a different format. All you know is it's in 3d and your expectations of the picture are based on the trailers you've seen. Picture yourself in the theater wearing your 3D glasses as the show comes on. And then you notice there is something different about the picture that you can't figure out at the moment. That's not what happened to me since I had already been told about 48 fps, but it's better to go with that attitude when you go in to watch “The Hobbit”.
There is something really different about watching a movie in 48 fps. The pictures look like pop-up art that has come alive. They have depth. On any other day, you are aware of the illusion 3D casts on a movie; that gloss that comes on the picture at times will be a remainder that the movie on screen is trying to be a three dimensional picture. With the 48 fps technology, that gloss is no longer there. The veil that made you aware that there is an experience going on is torn off and what remains is depth. It sacrifices illusion for depth. For some, this might take some getting used to, for others, it's going to be the beginning of a wonderful adventure.
Now, you know Peter Jackson has long evangelized this technology as the future of cinema. It might be a bold statement to make, but I think it's true for movies that will involve action sequences or aerial shots of nature. Middle Earth is no longer a place on the screen, it is a place with you in it. And something those who bashed the technology might have forgotten to mention is that the movie actually gives you time to adjust. It starts with Bilbo writing his tale. While this event is not slow in unfolding, it allows you the time to adjust to seeing people on the screen that seem to have a shadow behind them that you suspect is there but you can't see. There is one thing you can count on, everyone was right, the picture is clearer. Much clearer.
As for the movie itself, I was really amazed. Like I said earlier, it starts with Bilbo writing his tale, introducing us to a younger version of himself. And this younger Bilbo is far from the man we know he will become in those latter years of “Lord of the Rings”. He is a man who is not looking for an adventure and is going to go out of his way not to get into one. The title of the movie has already given away what exactly is going to happen to Bilbo, an unexpected journey he is not ready for.
The movie is a journey through a Middle Earth we are not familiar with. At least, this is not the same Middle Earth that exists in “Lord of the Rings”. In this Middle Earth, the dwarves are the most important beings and they are fighting to get their land from Smaug the dragon. In a way, it can be thought that the dwarves brought the invasion of their land upon themselves. Their king stored up more and more gold and the dragon is attracted to gold. But that's a little detail compared to the bitterness Thorin, the leader of the dwarves, has for the elves who refuse to help him on the day the dragon invades his land. This is a tale of a journey to reclaim that land and restore the once great kingdom of the dwarves back to where it was. It is a journey where you will meet Gollum and see how Bilbo cheated him out of the ring. And see for yourself how Bilbo discovered the power of the ring. You will meet orcs that talk fluently and have the power of reasoning. This is a Middle Earth with one of its villains as an orc who really wants to kill Thorin with the same determined desire that Thorin would have to see him dead.
The experience of “The Hobbit” in 48 fps for me is one that I would not mind to see in 2 more installments. I trust Peter Jackson to keep telling a wonderful tale. Once upon a time, movies were made in Black and White. Then color came and it became normal for movies to be made in color. It has became so common and normal for movies to be made in color that any movie made in Black and White is seen as an artistic choice. Think of “The Hobbit” as the artistic choice that has been enhanced with a wonderful technology, if only you'll give it the chance.