The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (DVD Review)

It's been a long while since I last reviewed a DVD release (last one is the final Harry Potter movie) of a movie. I never gotten the chance to review either The Dark Knight Rises and even Argo but since it's the start of the month April and it's officially Summer, here I am; back from the dead to do this DVD reviews as regular as possible (I can assure you that).

Now being sold at all video stores nationwide (Astroplus, Odyssey and O-Music branches) is the return of Peter Jackson at helm for another Middle-earth adventure, it is non other than THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. I just bought it yesterday at our local Astrovision outlet, and sadly I cannot upload the photos of my copy and for-pre-bookers-exclusive freebies because of the crappy picture quality of my phone camera, so i'll take a much clearer photo from the internet instead. Ok, so let's start!

An Unexpected Journey is the first installment in the Hobbit Trilogy and it stars Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage and Andy Serkis as Gollum. The second and the third film in the franchise are still being released in theaters in the December of 2013 until the 2014. The following DVD release of the film (Blu-ray includes) features all featurettes released by Peter Jackson last year, trailers and a lot, lot more. It's more or less than 2 hours of special features to be specific.

The film, which has a nearly 3 hour running time, starts with the introduction of a younger Bilbo Baggins (played brilliantly by Martin Freeman), to which is invited by Gandalf the Grey (Sir Ian McKellen) for an adventure. Its main purpose is to reclaim the 13 dwarfs' homeland from the ruthless dragon Smaug. Moving on (i'm not putting massive spoiler elements in), is a lot of mayhem and confrontations; including the infamous Riddles in the Dark with Gollum and interrogation of Galadriel and Gandalf in Rivendell.

Now, let's talk about the DVD itself:

Feature Film: For an expected 3 hours duration, the film just keeps getting better and better for the second viewing. Yes, it was getting very slow and boring at times, but it manages to made it epic and very enjoyable to watch. With Jackson taking over Guillermo Del Toro (still curious about him directing the movies), still it had the Lord of the Rings vibrancy and tone into it. 8/10.

Picture Quality: Since it's Magnavision Home Video releasing the film, it's no surprise that this release would please every Tolkien fans. Still, it is vivid and works perfectly on our HDTV (I wonder if I bought the Blu-ray, hmm). You get to see everything from the strands of Gandalf's awesome beard to the landscape shots of New Zealand and it is beautiful and crisp as ever. 9/10.

Sound Quality: The quality of the sound of this release is what made it worth every cent. Howard Shore's haunting score/ theme for the movie is a big plus for the experience. When you get to hear the Dwarfs singing the 'Misty Mountains' song out front, I guarantee the greatest nerdgasm you'll ever had in your life. 10/10.

Special Features: As I said earlier, the bonus features includes behind the scenes footage and trailers for the movie. I still having a second thought before buying this release because most likely there will be an extended special edition of the movie where every bonus contents for the movie is included. But, i'm still pleased watching most of the stuffs included here. 8/10.

DVD Cover: I got the 2-disc DVD with an lenticular cover. If your curious what does the lenticular cover of the DVD looks like, it is identical to the Blu-ray combo pack. It was amazing and again, kudos to Magnavision for giving the best possible cover for this movie. 9/10.

The Release: The geek rates the release for an average total of 8.8/10. Arguably the best release from Magnavision Home Video. Oh and like them on Facebook for updates and more.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is now available on home video. Prices starts for P799 (2-Disc DVD), P1850 (Blu-ray) and P2995 (Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack)

That's about this month, i'm trying to review at least 1-2 DVDs for you old and new. My next DVD review will be something a bit different, here's a tease for you: Parole, Barricades and Freedom. Until next time!