Technologically sophisticated and entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2012)

This first Hobbit movie follows the plot of the first half of the book more or less faithfully. If you are wondering - as I did - how Jackson is going to make three movies out of one book, it's by including everything: the good as well as the ridiculous, and supplementing it with a back story out of the appendices of the Lord of the Rings.
While the plot seems at times disjointed, and people next to me complained that "nothing much happens for a long time" it is still (not) happening in Middle-Earth and very much worth seeing. The screenplay is at times subtle, at times very in-your-face. Overall, despite containing dark themes and scenes, the movie is much more lighthearted than Lord of the Rings (as the book was), and the scenery is much more epic than the plot itself.
In 3D, the movie suffers from the same weaknesses as other 3D titles, occasional blurring and center brightness. However colors are still vibrant and at 48 frames per second, the movie is extremely immersive.
Final verdict: 7/10 for the movie, 9/10 for the technology.