Simply amazing! Manages to be even better than the Lord of the Rings

Rating: 10/10 (11 December 2012)

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" takes us back to middle earth and this trip back is even better than what I remember of it. The scenes and locations are more detailed and nuanced, the characters presented with more depth and subtlety and the action more frenetic and grander. The movie is an amazing technical as well artistic achievement in all aspects and absolutely a must see movie.
"The Hobbit" book is a simpler and shorter story than "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Being stretched out into three movies was expected to make it less epic and more mundane of a movie but that is absolutely not the case. Through sheer skill and artistry of movie storytelling, the plot feels absolutely epic and grand. While perhaps there is less at stake on middle earth than in "Lord of the Rings", there are more dimensions to the characters: doubt, guilt, frailty and a little extra space for humor and wit, which all paints a more colorful story.
At every turn, middle earth brims with overflowing wonder, magic and excitement. The technical wizardry and artistry to create the breath-taking visuals and actions are indescribably amazing and everything is given an extra little more than last time around for us to soak in the intricate details and designs. The dwarf city inside the mountain with its blustering industriousness and craftsmanship, the serene Rivendale, the rickety goblin kingdom all are presented with so much more substance and detail that even though they resemble previous "Lord of the Rings" set-pieces, they feel completely new and refreshing. The technical prowess and skills of the visual effects department have gotten so much better and that indescribable feeling of awe I felt we had when I first experienced "Lord of the Rings" set pieces like Moria and Gondor is still evoked watching these new set pieces. Plus, they have also vastly improved their handling of differences in heights of the characters and the interactions feel more natural and fluid. Everything feels like it has multiple layers and depth: from Bilbo's house and pantry to the dwarf and goblin kingdoms to all the skirmishes and battles. Middle earth as is presented here is as close to the perfect fantasy backdrop as it gets.
The new cast seamlessly blend into the middle earth world. Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage as Thorin make the characters their own. Freeman's initial bumbling English demeanor and then the growth to an adventurer is skillfully done. Armitage wonderfully projects royalty and authority while still being constrained of being a dwarf. Ian McKellen's return as the wizard Gandalf is a more playful and comedic return while Andy Serkis's Gollum is more vicious and expressive than I remember him to be (this possibly is also due to some animation improvements in Gollum as well). The rest of the dwarf company are too many to keep track of individually but as a group they provide for the expected dwarfian physical humor but also the gravity when needed of a people who have lost their home. This generation of middle earthians are all around as wonderful a group to get to know as the generation from the "Lord of the Rings" movies.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is simply amazing and is one the best movies ever made. With great storytelling, amazing visuals and very skillful acting, the movie grips you in a multiple of levels and never lets go. It is a movie to be seen as soon as humanly possible.