Dazzling and Fun

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2012)

The key to enjoying this movie is this: don't compare it to The Lord of the Rings. Yes, I understand that this is technically a prequel to one of the finest film trilogies of all time, so it's quite hard to take it as separate, but if you can, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is a great movie experience. Filled with heart and humor, action and gorgeous scenery, this movie will displease few viewers, most of which will be those who expected it to be superior to the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings. Martin Freeman puts on a lovable performance as Bilbo Baggins, which only adds to the charm of the movie. I only have two major complaints: one, it's massive runtime can feel a little tedious, and two, the constant use of special effects in the orcs, goblins, and whatnot sort of gives the movie a synthetic feel. Criticism aside, I'd recommend this film to anyone with that inner-kid, waiting for a marvelous adventure. One of my favorite moments in the film is one that might otherwise be overlooked - the scene where Bilbo runs after the dwarfs and yells to his confused fellow hobbits: "I'm going on an adventure!" So he does, and he takes the audience with him.