A visual delight!

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2013)

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, orcs and hobbits, dwarfs, elves and trolls of all ages. We are going back to where it all began and like the Star Wars trilogy it's time for the age of the prequels but fear not dear reader, the first installment has certainly proved a great successor to the Lord of the Rings with only a mere few actors returning to the plot from the now decade old series.
The Hobbit: An unexpected journey grossed $180,000,000 USD in it's opening weekend globally and for a very deserving reason. Firstly this film just looks incredible being generally disappointed and slightly motion sick every time I see a movie in 3D I opted bravely for the 2D selection and can safely say it was still a visual delight from the colour of the grass and trees of the wild middle earth forests to the incredible intricate multi layers of detail and mind blowing CG effects which surely kept many animators and compositors up many a sleepless night and these efforts have certainly paid off. This is a movie experience in every sense.
The portrayal of Bilbo Baggins from Bagg End in the Shire is the unlikely hero played by Martin Freeman at first could not seem more unlikely as the British office star is funny just to look at but believe me you can take him seriously too in the final scenes he will break your heart and moments later you'll be bursting with laughter causing you to almost wet yourself from his comic timing and general mannerisms. Sir Ian McKellan as a younger Gandalf is as strong and endearing as his previous efforts and it brings a level of comfort to see possibly more of him on screen in this trilogy. The leader of the Dwarfs aptly named Thorin Oakenshield is a fantastic British actor named Richard Armitage who I had not had the pleasure of watching before playing roles in Captain America and even UK cult series The Vicar of Dibley is certainly a presence in his own right in this role. Also for lovers of Flight of the Conchords comedy series keep an eye out for a band member in this film, great to see New Zealand natives receiving roles in this saga.
The music score is mesmerizing and draws you right into the story encapsulating all that is immense and so well written world that is middle earth and its races.
The only shortcomings this film may suffer from is of course the plot itself. Stretching the authors novel into 3 long feature films has been made possible of course by Jackson's ability to embellish the story and even create new characters such as The Brown wizard to fill the depth of these productions however if you didn't read the Hobbit you would have probably never guessed aside from this character just maybe not having a Tolkien vibe on accounts of his slight corniness. In addition to this they were not as many epic battle that being said the action sequences were engrossing and highly entertaining with a small role played by an Australian actor who is always an impressive voice talent, I ask all Aussie viewers to see if you can guess who plays the troll King.
Overall The Hobbit: An unexpected journey is sure to please almost all. Except for maybe romance buffs as there was no real theme of romantic love, go see it in the movies its one that needs to be experienced in the cinemas. I might go see it in 3D. I give it 8.3 out of 10 only for being slightly dare I say it cheesy in parts. Watch this if you loved Lord of the Rings. And if you haven't seen them even better wait and watch all 6 in chronological order! But good luck to you sir/madam you are a more patient soul than I.