The tale of of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins who unexpectedly sets off on a journey to the Lonely Mountain with Gandalf and 13 sprightly dwarfs

Rating: 8/10 (5 March 2013)

When I first heard that Peter Jackson planned on adapting The Hobbit into 3 parts, I must say I was rather worried how they would turn out to be. Would it be dragging things too far? Did Bilbo have it in him for 3 movies? The Lord of the Rings had hordes of characters, side - plots, twists and long descriptive passages. It had to have 3 parts.
However, after I watched this film in the theater, I was as captivated as when I was watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jackson directed a hell of a movie here. It was surprising that the movie was so long, but I didn't mind. In fact, I felt like it should never end.
Although the Lord of the Rings trilogy was great and visionary, it didn't match the tone of the book exactly. J. R. R. Tolkien (the author of both works) created a world where the characters were not as hostile as shown in the trilogy. Of course, the antagonists were exactly as they are shown, but characters like Faramir, Boromir, Theoden etc are portrayed like villains who turn to friends in the end. However, here in this movie, the makers have kept the tone exactly like in the book. Jackson has made a beautiful piece of art. He has included some things that weren't mentioned in the book (The Hobbit), like the Michael Palin - like character of Radagast the wizard (mentioned briefly in The Lord of the rings books), or a council between Gandalf, Lady Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman, where Gandalf expresses his misgivings about the Dark Lord (the titular Lord of the Rings). Galadriel and he are shown to be on excellent terms, which is exactly how they are in the books (she secretly wanted Gandalf to be the head of the Wizard Council). It is things like these that make you wonder how many times Peter Jackson must have read and re-read the Tolkien books.
I'm not saying the film is flawless. A scene where the Dwarfs run into giant 'Transformers' - like rock monsters was absolutely unnecessary. Maybe they must have been mentioned in the appendices by Tolkien, but they didn't fit in here.
But I digress. In a nutshell, the Hobbit is a loyal adaptation of its source material (both the Hobbit and Lord of the rings) and a thrilling ride. Do not be discouraged by the length of the movie. I assure you, it's well worth your time. I, for myself, can't wait for the next part!
NOTE: I would advise those who haven't seen it to first watch the Lord of the rings and then go for this.