Long but worth it for the great story it tells

Rating: 7/10 (6 February 2013)

"The Hobbit -An Unexpected Journey" is an enjoyable movie that lives up to the high standards of director Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Some sequences are too long such as the feast scenes where we meet the dwarfs and the escape from the Goblins. However this doesn't take away too much from the high quality of the movie.
The story of a hobbit joining the dwarf's quest to recover their gold from a fierce dragon is just that - a great story- and Jackson tells it well, with plenty of help from a rousing score, New Zealand scenery and CGI effects.
The acting is good though none of the characters has a lot of depth. Martin Freeman, in particular, is good as Bilbo Baggins, who surprises himself by deciding to leave the quiet Shire to wander through Middle Earth with complete strangers. The scene where he meets Gollum, played by Andy Sirkis, s particularly memorable.