Spectacular 3D production of a classical story

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2012)

I saw the film in 3D IMAX format. The 48 per second rather than the normal 24 frames certainly improved the viewing on the IMAX screen. Judging by the interest in the UK it should have a similar box office success as in the US. The adaption of Tolkien's novel to bring it to a wide audience was in my view well-done. It easy to criticise content and portrayal if you are a Tolkien purist but since most of the viewers will not have or probably never will read the books, the film at least brought the story to life. Fantasy films have value into today's troubled world where greed and war still dominate.
Jackson has followed the theme of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, even to the extend of having a mountain and a band of travellers seeking it as main objectives of the story. My only criticisms which didn't spoil my enjoyment, was too much repetitative CGI in the fight scenes and the terrible regional accents of the dwarfs. Scottish didn't gel with the dialogue. Even with fantasy stories it's important to have some reality. There is no way 13 dwarfs would have survived unharmed the horrendous fights and falls over rocks and cliffs. I liked the parts of Bilbo Barggins and Gandalf played excellently by Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen. The fact that I am now eager to see what happens in the second film of the trilogy I guess works for the producer. The test also of a good production is the acting, the sets and not too much reliance on CGI. I give full marks on two of these but wonder how the film would rate if there was no or less GCI. Hence I score it at 8.