Jacksons Return to Middle Earth is a triumph

Rating: 9/10 (23 December 2012)

Once again the idiotic critics and members of the public who think they are great by putting down big blockbuster movies are so far out with their judgement of this film. If you do not like fantasy adventure films then don't judge it, your opinion is meaningless.
I haven't seen the 48fps version, only the basic 3D version, so I cannot comment on the TV like film quality that has been reported, the quality of what I did see was great but I must say the 3D didn't add much to the film and I am a fan of 3D so do not expect too much from it.
So let's address the major issue people seem to have with this film, it's far too long. Yes it is long, yet none of it feels like it was out of place or did not drive the film forwards. I did leave the cinema feeling quite worn out and I do have to be honest, just before the end of it, I was preparing to go, which is a clear sign that i'd had enough and was ready to go. It is a film that must be experienced on the big screen, so unfortunately you have to take the rough with the smooth but it is a small price to pay for such an epic adventure. If I was to have one criticism it would be that there was a little bit of repetition with the fight scenes, they usually began with someone in trouble and just as they are about to meet their end 'AH HAAA!' The dwarfs jump in to the rescue, it appeared to happen quite a lot but I'm sure when I watch it again it will probably not be as bad as I recalled. I also found Gandalf shouted 'Run' quite often, since most of the film is spent running I would have thought Gandalf would have guessed that they get the idea by now. These are minor niggles and nothing that can have an effect on my 9 star rating. The only reason it didn't get a 10 is that Lord of the Rings so far for me just had an increased amount of tension drawing me in more so I couldn't justify rating it alongside a perfect trilogy....yet.
Martin Freeman was absolutely flawless as Bilbo and brings so much to the character. The dwarfs were all likable in their own way, it was great to see Gandalf back in action. Gollum was great as to be expected. Howard Shore's epic score is incredible and creates yet another heroic memorable theme, adding excitement to even basic chase scenes with not much going on.
Peter Jackson has done the series proud and once again delivered a wonderful adventure with jaw dropping visuals and action sequences. If you have read the book then you know that it's going to get darker and a lot more traumatic, the best is yet to come.