An Expectedly Brilliant Journey

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2012)

Sometimes I get the feeling that professional critics want something to fail. Sometimes I think they enforce the idiom 'pride comes before a fall', and want previous successes to be tempered by present failure.
That's what I think has happened here. Of all the reviews of this movie I've read at least half were negative, giving less than half the available marks.
Let me rectify this by saying I don't know how anyone can view this film and see it as anything other than the epic masterpiece it is.
Not only does Jackson wonderfully encompass the plot of 'The Hobbit', but he draws in further prose from Tolkien's wider collected writings to flesh out those portions of 'The Hobbit' that are only alluded to in the original children's book.
The sets, lighting, cinematography, CG work, dialogue, editing and plot are all extremely strong. After almost 3 hours I found myself wanting more.
Are we so spoiled we will see this visual wonder as anything but phenomenal? So jaded that we can look at this spectacle with indifference? So cynical as to say this magic is not worth the effort of sitting and looking?
To criticise a movie this excellent and of this scale and granduer as much as certain critics have is simply disingenuous. This is evidenced by the box office results - the public clearly have little respect for the critics and until they are more honest in their criticism they will find their voices increasingly silent.