Jackson's Return to Middle-Earth is a Glorious, Albeit Lengthy, Trip

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2012)

Anyone who knows my taste in movies knows that I usually favor the fantasy genre. Heck, I even gave a positive review to this summer's "Snow White and the Huntsman". But, and I know many out there agree with me, the crowning achievement in the fantasy genre is Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings". Each film was superbly crafted, with practical effects and great casting that will make it stand the test of time, much like Lucas' original "Star Wars" movies.
So, like many people, I was pretty excited for "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey". I didn't like the fact that a 300 paged book was being split into three movies, because I knew that a lot of things were going to be stretched out far beyond their natural length to ensure a 2 hour and 45 minute length. And there in lies my biggest problem with the movie; why does it need to be this long? "The Hobbit" is a completely separate entity from "The Lord of the Rings", both tonally and scripturally.
The casting is solid, with Martin Freeman playing an excellent, energized Bilbo Baggins. The dwarfs, while funny, were sort of forgettable, though I expect we will get more development from them in the next two movies. And even some of the characters from "The Lord of the Rings" appear, whether they are minor cameos or are involved more intricately with the plot.
As I said before, I was very impressed with the practical effects in the previous trilogy, so I expected more of that in this movie. And while some of it is practical and effective, too much of it is CGI. And that just looks out of place, especially in a Middle-Earth that is so fresh in everyone's mind.
Final verdict: The movie is too long and too overindulgent to be a great movie like "The Lord of the Rings", but it is a good movie. I didn't get the chance to see it in 48fps, so I can't judge the film on that basis. I just hope that Jackson can either better utilize the length and pacing in the next two movies or just make them an hour and a half, because the length is really the biggest problem with this movie. Still, it's a good movie that should be experienced in a movie theater.