Fantastic return to Middle Earth

Rating: 7/10 (19 December 2012)

Well, let's get the worst out of the way first. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is clearly the most unbalanced entry of the Jackson's Tolkien movies. The first hour is clearly a bit too long and could do some tweaking. And that's the biggest complaint I have with the movie. Other than that, it offers a fantastic return to Middle Earth.
After the pacing issues are resolved, the movie hits in the high gear and finds its balance, balancing between serious and whimsical, just like it should.
the spacial effects are again top notch and Gollum is even more spectacular creation than ever. HFR is often discussed when it comes to the Hobbit and just like many others, I noted that it works amazingly well on some scene and in some scenes it looks a bit odd, especially if there's a quick cut involved. But when it works, it works marvelously well. I often found myself dumb struck on how real everything looked. When the stone giants battled each other, I could have sworn that I was looking outside the window.
So, to sum it up, Jackson & co. have managed to return to the Middle Earth with honor. Not the best movie on the series, but not a horrible movie either. And I won't be expecting a EE version out of this one, as it really, really, really doesn't need one.