Doesn't disappoint

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2012)

"Expectations" is the name of the game for this movie. If you are expecting a 'LOTR reloaded' kind of flick, you will certainly come out whining. However if you keep in mind that the spirit of the original book is completely different to the epic-to-end-all-epics tone of LOTR (in fact, The Hobbit is a story that JRR Tolkien improvised to put his children to sleep), then you will enjoy this journey.
It is hard not to enjoy a movie made with so much attention to detail and such impressive visuals. The cinematography is flawless and the photography is stunning. Doesn't remind you at all of a little chubby someone who recently sold his company to Disney and can only shoot flat angles and shot, reverse-shot dialogs. No, this is top-class film-making and story-telling. I particularly enjoyed the extensive use of the original fictional languages by the characters, it was a wonderful touch by PJ.
On the cons side, you can say that some scenes drag on unnecessarily, the run time could have easily been cut to 2 hours with no harm to the story. Some characters from the LOTR are shoehorned in this one with no particular reason other than referencing the original trilogy. And finally the chase in the caves seems more fitting to a video game than a motion picture.
Although this is far from a masterpiece, it still is a very enjoyable movie, quite possibly the best of 2012 hands down. If you know what to expect you won't be disappointed. Looking forward to the next installment.