True to the book, whilst maintaining the feel from The Lord of the Rings

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2019)

Peter Jackson made marvelous work adapting J.R.R. Tolkiens fantasy masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, and when The Hobbit was announced, who better to direct the adaptation of Tolkien's original story?
The novel is one I hold very dear. It has sort of this cozy and warm feeling surrounding it, telling a relatively small adventure story for children. With that, Tolkien laid the foundation for all fantasy that has come since.
Did Jackson manage to recreate the magic of that book, as well as follow up his cinematic masterpiece trilogy? The answer to both of the questions are an absolute: Yes.
The events in the novel are perfectly adapted and strengthens the feeling of the pages coming alive for this feature presentation, and the child-like feeling from the novel is there to be found as well; many of the songs and jokes from the novel are adapted fashionably, without making it feel out of place compared to the rest of the film - for Jackson did not simply seek out to make a direct adaptation of the book, oh no. This film also cleverly makes it clear how it takes place in the same universe as his previous Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Beside the feeling of child-like wonder and small adventures stands a more serious film, with the fate of the world at stakes, and with more of the universe established since the writing of the novel, one are also able to incorporate familiar faces from other parts of the Middle-Earth universe.
The acting and characters are great, Martin Freeman sells it as Bilbo, and really feels like a younger version of Ian Holm's character, and Richard Armitage is very much compelling as the stern and hard dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield. McKellen is great as always in the role of Gandalf the Wizard and has some fantastic quotes in this movie as well.
Once again, the CGI is breathtaking, and combined with the practical effects, it really sells the sense of Middle-Earth being real.
Overall, a fantastic movie, which conveys the feel found in the novel, as well as bringing its own ideas into the fold.