Fits perfectly within the LOTR universe

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2012)

A shortish book is drawn out to not one but three full-length feature films, the better to flesh out characters who need, uh, fleshing, and the better to tell every bit of the tale. This is the story of Bilbo Baggins, who makes his first appearance as a young lad in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
If I could use just one word to describe the film, it would be "wow." Or maybe "gosh" or "gee" or "holy COW"...but those are two words, and I am digressing. The movie is in 3D and will also be available in IMAX. I saw it in 3D. It's worth it in 3D. It's a beautiful, stunning film that feels right in line with the earlier Lord of the Rings movies, even though it's set 60 years earlier and derives from what's best described as a children's book.
Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is a hobbit. Hobbits are smaller than you and me. Well, you, anyway. They're short. They live simple lives, and they love it. Theirs is an agrarian society. No magic, no oddities, and above all no adventures. And such is the case with Mr. Baggins, who lives in a home called Bag's End in an area known as The Shire. He is content. Until the mysterious wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellan) appears suddenly, as is his wont, and offers Bilbo a chance at a grand adventure indeed. It involves several dwarfs who wish to trek back to their homeland, which has been usurped by a huge dragon named Smaug, and reclaim it as their own. I know, it sounds simple and that Bilbo might be slumming by tagging along, but off he goes anyway. Reluctantly.
Now, please bear in mind that, like the LOTR movies, this is just the first of three films. The entire Hobbit story isn't told. That means we spend more time in certain areas than we might have if the book had been filmed in one shot. The unsightly squad, with their faux burglar (Bilbo) run into comical stone giants and put on a rotating spit, then beset by orcs and goblins, and then at some point, deep within the goblins' mountain, Bilbo runs into a familiar (to us) face: Gollum, nee' Smeagol, the keeper of the One Ring.
Much of the movie, with New Zealand stepping in admirably again for Middle-Earth, involves the troupe running from things. Running across fields, down into caves, through caverns, across more fields, up and down mountains, and so on. Lots of running. Considering most of these dwarfs are built like beer kegs and not Kenyan runners, I'm kind of surprised none of them suffer a cardiac arrest or two. But again, digression.
And much of the plot, aside from the standard journey to a faraway land, involves the development of Bilbo as, well, a man. Hobbit, whatever. He's meek and mild, but he finds his courage, several times over, through the course of just this film. The gleaming sword given to him by Gandalf helps a mite, too. But still! Cunning and courage and whatnot from a lowly hobbit! (Literally lowly.)
You will see some familiar faces. Let's just say that Rivendell is on the way, just as it was/will be in the first LOTR movie. There takes place a debate about whether the dwarfs, led by the great Thorin Oakenshield, really should be doing what they're doing. Saruman the White is pretty set against it, but Lady Galadriel seems to trust Gandalf more than anyone. And so our dwarfs run from place to place, lopping off orc heads as they go. It's pretty neat.
Is this a movie for kids, though? It's based on a kids-like book that's much lighter than the LOTR stuff to follow. And it is PG-13, of course. But it's not a family film in the sense that, oh, The Polar Express is. It can be scary at times, and the 3D - well used - heightens that. The dwarfs are great comic relief, but they don't dull the edge of a quick- paced, very well shot film. The youngest shouldn't be in the theater, but it's suitable for the tweens and above. With plenty of great action for the rest of us, too.