One of the best movies (of any kind) I've ever seen

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2012)

The movie is amazing. It is unlike anything I've ever experienced in a cinema. The vividness of the colors and light and movement is something to behold. And then the 3D takes it all to another level. It was a little unnerving at times. Almost as if I was watching a hybrid of a movie and a live action performance.
The scenery is, of course, gorgeous. The acting is light, fun, playful while also managing to stay true to the original story. There is a little too much of the side stores for my liking. And it could well have been cut by a half hour or so and still not lost any of it impact and appeal.
Martin Freeman is a revelation. Knowing him from The Office (I lived in the UK for a while) it hardly seemed plausible that he could carry off such a role, but he is very believable. The merry band of dwarfs are well played and you somehow get to know each of them by the end of the film. The special effects are, well, special. We were ducking as rocks and boulders came flying out at us and I swear there was a bird floating over our heads at one point. The surround sound was rich and evocative of the caves and the music is lush and emotional.
As for the main story, well, apart from doing a prelude that reprises the role of Frodo and older Bilbo Baggins, it pretty much stays true to the text - with some audience members anticipating what the characters were going to say next.
A word of warning - some of the battle scenes are very intense, made more so by the 3D and high definition used along with the sound effects. You may want to think long and hard about taking young kids to it.
But for everyone else, particularly the young at heart, this first installment of The Hobbit is a gem.
(note: I was very fortunate to see The Hobbit in Wellington last week. I was there on business and through a friend of a friend I landed a ticket. I was in in Cinema 1 of the Reading Cinemas - one of the two cinemas that premiered the film last Wednesday.)