We Got Jar-Jar Binxed in Theaters

Rating: 5/10 (30 December 2012)

I had high hopes for this movie after enjoying the Lord of the Ring, but The Hobbit proved to be a tremendous disappointment after its predecessor set the bar so high. The main problem is that the film seems to have been made for children. Large amounts of screen time in this extremely long movie seem to be devoted to nonsensical characters such as the Brown Wizard that are playful and childlike, but don't do a whole lot to advance the plot. I have read the book, and was extremely disappointed to see the light in which some of the characters were portrayed.
I also felt extremely cheated out of an ending. Unlike the Lord of the Rings movies which correlated with each novel, The Hobbit only tells half the story. I'm not sure I will bother to watch the sequel. The directors and screen writers would have been better suited to cut about an hour of the little kids stuff and finish the whole story. Granted, I'm sure this decision was made so that they could sell another movie in a year or two but unfortunately the means by which they stretched out the screen-time may have alienated a chunk of the audience in the way that the first Star Wars prequel did with the character Jar Jar Binx.
If you have kids, then by all means take them. If you are a hardcore high fantasy viewer... maybe go see it in the theater. If you are an average high fantasy fan, save this one for DVD.