A great, enjoyable movie.

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2018)

It's not exactly a faithful adaptation of the book. Let's get that out of the way right off the bat. They added an entirely new subplot to the film, which really did it more harm than good, because this subplot was poorly developed and rather pointless.
Otherwise, it's still a pretty good film. It covers the first third or so of the story of Bilbo Baggins, from the Shire up to the Eagles of plot convenience. More on those in a second.
First of all, the visual effects in this movie are spectacular. Everything just looks so real, and gorgeous. It makes you want to travel to New Zealand, where the movie was filmed, and stay there for the rest of your life.
Second, the acting was pretty spectacular. The entire cast was incredibly talented, and they do a great job bringing Tolkien's characters to life.
Plot wise, the movie is a film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" Which is a great book. While they did change a lot of the story, the great plot is still there, and it never really drags or gets boring. However, the fact that the Eagles just sort of show up to save the characters's skin at the last possible moment is a bit eyeroll-worthy. However, this was also a problem with the book, so it's excusable.
All in all, a good, solid, enjoyable adventure.