LOTR Fanboys beware; I wasn't impressed.

Rating: 6/10 (15 December 2012)

A long time has passed since the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor has been conquered by a fearsome dragon. Fearing what could happen should this dragon be controlled by the enemy, Gandalf the Grey readies to reclaim Erober with the help of 13 dwarfs, led by the great dwarf warrior Thorin. But before they embark of this journey, Gandalf feels the need to recruit the help of a lowly hobbit Bilbo, who is swept into an adventure of a lifetime. As they begin this quest Bilbo encounters a creature that possesses a seemingly harmless gold ring. Little does he know it will eventually determine the fate of all in Middle Earth.
One of my major problems with this film is the pacing; it's just way too slow. I don't think anything of significance happened in the first 3rd of the film, which is unacceptable for a nearly 3 hour movie. I really felt like it was dragging on, and on in the beginning so much so I left theatre to pick up some Twizzlers because I was that bored. I never do that during great movie as I'm usually really engulfed in the film and the characters. This did not happen (for most of the movie anyway).
I have to assume this is a direct consequence of Jackson milking this into three films. Their making three films out of one book and after seeing this film, there doesn't appear to be enough material to make three great movies. And to be honest, the story this time is not quite as compelling as the original LOTR trilogy. In the original trilogy, the fate of all middle earth hung in the balance. In this film, well, not so much. Now it's not all bad, the film does explore some other areas of Middle Earth. I really enjoyed the extra added detail on the Dwarfs and Goblins, something the trilogy didn't spend a lot of time on. And of course, the added development and cameos of the integral characters from the trilogy. The fantasy world of Middle Earth is still very appealing and this film did will enough to expand on it.
One of the stronger parts of the film are the performances. Ian McKellan plays Gandalf with his usual strong presence and authority. Martin Freeman is very good as Bilbo who goes from cautiously timid early in the film, to surprisingly brave in the end. But I really liked Richard Armitage as Thorin. He was clearly the most interesting character in the film and one of the few bright spots in my opinion. However, outside of Bilbo and Thorin, I wasn't really that much interested in any of the new characters, even with the added time to develop some back story for them.
There were a few nice battle sequences to keep you entertained, although I wished I had seen more (or more accurately, any) of the dragon. This was clearly a tease for the other 2 films and very disappointing. The special effects were improved, but not enough to really blow you away. I kind of felt like I had seen it before, but this takes nothing away from how great they were in the original trilogy. I saw this version of the film in IMAX 3D at 48 frames per second and I really didn't like. I felt like I was watching those early LCD TVs that had motion handling that made the movie feel almost soap opera ish. I'm hoping this is trend that doesn't continue in Hollywood.
I think everyone wanted to love this film. It's the Lord of the Rings prequel. It's Peter Jackson. We get to relive the epic fantasy world we fell in love with a decade ago. Unfortunately, the film has too much filler and just isn't that good; especially when compared to the brilliance of the original trilogy. The Hobbit is somewhat of an expected disappointment.
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