Action-packed welcome back to the Middle Earth of LOTR

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2012)

Peter Jackson continues to balance a faithful adaptation of a revered book with the realities of the movie format. The almost 3 hours fly by quickly and it almost feels like the movie needed a slower pace, but I suppose it has to first and foremost "entertain".
The acting is superb and while there are some comical and light-hearted moments, it is never kitschy or childish. I was afraid Bombur was going to turn out to be ridiculously silly, but I was wrong. Gollum is arguably even better than in LOTR and in some scenes surprisingly likable! Martin Freeman is an amazingly convincing hobbit, and Bilbo's relationship with Gandalf is nicely introduced/explained at the beginning.
The New Zealand scenery and sets are as grand and detailed as we are used to from LOTR and the CGI so good that you don't notice it, which in my opinion is the best compliment one could give. The Shire looks wonderful and even more detailed than in LOTR and other locations in both forested and mountainous areas are stunning!
Minor criticisms: 1. The scene with the mountain giants fighting felt a tad unnecessary for the flow of the movie.
2. Some action sequence shots seemed "made for 3D". Note: I watched the 2D version.
3. Only because it was unexpected: This movie is *not* for children, even though the book was intended for children. That will perhaps disappoint the parents of kids who read The Hobbit in anticipation of then watching the movie. I would say the minimum appropriate age for The Hobbit would be 13, but every parent has their own opinions on that.
In summary, an extremely well made, entertaining movie, irrespective of whether or not you've read The Hobbit.
PS: My favorite scenes: * The introduction of the dwarfs - well paced, balanced amount of humor. * The game of riddles - Andy Serkis at his best! * The final scenes concluding the confrontation with the Goblins/Wargs (can't be more specific without spoiling it ;-)