I liked it

Rating: 10/10 (5 January 2013)

I'm not too sure why there is so much hate for the Hobbit. Its clearly an adaptation of the book, not the actual book itself. And it also incorporates detail from the other stories written by Tolkien, ie. the growing sense that Saruman was going to be more of a hindrance than a help. Some people see it as a problem but I don't. B I have some problems with the film 1. the initial meeting with Gandalf seemed too weird. There didn't seem to be any reason why Bilbo should go running off with this tall messy looking stranger.
However on the 2nd screening (I watched it a 2nd time) this scene didn't seem so bad and I caught some of the casual explanations given.
2. Galadriel meeting with Gandalf. Was Gandalf so in awe of the Lady in the books? She seems to have taken on a ghostly Mother Mary sort of persona here.
3. Bilbo's capture which resulted in the surrender of the entire group. I don't exactly see why Thorin would lay down his sword and get eaten just to save Bilbo's life temporarily.
4. Some of the decapitation scenes of the goblins did not amuse me.
But overall it was an excellent film. There were some marvelous bits of drama for me.
1. Bilbo's explanation of why he didn't belong to the group, and later why he chose to stay with the group.
2. The appearance of the Eagles. Weta did an amazing work in this. Simply stunning to behold.
Some posters complained about Azog being "resurrected" to be the main antagonist. Gosh if that bothers you I think you are a book-wraith.