A great ride, but not without flaws

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2012)

It's the Hobbit and it's Peter Jackson! I can't say I'm one of the 'great fans' of Tolkien, but I did enjoy LOTR and have good childhood memories of the Hobbit. So here goes. The movie is 1/3, close to 3 hours of cinematic time and in many ways feels very similar to LOTR in terms of scenery, style and overall ambiance. Great cast, great performance and a good ride. From what I remember and what I'm told it also quite closely follows the canon of the book with a few exceptions here and there. Without any spoilers, I think it's a good ride even if you haven't seen LOTR or are a fan of Tolkien. Just be prepared for a bit of a slow opening.
On the negative side - my two major gripes are the CGI and that fact the film feels pretty dumbed-down, probably targeting the 13-18 demographic. Sure, CGI is part of life, especially when we talk about a fantasy title, but too much is sometimes, well, too much. I have no problem with the unnatural color saturation, heavy use of HDR and the like but there are some scenes which look just unrealistic (fall scenes primarily). Secondly, modern references such as wizards smoking too many mushrooms and a hint at Gandalf's proverbial lack of spell casting skills may provoke a smile or two but are not to the movie's benefit. Falling great distances without any injuries, etc. also works only as long as you're 16 and have pop corn left... In essence I'd say LOTR was a much more credible movie.
So there - 9/10 from me. I'd say I enjoyed it and can whole-heartedly recommend it.