Good Film; A Bit Long

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2012)

Sir Peter Jackson is really trying to keep the franchise going with this prequel to the Lord of the Rings films. I saw an interview with the cast on some morning show and it is just hard to believe that all the dwarfs are over six feet tall. I think that the CGI in films continue to improve and I can't imagine what they will have in store for us in the coming years. The story begins with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm,old Bilbo) wanting to document his unexpected adventure so that he will be able to share it with his young friend once completed. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) sets off on his journey to help the dwarfs, led by Thorin (Richard Armitage) regain their homeland. Along the way they run into various mini-adventures and have to fight their way through the landscape. Anyway, there were a lot of familiar faces in this film; even Elijah Wood (Frodo) made a brief appearance at the beginning of the film. Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Elrond (Hugo Weaving), Saruman (Christopher Lee) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) are among the cast of characters returning to the film. Speaking of Gollum, I think that there were some scenes in this film that were entirely too long (e.g. the riddle scene by the underground lake). My favorite character in this film (and all the films is Gandalf (Ian McKellen). He always seems to show up just when you need him and when he does, you know there is about to be some awesomeness on the screen. I think that the thing that surprised me the most was all the singing in the film; I didn't see that coming. I did enjoy the "rock" fight.. trust me; it is not what you think. It is evident at the end of the film that there will be a sequel to this prequel; so get ready for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Smaug (by the way) is the name of the fire-breathing dragon in the film. I only hope that this one will not be another butt blister film. I could hear the kids saying that they thought this film was awesome after it was over. I thought that it was pretty entertaining and the film itself was beautifully made. I just wish that it was not almost three hours long. I almost gave it an amber light just for that reason, but I am going to go ahead and give it a green light. "Lord" lovers will definitely like it.