Don't trust the critics, it's a great movie

Rating: 7/10 (14 December 2012)

The Hobbit is an extraordinary movie and deserves a lot more than it is getting. For some reason critics are giving the movie "average" reviews which doesn't make sense. The reason for this is because of expectations. Critics expected the movie to be like The Lord of the Rings and they didn't get that. They got something a little bit different. But that is not a bad thing because The Hobbit is a really good movie.
So to clear things up expect something different than the Lord of the Rings. You will notice some similar elements but you will also notice some changes and this is because The Hobbit (book) was a lot more lighthearted than The Lord Of The Rings. The Hobbit is an adventure, the Lord of the Rings is an epic. This is what the movie does great at: it feels like the book The Hobbit and doesn't try to act like The Lord of The Rings. And it shouldn't try to be The Lord of The Rings because IT ISN'T!
One of the things that I loved about this movie that stood out the most to me was its great sense of humor and dialogue. The character interaction is very good and each character has their own specific traits and characteristics. I give two thumbs up to Martin Freeman for playing the perfect Bilbo Baggins. He truly mastered the role and I couldn't have asked it to be any other way. Back to humor, there were many (a LOT) of moments where the theater burst out into laughter. The movie is genuinely funny which is one of its greater aspects. Now don't get me wrong, the rest of the movie is great but I just wanted to point out that the movie is funny and the characters are very well made.
A lot of people have been bickering about the whole 48 frames per second thing (it was 48, right?) and I just wanted to say that you shouldn't worry. I heard a lot of problems and complaints about it but honestly if Peter Jackson had NEVER said that it was in 48 fps no one would've cared or even noticed. It looks great and really smooth. It didn't take away from the experience at all and I'm glad Peter Jackson filmed it in 48 fps.
For those of you concerned about plot changes you shouldn't worry too much. There are some plot changes and I wouldn't say that they were necessarily for the better but they didn't harm the plot. The changes were mainly to explain the Middle Earth universe better and to explain some things that are important to know but weren't in the Lord of The Rings (I'm looking at you Radagast The Brown) and I can say that Radagast was well done even though he wasn't entirely necessary. He was in The Lord of The Rings book but not movie so he had to be shown eventually.
The visual effects are very good and I recommend 3D but everyone has their own preferences. The CGI was very good and is , of course, well ahead of its time. If there is one gripe (and this is my only real gripe for the movie) it is that the movie uses CGI way too much. The movie was a CGI feast and didn't rely on the standard special effects of The Lord of The Rings. Why is this a problem? Because in 10 years CGI will look outdated but high quality special effects will never look outdated which The Lord of The Rings has proved. Also I would say that the animators got a little carried away with the King Goblin and his horde. It wasn't terrible but it was a lot less serious and didn't seem too threatening, but that is more accurate to the book.
Oh yeah and good job Andy Serkis! The scene with Gollum was priceless and very very well done. I was surprised with how well it came out and I was also shocked out how Gollum was lovable and scary at the same time. It was really good.
Overall The Hobbit was a really good movie. The acting was top notch, the humor was great, it followed the spirit of the book well and kept itself lighthearted at all times and it has an awesome soundtrack (though a lot of reused tracks). The only gripes for the movie is the use of too much CGI and a couple of distracting side plots which changed the pace of the movie randomly. Still an excellent movie. Go see it for yourself!