Would you like a cheese knife...

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2012)

Approached out of the blue by Gandalf, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarfs led by Thorin. Their journey takes them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.
Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever ... Gollum.
Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities.....
It's beautiful to look at, Jackson throws us right back into Tolkiens world with ease, and it's like meeting up with old friends again, albeit, apart from a few, the old friends are hugely different. Wood seems way out of place in this movie, and it's quite a feat to believe this, as he was the central character from the original trilogy.
And the biggest problem this movie has is the exposition. You think the farewells dragged at the end of ROTK? This really takes the biscuit. Although the performances are fantastic, and Freeman makes a star turning performance, the first hour drags and drags to the point of boredom.
But as soon as we meet Lee, Weaving, And Blanchett once more, the film excels into the fantastical world we all know and love. By all means, the first hour does have some good set pieces, the meeting of the Necromancer for one, but compared to the second half, it just drags.
The rock monster fight, the escape from the Trolls, and the final showdown with the pale Orc, are phenomenal cinema, and really captivate the audience.
But the most powerful sequence is the introduction of Gollum. You think he was intense in the trilogy, he is amazing in this. Serkis steals the thunder from everyone in his scenes with Freeman. The scene is full of emotion and intensity, and for once, it's very easy to sympathise with the creature, as this shows Bilbo as nothing more than a thief.
It's powerful scenes like this that make the movie so great, but Jacksons downfall is all in the exposition , which really stops the movie from being what it should be, a true classic.
It's still very good though.