Masterpiece?

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2012)

First things first. I grew up with the literary works of Jrr Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings-trilogy by Peter Jackson is my all time favorite movies and that he was returning to Middle-Earth for an adaptation of The Hobbit which is my favorite of the Tolkien-books I got excited as hell. I have been anticipating this movie like no movie before it so the expectations on this movie is high. So could it meet my expectations and be a welcome return to Middle-Earth or would it be another "Phantom Menace"?
Well, I'm happy to inform you that this is another Masterpiece and even though it's a different kind of beast than Lord of the Rings, as it should be, I found it to be on par with The Fellowship of the Ring.
All the actors were great in their roles. Martin Freeman was a perfect Bilbo, perfectly capturing the essence of Ian Holm's performance but still giving it his own spin. He is courageous, curious, funny and completely engaging.
Ian McKellen is back as Gandalf and again did a wonderful job. Nothing more needs to be said about that.
Richard Armitage was excellent as Thorin Oakenshield, perfectly capturing the essence of the character and making him a complete bad-ass warrior but with heart and a vulnerability.
Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchet, Ian Holm Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis especially were of course great in their respective roles they played in Lord of the Rings and all the actors playing the Dwarfs also did a great job at making them individual even though you don't get to know everybody, But then again you didn't really get to know Legolas or Gimli either during the entire LOTR-trilogy so that's not an issue. The dwarfs were all individuals, some getting more screen time than others but the main thing is that they were all entertaining.
The story takes it time to get going, and I liked that. It helped me get immersed in the characters and the world, getting back into Middle-Earth slowly and nicely, introducing the characters and setting up the story perfectly.
How Peter Jackson incorporated the short stories and appendixes that Tolkien wrote that expanded the story, events and characters of The Hobbit was masterfully done. The thing is, I'm excited that The Hobbit is going to be three movies and I'm gonna tell you why. The Hobbit book as wonderful as it is, is a bit underdeveloped.
If Jackson didn't incorporate the appendixes we would have a very black and white story with underdeveloped characters and unexplained events (MINOR SPOILERS) like Gandalf suddenly leaving (END OF MINOR SPOILERS) with no explanation that would just leave the audience puzzled and it would make the movie filled with unanswered questions. What the added material does is not only fill the gaps that Tolkien originally didn't, but it also ties it together better with Lord of the Rings. Events going on in Middle-Earth that affects the quest of our heroes. Thanks to the added material things makes so much more sense and some critics have called some of the scenes in the movie to be "filler" and to me it's clear that they simply haven't read the appendixes and don't know that the scenes they are talking about is actually toward events that's not only is going to appear in the sequels but that we have already seen in the LOTR-trilogy.
While the story might not be as epic or grand in scale as the one in LOTR.since there's not as much at stake since doesn't mean that the movie is less exciting and I can't believe that some critics are actually using that as an argument. Sure, the stakes are higher and the story is grander in LOTR with everybody joining the quest for the greater good for Middle Earth but in The Hobbit the story is more personal. The dwarfs fight for their own land that has been taken from them and they simply want to take it back and reclaim their former glory and for understandable reasons we understand not only why it's so important for Thorin but also why the rest are following him.
And you really care for them to get their land back. I can tell you this, after seeing The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I cared more about the dwarfs getting their land back then I cared about The Fellowship saving Middle-Earth after I saw Fellowship of the Ring for the first time. And that's a testament to the powerful storytelling and the likability of all the actors. And the slower pace is one of the reasons you actually get attached to them. But it's Bilbo and his arc that is the beating heart of this movie.
The action-scenes is every bit as exciting as the action-scenes in the LOTR-Trilogy but in this movie they also have more unexpected humor that actually works without taking you out of the movie and the climax of this movie is simply put breathtaking.
I loved this movie. And I will be seeing it again and again.
Grade: A+
Some notes:

Howard Shore managed to recapture the magic he did with the LOTR-score with an amazing score.

How they worked in Ian Holm and Elijah Wood's cameos were great, nostalgic and a excellent way to reintroduce us to this world and characters.

Gollum sure was creepy. Creepier and even more threatening than he was in the LOTR and Andy Serkis was excellent as always.

Unlike many critics, I really enjoyed Radagast and to those who claim that his scenes are pointless I have only one question: Were you even looking?