Terrible interpretation of a wonderful book.

Rating: 1/10 (23 December 2012)

Very sad to say that this was a terrible film. High definition (at least in this cinema) was a complete washout, it looked like a bad episode of Dr Who, or one of those "how we made this film" films that they put on DVDs as a "bonus".. Mawkish sentimentality started and ended the story with poor set scenes and limited imagination in visualising middle earth, yes lots of panoramic views of New Zealand, but these were knitted into the film in a disjointed way. The only well crafted elements were the trolls and Gollum but the first of these characterisations were hampered by poor story structure. The introduction of non hobbit characters, a super Orc and Radagast, were an unwelcome departure, Radagast particularly odd; my conclusion being that Peter Jackson simply doesn't understand British comic effect. Jackson shows his roots in Gothic comics, completely at odds with one of the best children's books ever written. There's only one good thing about this film, and that is someone someday could still make the masterpiece that this book deserves.