Critics were wrong!

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2012)

Prior to my viewing of The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey, I had read a significant amount of professional critics, eager to know if the movie's quality would live up to the quality of its predecessors, the Lord Of The Rings. I have to admit that I was starting to lose hope to see a movie that be equal in quality, and therefore I was discouraged before even entering the movie theatre. Walking out of the theatre, all I can say is that I am glad I was completely wrong.
First off, one the critic's main complaint was the slow dragging pace of the movie. Let me correct this...in my opinion, the pace was as it had to be. OK, perhaps I am not the right person to give my opinion on this matter, as I always find delight watching the tremendously long extended editions of the LOTR (approx. 4 hrs long each). Therefore, I had no problem with the pace... The amount of detail shown to the viewer is considerable. As a consequence, you really get to put yourself in the character's shoes, which is makes the pacing an acceptable sacrifice for the people who find the movie too long.
In addition, many critics have mentioned that the over-use of CGI was giving the movie a very fake look. Let me reassure you, they are wrong. Yes, Peter Jackson uses quite a lot of CGI. The orcs who were once real actors in costumes, face full of make up, are now all computer generated. However, they do not look fake in any way. On the contrary, the CGI is so advanced nowadays that they look very real. Many would not see the difference, since they have the same hideous faces, the same movements and they portray the same amount of terror. Sadly, there was one CGI character that does looked fake, and this is the great white orc Azog. Yes, the chief of the orcs is the only character that does look fake, but a movie can't be perfect, right? To conclude this matter, CGI does not give the movie a cheep feel.
Finally, the last complaint critics had about The Hobbit was the 48 FPS. OK, this is a very personal opinion. Personally, I had absolutely no problem with it. At first, it can be slightly distracting. But the human eye adapts very quickly, and after the first 10 minutes or so, you barely see the difference. It did not give the movie a fake look. To be honest, I did not identify the fake noses of the dwarfs of the paintings of Rivendell. On the contrary, it provided the 3D and landscape's a crisp and beautiful image like you have never seen before.
To conclude this review, I have to say I was astonished by the masterpiece that Jackson delivered. 10 years later, it felt great to finally be back to Middle-Earth. Pacing is as it has to be, the CGI looks very real and the 48 FPS does not ruin the movie in any way. Therefore, do not listen to the critics and run to the movie theatre to witness a movie that reaches the Fellowship of the Ring in terms of quality.