Don't waste your time and money

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2013)

I know you're tempted, but don't do it. Resist the temptation. There is nothing in this movie worth seeing - and I really looked forward to it.
Jackson serves us an effects-filled Christmas smorgasbord of running-and-screaming- character-sequences piled one on top of the other. The camera flies and spins, everything explodes and crashes - it's a visual onslaught for almost three hours. Imagine being stuck on a roller coaster for that long.
And the characters arrive in the dozens, screaming, shouting, making no sense and having no emotional impact whatsoever. Contrived love stories, "threatening" bad guys, we don't even get time to care about the real hero of this story, Bilbo. He seems to only have a use in this story when he is stabbing monsters, sneaks around or runs for his life. We don't care about him or the scores of characters that surround him.
If you want a 2.5hr shallow visual extravaganza, that leaves you feeling absolutely nothing but empty rage as you leave, go see it. Waste your time, money, and when you're done, ask ourself - is this anywhere near what Tolkien had in mind when he created this tale? Does it do the work justice? And I'm not saying a movie must slavishly follow the book, but when a movie version is as shallow and pointless as this one, It makes me upset and sad because now the work is ruined and probably won't be told again for at least a generation. Jackson's version will be the one most people think is The Hobbit, and that is truly sad.
And the worst part is, I gave him my money, and by doing so, encourage him (and others who chase the same big movie dollar) to repeat this sorry effect-spectacular excuse for a movie.
DO. NOT. SEE. THIS.
(Ignore my warning at your own peril. And don't forget to leave your own review if you do).