Not Tolkien, but not bad either

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2013)

Very entertaining, but be aware that this is a new Hobbit adventure - not the of the book by that name. That aside, it is a very entertaining movie. Richly animated, you can't tell - most of the time - where the real actors stop and the animation begins. It's the story that will grab you - most of the characters are from the Tolkien stories and the new ones are a welcome addition. I feel Tolkien would approve and even recommend it to those sticklers for adherence to the original. There's Bilbo - the original Hobbbit of course, Gandalf and Smaug - the original dragon, elves, dwarfs, and Orcs galore. One only wonders how the director - Peter Jackson - will end this story, which leads me to my one disappointment - the abrupt and inconclusive ending. We've been set up for a 2 (or more?) part movie, so you'll need to steel ourselves for waiting another year and parting with more $ in order to find out!