Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: A young Bilbo Baggins adventures out into the world of Middle Earth to help a group of dwarves reclaim their fallen city from a ferocious dragon.
Review: It's kind of hard to describe this film as a prequel because it technically is a prequel to the "LotR" movies, but "The Hobbit" novel did come first; this feels like the "Red Dragon" remake all over again! I'll admit, I did not read the book nor was I ever inclined to read it, but from what I've heard this film is a loose interpretation despite the fact that it's being turned into a trilogy. I suppose some things just don't translate well enough? Still, if you're going to stretch out a novel into that many movies, it should be a near perfect adaptation. For example, they added some villain, who is the main Orc, and altered the dwarves original, greedy motives. These things I can mostly forgive, but there was just something missing from the story to give it a more satisfying feel. It's hard to describe except to say this film felt as though it had no heart. Maybe it was the fact that there were too many characters to really connect to any one in particular, or because Bilbo and most dwarves did feel so useless unlike the Fellowship which all had their place. I felt so much more involved and invested in the characters and story in the "LotR" films, but I couldn't find any common ground this time around. It's not to say that this film was bad by any means, it simply did not captivate me in the same way. The acting is good for the most part although I felt some of the dwarves were a little too stupid that their acting felt questionable. The special effects are great and you can see the improvements over "LotR" especially in the form of Gollum; he really did feel as though he were physically there and not CGI. The action and set pieces are interesting enough, but they did feel more boring and I just couldn't accept that these goofballs could hold their own as well as the Fellowship; they even address the fact that only a couple of the dwarves are even warriors and they are inexperienced as well. Surprisingly, amongst a cast of dwarves and focused on a hobbit, Gandalf still manages to steal the show which I suppose is a credit to Ian McKellen. Another refreshing aspect was the many cameos such as Frodo, Galadriel, Saruman, etc. even though this was pretty much it for their characters; I'm sure we may see a few more cameos in the third film since I would imagine some kind of resolution scene in which the elder Bilbo gives his book to Frodo and maybe a final shot with the Fellowship or something. Some other annoying aspects is the fact that this is nearly three hours long accompanied by the fact that it is, indeed, a trilogy; it feels so unnecessarily long and drawn out without as much going for it as "The Lord of the Rings" since the whole world hung in the balance in those films/novel. Overall, it was great to return to Middle Earth and it was a fun film, but it's not as good or entertaining so far as "LotR"; perhaps the later two films can pick up the pace or bring more feeling from the characters. I do recommend giving this one a view as long as you maintain reasonable expectations or if you're a big fan of this franchise. However, it's definitely not worth that extra money for all the gimmicks they're pushing with this film. Stick to a standard 2-D version and I believe it will feel more worthwhile.
Notable Moment: When Bilbo plays the game of riddles with Gollum. It's fun to see the two converse back and forth as Bilbo outsmarts the deranged Gollum.
Final Rating: 7/10
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