"The Hobbit"
2012
PG-13
Produced by: Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Carolynne Cunningham, Zane Weiner
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ian McKellan, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage
New Line Cinema

4.64/5 Stars
Consensus: Although not as good as the original The Lord of The Rings trilogy, this is the best adaptation from book to novel we could ask for. With a splendid eye for detail, Peter Jackson continues to pay more than satisfying tribute to J.R.R Tolkien in this epic and splendid fantasy.

Plot: A prequel to The Lord of The Rings trilogy, the film takes place in Middle Earth and follows the unexpected adventure of one "Bilbo Baggins" (Martin Freeman) as he assists a company of dwarves in their quest to reclaim their homeland.

Directing: Jackson has an eye for middle earth and does a splendid job representing the characters in this film as well as they appeared in the 1937 book by J.R.R Tolkien. You can tell what an eye, and what a vision Jackson has for fantasy, especially in this wonderful film. His attention to minor details most would miss, except those well hearesed in Tolkien's world of middle earth is especially appealing and note-worthy. From the use of the authentic elvish language Tolkien engineered within the film to the ample tie-ins to The Lord of The Rings films, Jackson proves his worth as a director. *****

Acting: The actors in this film clearly have fun with their roles, and they should they are fun roles to play. McKellan was nominated for an academy award for his first appearance as "Gandalf" in the original The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring(2001) and lives up to par in his reappearance here. Martin Freeman as "Bilbo" is also an excellent casting choice, the high expectations laid on him by fans is well met and appealing as Freeman does fine work as the title character. Overall the acting in this film is top rate and very splendid indeed. *****

Editing: Perhaps the most appealing aspect of this film, and the entire series of Tolkien's middle earth epics, is the clean and epic cuts in the battle sequences. It is well appreciated when cameras can be held relatively still and the clips they hold therein assembled correctly so as we get to absorb as much of the cool choreographed fighting as possible. The Hobbit was particularly good at this. The other appealing element was the combination of long shots to establish location coupled with close ups and shots of the entire group traveling. The editing was smooth and consistent and very well done. *****

Art Direction: These films acheivment in art direction is baffling to me. The ability to recreate an entire universe with such an eye for detail is awe inspiring. The Shire in particular is note-worthy and looks beautiful. Goblin kingdoms, forests, and mountains are all brought into spectacular and stunning detail in this film. *****

Cinematography: The extreme long shots and effective use of location shooting in New Zealand to effectively re-create Middle Earth were both gorgeous and effective in adding to the plot of the film. The cinematography, although not especially ground-breaking was extremely reminiscent of the original films. That's what everyone expected and they got it, and it looks great. ****1/2

Screenplay: The inclusion of content from The Silmarillion(1985, novel) was fantastic and added a great amount of depth and build up to the final The Lord of The Rings plot. That said there were many delay tactics used to elongate the film so-as they could be done in 3 parts. This included singing, and thematic elements such as Bilbo's initial decision to join the dwarves at all. If these elements had been shortened, or at least been made less obvious, the screenplay and film would have been better generally. This however is both a pro and con. The details added and tactics used to elongate the film were also clever and relevant to the overall plot, when it comes to Tolkien's middle earth, longer is better, and more details create a richer environment. ****

CGI/Special Effects: This is another element wherein the film suffered to some degree. For a film as high caliber and highly anticiapted as it is/was the CGI could have been far higher quality. Not that it was horrible, but some of the more common creatures, i.e. rabbits or deer or badgers, could have been better looking. Some shots looked very intentionally green-screened. That said, Jackson does have a great eye for special effects and the film still demonstrates high quality effects. Flames, goblins, orcs, and spiders are all vividly good looking. Perhaps because we have nothing in real life to compare them to, but they look fantastic none-the-less. ****