Inevitably in the shadow of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and lacking by comparison to those others; it's at once less epic, with a feeling of much less at stake (despite the bits seeded throughout that are designed to foreshadow the events of LOTR), and less tautly paced, so that at times this first Hobbit installment feels just a bit long. Still, of course it looks great, there are some exciting bits, and overall it does a pretty good job of evoking the pathos in the dwarves' situation and quest (the guy who plays Thorin is good) and staging that against Bilbo's progression, and there are far worse ways to spend three odd hours in a cinema, particularly of a Friday night after a long week.
(w/ Cass)
(w/ Cass)
