The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - An IMAX 3D ExperienceMovie Reviews

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Must Go! Based on 10,578 reviews
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Written December 14, 2012
Journey

by ladykate13

With expectations running high, the first part of the trilogy of the Tolkien classic The Hobbit did not disappoint. The casting was brilliant, the music was magical, the special effects were seamless, the scenery was stunning, and the 3D was simply mesmerizing. All of my favorite lines from the book were present, but there were some subtle shifts in the story itself. Unlike most book adaptations though, every deviation here succeeds in making this a better movie. Normally I would caution against having hopes set too high since even mild disappointment can ruin an otherwise enjoyable film. In this case however, even the highest expectations are met to great satisfaction. If you fail to enjoy this movie, you might as well give up on the silver screen entirely, or you simply hate hobbits. For the other 99.9%, I invite you to return to a world of magic and peril, of courage in the face of gathering darkness, and discover again the extraordinary strength hidden in the unlikeliest of people.
- 35 out of 46 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 14, 2012
The Hobbit Stands on its Own

by Bronsonious

I have read several reviews saying this moving is not Lord of the RIngs. Well, its not, its the Hobbit. For those of you that have read the book, the Hobbit is a lot lighter and thoughout the movie I had the feeling of adventure although at times some of the action scenes felt over the top. Compared to LOTR, which is a dark epic journey, The Hobbit is a fun epic adventure.

The visuals were stunning which led me to shake my head and say wow during the moving. I imagine the 3d helped. Speaking of 3D, 99.9% of the time the 3D was fantastic. There were 4 scenes that were blurry because of the 3D but this may be me being over critical and it did not detract from the moving.

All in all its good to be back in Middle Earth and see The One RIng. The Hobbit is a must see.

edit:grammar
- 40 out of 57 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 24, 2012
Spectacular Visual

by

The story plays out very well, personally, I am pleased that they have chosen to stretch this out to three parts as this will hopefully allow for all the rich detail of the story to be told as it should be. The cast were all very good, and there were solid performances from everyone. The make-up looks a little fake every now and then when you're seeing the dwarves faces at this scale.

We went to the MAX 3D screening at AMC Lincoln Centre and found it a bit overwhelming at times. I don't think 48 fps bothered either of us too much; we both just find that fast movement in 3D is difficult to process.

The slower scenes are amazing and I'm looking forward to seeing this in HD on my TV as I think this is one of the most visually spectacular movies I have watched. The only thing I would complain about is the HDR, which at times makes the picture look very odd - less realistic - and grainy.

I look forward to the next two instalments, well done to all those involved.
- 25 out of 36 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 15, 2012
Completely wrapped up in the fantasy

by scalderone1027

Such an amazing movie experience. I was completly drawn in and amazed. We saw this in IMAX 3D. My first in this format and I was so impressed. I'm not a big movie goer. I typically wait to watch at home, but this was something I wanted to do with my teenage children. We had a blast. Now seeing the previews for other adventure types of movies, I might have to increase my entertainment budget!
- 21 out of 29 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 15, 2012
A Quick 3 Hours :)

by minibooger

I had seen early reviews indicating that the movie was slow-paced, that too much time was spent on character development concerning the dwarves. I found that to not be the case at all. As with any large cast, you do need to be introduced to the characters, but this was done at a good pace with the adventure beginning as expected.

I'm not a huge fan of 3D, but was able to watch without getting the customary headache. Some of the fast moving scenes were blurry, but that is the case with all 3D movies. Other than that, the 3D added depth to the majority of the scenes and there were very few gratuitous reaches into the audience. The reaches that were made were sensible and pertained to the plot.

Also being concerned about switching from Ian Holmes to Martin Freeman, I found that the transition used was an easy pill to swallow. I was able to quickly accept Martin as Bilbo and immediately become engrossed in the story without distraction.

All in all, I felt it was very well done.
- 28 out of 46 found this review helpful.
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Written December 24, 2012
A bit long winded but great movie

by cruzerjd

Great film, a bit bloated towards the middle but the end is awesome. Nice fleshing out of the characters. Could use a little more movement in the storyline but otherwise great movie!
- 11 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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Written December 17, 2012
Solid Movie

by twolfenberg

An enjoyable, entertaining experience. Sure, it was a bit unnecessarily long, but that can be said for most movies. Just like to original trilogy, it had many epic scenes, stunning visuals, and good action.

Was it as good as the original 3 LOTR films? No. But they set a high bar. The overall storytelling wasn't as good in the Hobbit. But on a 1-10 scale, I'd give it a 7.5.
- 17 out of 26 found this review helpful.
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So-so
Written January 6, 2013
Meh. Tolkein's character development sacrificed to spectacle.

by Thomas Pinchin

Converting the novel to prequel from preamble to The Ring trilogy is only a modest success.I welcomed Jackson & Co.'s imagination of the pre-Smaug Lonely Mountain and the origin of Thorin's Oakensheld moniiker. From then on, though, it's obese. the additions to pad out a modest novel into a cinematic epic became ponderous. Too many orcs!
Sadly, cut from the movie version are the small but telling incicents that develop Bilbo's character as an unlkely hero and gradually win the respect of the dwarves.
Instead, we have Gandalf pontificating about how evil can be defeated by the small actions of ordinary people. Amazing. A movie that doesn't show, but tells. So the cinematic narrative is weak compared to the Trilogy,which instead tightened the original Tolkien tale.
I'm not a 3D fan, but those who are may appreciate the ciinematography which certainly has its moments.
- 12 out of 17 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 24, 2012
Riveting!

by kmarksbzdell

From beginning to end we were on the edge of our seats! The story line, cinematography, characters, acting...it was absolutely the best movie I have seen in my life...and I am 50 years old! Two thumbs up!!!
- 17 out of 27 found this review helpful.
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Written December 27, 2012
The Movie's Great, BUT AVOID IMAX--WAY TOO LOUD

by fredws

Good visuals, more leisurely pace so you get to enjoy the setting and characters more. But avoid the IMAX presentation if you don't want your ears blasted off your head. Any dramatic or battle scenes are WAY TOO LOUD, and even so-called background music is loud enough to be uncomfortable. The volume of IMAX presentations, I'm told by my theatre manager, is stipulated by contract, so the theatre is not able to lower the volume at patrons' request. Instead, see The Hobbit in a non-IMAX presentation where the volume can be set to a more appropriate level by theatre management.
- 8 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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Written December 22, 2012
Entertaining

by

The Lord of the Rings trilogies blew me away, so when "The Hobbit" came out I didn't know what to expect. I haven't read any of the books, therefore watching the flick was a surprise from start to finish for me. The movie made for a great story with excellent cinematography and wonderful acting. By introducing the characters again, it is easier to understand how they were changed later in the Lord of the Rings series. This grown up adaptation of the book is intended more for teens and up. Although the film is less dark than the rest of the series there is plenty of trolls and things that go bump in the night throughout the movie. The best way to experience the entire "journey" is to see the flick is IMAX 3-D, then sit back and get ready to hear a good story
- 9 out of 12 found this review helpful.
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Written December 23, 2012
Good but kinda drags a bit.

by artistbob1965

Fans like me will love seeing Peter Jackson's cast and crew back in Middle Earth again. Technically brilliant. Story unfortunately feels a little padded because now it's a trilogy. Where the story veers from the original book can be a little jarring and a some of the dialog is cliche. The best part of the film is the scene in Gollum's cave which is simply brilliant and creepy. Andy Serkis' performance as Gollum (with the CGI overcoat) is just incredible. Hopefully the decision to turn this project into a trilogy won't diminish it's overall impact. I'd say three stars out of five.
- 6 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 18, 2012
A must-see for fans of the LOTR Movies - 2:45 goes by too quickly

by SandP

While I am not a big fan of the current trend of splitting novels into 2 (or more) movies, I think Peter Jackson pulled it off with The Hobbit part one. Even at a healthy 2:45, the movie did not drag and the plot did advance at a reasonable pace. The film (in Imax and 3-D) is visually stunning and seeing familar characters and locales again was wonderful.
I beleive that the version I viewed included the 48 fps that critics have commented on extensively - if so, I did not see anything to complain about. The 3-D was seamless (no gimmicks) and Peter Jackson and his crew have created one of the most immersive film experiences to date.
- 6 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written February 26, 2013
not as much walking

by suzansgs

The singing was a little weird and not repeated (which begs the question of why it was there at all). I also can't figure out why this is going to take 3 movies to get through.
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written December 15, 2012
Loved it!

by

I read the book a couple years ago and it brought me back to when I read it. Some minor changes, but its a movie! I loved it. So much action, we saw it 3d and IMAX, we were sitting a little too close so it felt like a contestant roller coaster, so had to take off the glasses sometimes. We were 6. All couples, ages 21,33,26 .
- 5 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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