Ahhhhhhh, Peter Jackson.
I feel like I know you so well.

When you first graced my consciousness with your divinity, I remember life was never the same. From the very beginning of Fellowship of the Ring, when you inflicted instant colonic breakdown with the intro’s to beat all other intro’s, right up until the battle to end all battles with Return of the King, you never failed, ever, to entertain me right to my very core.

It’s the reason why I can safely say your trilogy ranks as my number one movie of all time. Pure, unadulterated magnificence. And I can enjoy it with my kids too!

You’ve had your critics though. People haven’t exactly been enamoured by your decision to film at 48 fps. Some have claimed the resulting effect has cheapened the feel of Tolkiens world by appearing ‘too tv’. To an extent I agree, it felt sometimes like I was watching a soap opera that didn’t have the feel of a massive production behind it.

But then I had faith in you, so I waited patiently for the moneyshot. And it came. Just as Bilbo was on horseback with his merry 13 dwarves riding through the rain, I could swear for a second I felt like I could taste the rain. The reality of the shot was simply mind blowing. This effect did not wear off as you led us through your trademark battle scenes that had a level of clarity and realism to it that had me wear a permanent smile in your honour.

There is a little goofiness to the film, it’s certainly a lot less ‘adult’ than LOTR and its unfortunate that Jackson’s toughest benchmark is himself. But the LOTR was an altogether different book in itself. It was darker, hopeless and bleak. Hobbit has a bounce to it that at first feels a little nauseating, feeling at times you’re watching Tellytubbies. But then its appropriate. Because it is about a Hobbit, a happy go lucky half-ling thrown way out of his comfort zone.

Peter Jackson said a while ago that Martin Freeman was born to play Bilbo Baggins, I can see why. He takes the role with natural relish and carries with him an innocent nonchalance and mischief that matches the role perfectly. I used to think that I wouldn’t be able to watch The Hobbit without thinking “Oh look it’s Tim from The Office”, but now I suspect every time I watch The Office, I’ll be saying “It’s Bilbo Baggins!”

The dwarves are excellent to watch as a team. They rub off each other with comedy and seriousness alike. There are times when the fantasy is stretched to beyond what even I would class as feasible, watching for example, all 13 dwarves plummet hundreds of feet down a goblin mountain pit to certain death, only to get up and blow off the sawdust. Then when you watch every single member juggle the dishes between them and put them into neat piles is nothing other than gay delight.

I freaking loved this film. It’s slow to start with, but that’s necessary given that there are 15 main characters to the film and we need to be introduced to every single one of them, but three hours passes without a glitch. I’m just glad Jackson returned to the helm like the pro he is.

[EDIT] Two weeks later, I went with my daughter to watch it again at my local cinema. This time, in normal 2D with regular 24 FPS and I have to say, I didn’t like it! The detail was gone, I no longer felt like a participant and it seemed to have lost that magic. Strange. I guess I’ll stand by my earlier comment. Go and watch it the way Jackson intended.