I saw it last night. I'm mixed. We saw it in 2D, because I just can't do 3 hours of 3D, and I have yet to be super impressed by 3D. I was a freshman in high school when I went to see Fellowship with my dad. I remember it being magical. And since I hadn't read the books, I was a little distraught when it ended suddenly. I have not read the Hobbit, but like I did with LOTR, I'll be reading it before the next film.
The CGI was pretty good, especially in Gollum, and I'm not a huge fan of that stuff. I like seeing people, not representations of people, but they managed to keep it mostly natural in feeling. I loved Martin Freeman's performance. He felt genuine, and very much like a Hobbit. I like the dwarf prince, but I couldn't distinguish any difference between the other 12 dwarves. I think that is the part that bothered me about it. It was a good film, but in Fellowship, I really got to know each character, and so was thus devastated and completely mesmerized by the end of Fellowship, eagerly running to find the books. I am having a hard time connecting to anyone in the Hobbit because I can't tell the difference between most of the characters.
I will keep up with the trilogy, but I definitely feel like there was some magic missing. I can't pin down what it is, but I hope that the next two find a way to capture it.
