The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

[Nostalgiabuff]

like LOTR there is violence but very little to no blood. the scenes with the Orcs and Goblins are the most violent with some amputations and beheadings. i did not think twice about brining my kids and did not regeret it.

[rche]

Saw it last night and liked it. Definitely felt more "kid friendly" but was enjoyable none the less.

How kid friendly?
I have some young tolkienites in training, and am wondering what the nightmare potential is with this. I figure the trolls and the goblins are my biggest worries.

[convoy357]

Good to hear.

Tell me though (without giving anything away) did it get into middle-earth historical lore? More importantly....did anyone get sick and barf?

Saw it this evening and.....Yeah.....and we weren't at the 3D showing, just the regular one. I think after about 1/2 hour I noticed alot of people heading to the restroom. Then about 2/3 way thru the movie there was a lady walking out with her little boy and just as they went past me (I was sitting next to the aisle) he stopped and threw up all over the floor.....yuck! I assume it had something to do with the visual effects, but I had my wife and 2 boys along and none of us were affected. Aside from that......we all really enjoyed it! My favorite part was the battle scenes verses the goblins......awesome! Can't wait till the next installment in this series!

[4NDR01D]

Saw it last night and liked it. Definitely felt more "kid friendly" but was enjoyable none the less.

[boynightwing]

I opened yesterday. I work at a movie theater. I was scared to death... When the previous Lord of the Rings came out, it seemed that every customer coming in to see it was an a-- hole. That and it was insane busy. But yesterday wasn't that bad at all. And I only had one jerkface to deal with. I suspect it will be busier as we get closer to Christmas. I honestly don't care for Lord of the Rings as a hole. I read the Hobbit in Grade 7. It didn't exactly leave an impression. Then I read Lord of Rings and it felt like pulling teeth. The movies were good but I only ever saw each of them once. So I'm in no hurry for the Hobbit.

[Earth 2 Chris]

My son is itching to see this. I promised when would see it sometime over Christmas vacation. Glad to hear you guys are enjoying it!

Chris

[Sideshow Spock]

Saw it this afternoon.. I agree with the main critic complaint that the first 1/3 is pretty slow. Yeah, I was a bit bored, but no big deal. Overall the story is not as urgent or compelling, and I wouldn't call this cast nearly as interesting as the Fellowship. Freeman was fine as Bilbo, but he comes off as flat and uptight (yes, I realize the latter is intentional), and the contrast to boyish, charming Frodo is noticeable.

But I still enjoyed a lot of it. Loved Radagast's scenes and the Dwarven (and Thorin's) backstory. This is still a very fine fantasy film!

[Nostalgiabuff]

is that who that was? i could not place him.

[Gorn Captain]

People need to realize that The Hobbit has a much slower pace, and it's not a war story, like a big part of LOTR was. It's an adventure story, mainly aimed at a younger audience. My favorite part of LOTR was the Fellowship, which is a lot like the Hobbit.
Good to see Sylvester McCoy as Radagast, too.

[Nostalgiabuff]

you know, i seem to recall a lot of people did not like Fellowship of the rin either because they just did not get it and then once the other two came out they started to understand
the Hobbit is slower paced than LOTR but so is the book. the additional footage they added in from the appendices fleshes out the whole storyline(including for LOTR)
Radagast was a lot of fun, what a bizarre character...LOL for those who don't know, he is the 3rd of the five wizards in Middle Earth

[Apositive]

I'll go to this eventually but not this weekend....I hate crowds. Three hours is an awful long time for me to sit in one place.

Plus I also want to see Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty---something may have to wait until its DVD release. :(

[rche]

How is it with younger kids?

[drquest]

I just got back from seeing it with two of my kids, and 4 of their friends, all 13 or under. They all really liked it, and I did too. I can see someone going into possibly expecting something else, like a LOTR sequel, but this isn't that movie, and the book isn't either. So depending on your expectations, some might come out of it not having a fondness for the movie.

It had a few slow times, and filler stuff, but the fillers were mostly scenery which was amazing. My favorite was probably the Gollum part, gotta love that little guy

[ScottA]

My son went to the midnight showing with his girlfriend last night and they both really enjoyed it. That's all that matters.

[TomStrong]

The Eagles . . . !! Ditto on the scenery, I felt like I had spent some time in Middle Earth. I usually just do that in my head.