By Daniel Bradley
When you have such a well loved trilogy to live up to, and you only have a small 300 page paperback to go on, and you're making the first third of that paperback, questions of quality, pace and repetition immediately spring to mind. Will it keep the same film as the first Peter Jackson Middle Earth gems, will there be enough to keep the viewer interested for 3 hours, won't this be exactly the same story mode again, wasn't this a semi-thought out children's book..?
Well, ignore the Press. This movie has the style of the previous films, no question, but it feels new and fresh - it has life! They tie the story really nicely to it's predecessors and the same tone, humour and score that worked so well previously is ever present throughout. Edge of your seat cinematography, well worked plot lines and large scale events go some way to reminding you how packed those initial 6 chapters were. If you read this as a kid, it's a pleasure to see it all grown up.
Good bits: Old friends, Martin Freeman's second to none acting, riddles in the dark.
Bad bits: 3D… don't do it. The Orc antagonist that shouldn't exist but drives the plot.
For fans of The Labyrinth, Harry Potter, Snow White & the Seven Dwarves.
Rating 10/10
