OK, so I've now seen the movie about half a dozen times... Twice the theatrical cut and 4 times the extended version.

Overall it's a pretty decent film, not quite up there with the LotR trilogy though... However I was prepared to give it some benefit of the doubt due to it being the first of a trilogy.

That said... there are some real issues with the movie that cannot be overlooked. Some ropey CGI, scenes that go on and on far too long. Loads and loads of stuff thrown in just for the sake of it and that doesn't add to the movie as a whole.

I did like the transition at the beginning of the movie, a kinda recap of the LotR movies a reminder to the audience with a nod and wink. It's kept light hearted enough to work rather well... But I did gripe at the fact that it shows (old) Bilbo just starting to write his adventures down, on the very same day of the party... when we all saw that he had just finished it on that same day in the LotR trilogy... A minor point, but one that grates with me all the same... sloppy writing.

The gathering of the dwarves is done well, and it was nice to see the songs in there... but the whole clearing up and throwing the plates and stuff about was really shockingly bad CGI... I mean it looked like something from 15-20yrs ago... You know how you re-watch a movie from 10 or more years ago, and can pick out the CGI so clearly like it's jumping out of the screen because technology has moved on so much that what you are now used to is so much better... that the old stuff looks horrible in comparison. That's just what the whole scene reminded me of.. Terrible to watch and it really ruins what should be a funny little moment.

I risk going through the entire movie at this rate... so let's drag this back into a shorter review.

There are moments when I really love the additions that fill out the back story to the characters, the use of things from the Silmarillion and the LotR appendices really do add to the overall story most of the time. Yet there are scenes in The Hobbit book that are merely mentioned in a couple of lines (such as the stone giants) that are stretched out into entire scenes that simply don't flow well at all (like the stone giants again).

Overall the movie lacks decent pacing, 40% of the CGI looks dodgy and it's really hard to sit through the entire movie, let alone the extended version.

But... all of that can be forgiven because when taken as a whole... The quality of the cast is fantastic, the acting is superb, the visuals (ropey CGI aside) are stunning, the backdrop of NZ is wonderful and the attention to detail is mind blowing. After sitting through about 9hrs of extras and hearing why things were done the way they were, how the created the sets, how the cast got along... It only enhances the viewers perception of the movie itself.

But... those damn giant eagles man... saving the day yet again and not flying them all the way there... That annoyed me in LotR and it annoys me now. :)