…and it was magnificent.

Here’s the thing: it looks strange. But it is fantastic. It’s The Hobbit. It’s supposed to look fantastic. The 48 frames per second actually make all the fantastical stuff — dwarves, dragons, wizards, hobbits — look more real. If this were a Wes Anderson movie, it would be bizarre. But it’s not. The 48fps along with 3D give the movie a sense of being a window overlooking a strange world. Almost like a ride.

I think critics are overdoing the negativity. The technical filmmaking choices aren’t nearly the issue they’re being portrayed as. And the movie isn’t boring. Maybe it takes a bit to wind up but that’s just how the Lord of the Rings movies were. It’s meant to give it a real heft. This is a quest not just a tiny adventure. It’s an epic. The divergences from the book are interesting choices but never does it feel like it’s left the world of Middle Earth. Honestly, The Hobbit as a book was terribly boring. Jackson’s just pumping it up a little bit.

Martin Freeman is fantastic. Ian McKellen is stellar as always. I actually like all the dwarves. I thought they were going to be too slap-sticky. And the peek at Smaug… just enough. I may try to convince my dad to go see it with me just to show him what 48fps 4K 3D looks like.