Just saw "The Hobbit". Decided to see it in 2D, as I've heard too many bad reports about the 48 fps 3D format. It was fine. Big and Grand and messy, but with an inevitable sense of deja vu. I suspect some improvement as the series progresses, but I can't help but wonder if The enterprise might have been served better by one film. Peter Jackson thinks big, and I'm sure most of us wouldn't want a shrinking violet to make these films, but he often fails to modulate the material, and this film tends to feel overstuffed with incident and undernourished with story. For all the visual pyrotechniques, the film is carried by it's three leading men, although the men in question is a hobbit, a dwarf, and a wizard. Ian McKellen returns as Gandalf the Grey and appears to be relishing the opportunity. Richard Armitage actually manages to match Viggio Mortenson for sensual smolder. And the icing on the cake is Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins, a much more convincing hobbit than Elijah Wood, and a more active participant too.