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First off, they gave us special 3d glasses that were green and they have the Hobbit logo on them. They're really cool.
When it starts out, there's a brief narration of the destruction of Erebor, or rather the people who lived inside--much like the prologue to Fotr. They already firmly set up the Elves/Dwarves feud here :P it then switches to Old Bilbo (the Bilbo of Lotr) and Frodo just talking and doing cute little hobbity things. Bilbo works on his book, Frodo asks what it is, then Bilbo tells him he can't see it yet--it's not ready to be read. Then Frodo goes "to the east-farthing woods to see Gandalf," thus connecting it to the point in Fotr where he meets Gandalf coming up the road for Bilbo's party. First connection/reference here.
Now to young Bilbo. Martin Freeman does a fantastic job :)
"I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me!", That's what Bilbo Baggins Hates, and Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold, are a few exact book-to-movie goodies, but there were so many. Peter Jackson did a fantastic job of staying so accurate to the book.
Bilbo is so confused and typical-hobbit "no adventures for me, thank you" to both Gandalf when he first arrives, and later when the dwarves arrive. These scenes are wonderful and really set up the story.
Lots of panoramic shots and "company-coming-over-a-hill" shots, more gorgeous scenery, general awesomeness.
The troll scene is well-done, and Bilbo's "advice" and the dwarves' reactions are hilarious. The next scene, where they explore the troll's cave, has a very solemn, sweet, wise Gandalf/Bilbo conversation when Bilbo gets Sting, much like that of Gandalf/Frodo in Moria. I won't give any more hints as far as the dialogue goes, but I will say the music was pretty epic there.
The stone-giants scene was a little odd, but didn't really take away from the story, so it's cool.
The whole Radagast thing...yes I know it wasn't in the book, (and I don't recall if it was in the appendices) but it was done nicely so I'll still give it a thumbs up. Also, creepy but neat hinting at some Nazgul in the future with Radagast bringing that sword to Gandalf.
When the elves first appear, EXACT elven soundtrack as Lotr :) Rivendell scenes=more awesome Elves, plus the EXACT same soundtrack theme (as in Lotr) again :) yay, another reference! I love these.
The white council scenes were really cool. You can already see Saruman planting seeds of doubt in their minds, trying to sway them from attacking the Necromancer or Smaug. You can also see Gandalf becoming nervous around Saruman and already concealing things from him.The whole Gandalf/Galadriel teleporting thing was pretty cool, although not in the books.
Azog (the pale Orc) and the Wargs were two things I didn't care for as much. Compared to all the realistic-looking orcs in Lotr, Azog had a rather "cheap-scifi-film" look to me. Same with the goblin king. And the Wargs' glowing eyes...yes, creepy, but not super realistic looking. On the other hand, many of the other orcs were very realistic looking, even though they were a little lighter than in Lotr; if I remember correctly, they were pretty much coal-colored in the trilogy. The scene where the goblins capture them was still done well though.
Okay, the Riddles in the Dark scene was soooo cool. Andy Serkis does phenomenal as Gollum once again. They used the EXACT riddles from the book, and it was so suspenseful. And remember in the Fotr prologue, where Galadriel is narrating, and it comes to the approx. 10-second clip of Bilbo finding the Ring and Gollum wailing? Yes, that scene is EXACTLY reproduced with Martin Freeman here! :) yet another awesome connection/reference.
When Bilbo puts on the Ring, it has the same effect--blurring his vision, just like what we see happening to Frodo in Lotr. I love the effort Peter Jackson and his crew put into the consistency of the movies. It's really cool.
The "Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire" scene was super awesome. Look how much little Bilbo has changed, risking his safety to try and grab his sword he initially had no clue what to do with. He really starts showing a lot of courage here, especially when he tries to go rescue Thorin. Considering how Thorin had been treating him so far, it shows how honest and nice of a hobbit he was. When Gandalf does the moth thing (another reference...this is so awesome!), and then the eagles come, it seriously gave me chills. The hinting of Lotr, combined with the epic soundtrack at that moment is so chillifying...is that a word? Oh well =P
I love what Thorin says to Bilbo once they've been set down by the eagles and Gandalf has revived him. It shows how much they're learning to trust their little burglar :) oh, and just an extra-awesome tidbit. Did anyone else notice the music when Thorin is talking to Bilbo? It's from RotK, in the soundtrack titled "Return of the King," from 2:14 to 2:28. EXACT SAME MUSIC ohmygoshz :)
I love the last lines of the movie. They're so ironic... "Well, I think the worst danger is behind us." You poor dwarves.
One last book-to-movie reference...the thrush with the snail and the rock, I'm sure that was the hidden door. It was pretty cool.
Random observation...they sure like to tease us with half-glimpses of Smaug, don't they?
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So here's my summary of the movie: outstanding accuracy (book-to-movie), great add-ins from appendices and other J. R. R. Tolkien books, EPIC soundtracks, gorgeous scenery, incredible acting, and amazing yet subtle hints at stuff in/from Lotr. Overall, this movie is...precioussss.
I give it a 10. What do you think?
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P. s. ik I probably missed a lot in this overview of the movie, but I remembered what I could. :)
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P. p. s. here's a picture of the 3d glasses for all of you who haven't seen it yet, or who saw the 2d.
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