I never got to see the Lord of the Rings in the cinema, instead I was first introduced to middle earth at the tender age of nine back in 2003 on a portable DVD player during a very wet Caravan holiday in portrush, Northern Ireland (where I am from) and from those first few precious (pardon me) seconds where we see the rolling green hills of the Shire, I was hooked. Scince that night I have read all the books (out of all of which the Hobbit was my favourite)and seen all the movies front to back, backwards and forwards and upside-down.

So you can imagine my excitement when finally after seven years I got to sit in a REAL theater and watch my favourite novel brought to life before my very eyes... but something was different it seemed...

Having first read the Hobbit at age 12 and having re-read it every year since,(and after failing to keep myself 'spoiler-free' via all those tasty production videos) It is safe to say that I was pretty well versed in the story, it's characters and most of the changes Jackson and his Chronies were going to make to that marvelous codex of fantasy brilliance that is Tolkien's Legendarium.

...And they did a pretty good job too! From the first few notes of Howard Shores homely Hobbity tunes I was Hooked once more and was suddenly able to escape into the fantastical world of Middle Earth once more. Only this time, it was full of nostalgia, familiarity and the comforting sights of those rolling green hills of Hobbiton. The world of Middle-Earth seemed brighter and more fun this time around, with the theme of the book ringing true as the bells on Glorfindel's Horse.

Bilbo is fantastic, Martin Freeman has outdone himself here, he really has, with the stuffy Mr Baggins being whisked off into the blue beyond of awe-inspiring dwarfish singing and intimidating Dragons by the immortal Ian Mckellen and his flawless preformance as the slightly-less confident Gandalf. Richard Armitage has a Kingly presence as Thorin Oakenshield and his rugby team,... oops... I mean band of Dwarves have distinct and likable personalities (Here in Belfast everyone giggled with glee every time James Nesbitt opened his mouth), what a wonderful bit of casting by Mr Jackson, and nothing needs to be said about Andy Sekis as I don't believe Gollum's chilling return can be put into any measure of quality, being that it warrants some kind of motion-capture god award!

Sylvester McCoy's debut as Radagast is easily my favouite preformance, from the Rhosgobel Rabbits to the bird poop in his beard he was fantastic, and the look on his face when he thinks his little Hedgehog-buddy Sebastian has died, tugged at these dusty old heart-strings of mine.

The additions made by Peter and Co. only serve to deepen a plot that might not have served us up just the experience we were expecting on movie format, and he at no point oversteps the mark (cough, cough... leaving out Tom Bombadil in FOTR... HA! only joking, LOL can you imagine...).

Overall the movie is a fantastic return to middle-earth and a slice of pure gold in the good old fashioned entertainment department, with action sequences that unfailingly held my attention throughout and an ending upon Beorn's (awesomely bear-shaped) Carrock that has left me buzzing to see THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG!

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