The Hobbit Review Roundup: Critics Split on Film's Length; Critical of 48 FPS

The Hobbit comes out on Friday and the reviews have already stated their verdict on the film.

As of Thursday morning, the film has 73 percent of 90 critics voicing positive remarks about the film according to aggregate site Rotten Tomaotes. The critical consensus for the film is that "Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth is visually resplendent and features strong performances from Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen, but the film's deliberate pace robs the material of some of its majesty."

Among the positive critics, Renee Rodriguez of the Miami Herald notes that despite the slow pace the film "feels lighter, more agreeable and although simpler, more sheer fun" than the original Lord of the Rings films.

Stephen Witty of the Neward Star-Ledger gave the film three stars and noted that despite all the characters and plots in the film, it has been "deftly woven together, though, both staying true to the slightly gentler nature of this adventure while foreshadowing the epic to come.

Rafer Guzman of Newsday also gave the film three stars and added that while the film is ultimately a scene-setter for the upcoming pictures it is more charming than its predecessors. Lou Lumenick of the New York Post is also impressed with the picture and applauds the humor, eye candy, and action sequences.

Critics that complained about the film all agreed that the running time was excessive and some noted that the story was not substantial enough for the duration. Claudia Puig of USA Today notes that "[The] elements are in place again, but the story feels less substantial than the Lord of the Rings tales." Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan adds that "Solid and acceptable instead of soaring and exceptional, [and] unnecessarily hampered in its quest to reach the magical heights of the trilogy."

Latinos Post's David Salazar echoed these sentiments and noted that "But as a standalone film and in the context of its legacy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is overlong, uneven, and ultimately disappointing." To read the full review, click HERE.

The review also noted that the revolutionary 48 fps was far from pleasing, another complaint shared by numerous critics. Dana Stevens of SLATE stated that the technology ruined the experience for her. Erik Weber of NECN also noted that the film "resembles a video game commercial, the look of each scene has an artificiality to it whether it be digitized or not - it's oddly inorganic."

The Hobbit launches this Friday December 14 around the world.