Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on December 2012

How do you turn one slender book into a nine-hour movie trilogy? Apparently by making up a bunch more stuff and adding a lot of padding. But it’s okay, because the new stuff is robustly entertaining and the padding comprises 3-D action set pieces that are simply astonishing (if that’s what you go to the movies for). It’s a prequel in which Bilbo Baggins⎯Ian Holm then (now?), a very good Martin Freeman now (then?)⎯is recruited to help the dwarves regain their homeland from a really big dragon. Standing in their way are Orcs, Trolls, Goblins, Wargs and the charming Gollum. Tolkien fatigue could be a factor.