The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey(2012)- User Reviews

The CGI in the movie is fine (backdrops, trolls, white ork guy, etc). It's up to par with LOTR with the addition of 3D to make it even cooler. And I actually think Gollum looks way more realistic this time. The only things I found to be visually kinda weird were the movements of characters, which was due to Jackson filming at 48 frames per second as opposed to 24. This did, however, make things more lifelike and like they were right there in front of you, but at the same time it gave it the feel of something that was filmed with a camcorder. It's kinda hard to explain, but the movements and people looked almost too real and not like a movie...if that's possible or makes sense. Don't get me wrong, everything looked absolutely stunning and crystal clear, but movie cameras that film at 24 frames tend to slow movements ever so slightly and give things that "movie look." It only bothered me for the first few minutes and then I just got use to it.

Overall I loved the movie, though. And I never read the book so I can't make comparisons. The visuals definitely screw with your eyes a little bit, with all the high speed movements of everything, but I definitely think that the end result made it worth filming the way Jackson did.