We expected the release of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit to be a big deal - but we doubt anyone expected the Oscar-winning director to take J.R.R. Tolkien's original Middle-earth novel and stretch it out into not two, but three, films. Be that as it may, the question was "Can you go home to Middle-earth Again?" - and now, with the release of the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we have an answer.
Maybe it was the sight of familiar characters like Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) or the lighter, more playful tone of the film; whatever it was, An Unexpected Journey recaptured that magic Jackson created with LotR, and even augmented it with modern effects and a revolutionary high frame rate 3D format that could mark a new turning point in filmmaking (provided audiences support it).
Indeed, we can go home to Middle-earth again, and are happy to be back. Hopefully the next two films - Desolation of Smaug and There and Back Again - keep this good thing going.