Peter Jackson's reimaging of J.R.R Tolkien's work has seen one of the biggest film franchises in history emerge: The Lord of The Rings. But his decision to stretch another of Tolkien's yarns over a trilogy has been met with a mixed response from the critics.

Many reviewers have pointed to The Hobbit's aesthetics in a bid to propose a positive note to an otherwise negative review. But, given his previous work with LOTR was both thematically and stylistically approved by the press and fans alike, has The Hobbit fallen short of its expectations?

With a 74% rating on film score aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes, the suggestion is while the film will entertain fans of the genre, and particularly the franchise, it's lacking as an overall package, and probably won't go down as a classic.

"While fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and The Lord of the Rings movies will find plenty to enjoy and marvel over, non-believers may find themselves getting bored and bemused by the unnecessarily drawn-out story," say The Daily Mirror, adopting the popular condemnation of the film's length.

On a similar vein, Sci Fi Magazine say, "If Peter Jackson couldn't tell this slight story in a single film there's no hope the other two in this prequel series will be any less bloated."

And summing up the film with gusto, The New York Post say it, "Piles on enough eye candy and action sequences to please fans, plus more humor than the three "Rings" films - even if it only occasionally achieves the trio's grandeur."

So there you have it: fan of the Tolkien dream worlds? Then dive right in. But if you're taking your kids to watch this, you better pack a travel cushion and/or a steaming thermos of Irish coffee.