Having already watched all Jackson movies, it's hard to make a fair assessment of the book. Would I have found the worldbuilding and so and so silly if I hadn't? Would I be unimpressed if I had no knowledge of the greatness in it's future? I don't know. I like to think not so. Cause I'll say this, I had incredible fun. And little of that came from the richness of Middle-earth or the little clues here and there of this and that and what not. It was the prose and storytelling bringing most things leaping alive. It was the characters, Bilbo and Thorin and Gollum and Smaug, and what characters they are. It was the incredibly successful humor. It was the songs I'd heard so much about and was not expecting to like. Well, the last third is not like the first two. It's not perfect by any means. But it's a down right engaging good time and that will always be enough.