I’m about to take my kids to see it. I’ve never read a Tolkien book or watched anything by him. Should I know anything before I watch or does it work as a standalone movie?
You should know that there’s Hobbits in it. I understand that the less you know about Tolkien, the more you’ll like the movie. 
It’s a dangerous business walking out your front door.
As long as you’re prepared to accept the basic premise (that this world has multiple intelligent species and is basically at a high-medieval level of technology), you should be fine going in cold. As always, knowing things about the background will enrich the experience (although it could also frustrate it), but you won’t have trouble figuring out what’s going on no matter what. It’s a pretty straightforward story.
Not sure if you’re aware or not, but this movie is the first in a series of three that will tell the story. So it has more of a stopping point along the way than an actual ending. In that sense it doesn’t exactly work as a standalone movie.
Also, you might want to know that this movie comes in about eleventy-one different technological formats (2D, 3D, IMAX, 48fps, and numerous combinations). So your experience of the movie may differ from those of others who see it in a different format.
I saw it on Christmas Day in IMAX 3D, and really enjoyed it.
Thanks everyone. I’m sitting in the theater about to watch it in IMAX.
Then turn off your phone, dammit!
I’m an Asian and from what I know about western homes, you’re not likely to help yourself to their ref or pantry. The food scenes are what I’m looking forward to: unexpected party, Elrond’s house, Beorn’s hall.
You are right, strangers dont, however certain classes of friends, and family members can and do wander into homes without knocking, and rummage around in the kitchen. I have 3 friends who have keys to my house and are welcome to come over without calling first - otherwise, you don’t call first you don’t get into my house. [I have issues about people coming over unannounced.]
What should you know before watching the movie? Take a leak first! It’s looooong!
I hope your kids aren’t too young. I wouldn’t take anyone under 9 or 10 to see it. It could be very frightening!
YMMV but my 8 year old son loved it. There is violence in the movie, much more than in the book, but it’s not as bloodly as the LotR movie trilogy. In fact it’s not bloody at all because apparently you can hack and cut and bash goblins all you want and they never bleed a single drop. We saw it twice already and tonight he went to the grandparents’ and conned them into taking him to see it a third time.