Quote (IgoSoHard @ Jul 29 2022 12:40pm)

I’m a huge fan of the source material, having read the Lord of the Rings / Hobbit / Silmarillion several times each. I love it. So I’m extremely excited for a new series showing the badass events of the 2nd age, however I’m acutely aware of how easily they could F it all up, so I’m cautiously optimistic.


There’s multiple reasons. The main one, imho, is that they took the story from the hobbit, which is only 1 book, & stretched it out over 3 different movies. Compared to the Lord of the Rings, where they made 1 movie for every book that there is. This resulted in them taking liberties with the source material, & stretching & or adding things that weren’t in the actual book. That’s one of the reasons why the pacing is really clunky or slow in some parts. They had to make it up. For example, Legolas is not in the Hobbit book at all, in any capacity, & yet he has a prominent role in all 3 hobbit movies. At least Legolas is an actual character though. Unlike Tauriel, the female elf they literally created out of thin air to be Legolas & Kili the dwarves love-interest.

Another thing a lot of people disliked was the decision to use digital effects instead of practical ones. Unlike in the LotR movies where the orcs were actual people in costumes, the orcs in the hobbit were entirely CGI, & you could tell. Speaking of Orcs, remember the huge, pale orc who had a spear as one arm, who they sorta made the defacto villain ? He’s literally only mentioned in one throw away line in the hobbit, but they gave him an entire arc in the movies.

Now with that being said, some of the liberties they took…actually worked out & turned out dope af. For example, there’s a scene in the 3rd hobbit movie where the white council, Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond & Radaghast rescue Gandalf from Dol Guldur where Sauron was keeping him prisoner. That scene is definitely not in the hobbit or any other book for that matter. However it does happen during that time period so they decided to add it to the film, & it was dope.

I really disliked them when they came out, however I recently gave it all a re-watch & actually enjoyed them for what they are, despite the flaws

Quote (reborned91754 @ Jul 29 2022 02:13pm)

I can definitely understand that point of view now. If I read the books and was blindsided by a bunch of honky tonk, I would be quite disappointed and upset. Fortunately, you were able to get some entertainment out of it on your second go!

Quote (MadMardi @ Jul 29 2022 04:53pm)

Very well put by clearly a true fan, your knowledge and breakdown is tremendous.

Quote (reborned91754 @ Jul 29 2022 04:33pm)

Can someone explain to me why there is so much hate for The Hobbit? I enjoyed the movies for the most part, but it was a tad too long. I'm not a cinematic critic or super into LOTR lore, so was just watching it with an open mind. I recall enjoying the music score.

I did fall asleep in the theater watching one of the hobbit movies, but it was 11:30pm and I went after work so I was tired haha.

Quote (Anderdale @ 3 Aug 2022 09:36)

This guy makes me worry

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQB-7ddAJk

Quote (Blah58 @ Aug 3 2022 01:09pm)

A racist sexist asshole crying about "Tolkien scholars" while being one himself. What a farce of a video.

Quote (SBD @ Aug 4 2022 12:01pm)

The Critical Drinker actually has some decent commentary, insights and takes on modern films.

With that said he is obviously pandering to a certain crowd with some of his constant remarks because, well, its clearly profitable and working for him.