New THE HOBBIT: TBOTFA Promo Pic Reminds Us That The Movie Is Just 1 Month Away

EEEEEAAAGGLLEE

Urm...

Old toady pipes is something only a true Brit would say

Speechless Ror. I'm literally speechless =P

SauronsBAN, it's a fact. I love The Hobbit because it was one of the first books I ever read and I still have a lot of affection for it. But, at the end of the day it's a pretty basic kid's story with hardly an ounce of character development beyond Bilbo and maybe Gandalf. All of the Dwarves bar Thorin and perhaps Balin are completely interchangeable, and are not fleshed out in the slightest. At least by making 3 films Jackson was able to make us give a shot about some of them.

SPOILERS ahead...

This is how Tolkien decribes the deaths of Fili and Kili at the end of the book. (paraphrasing).

"Thorin was gravely wounded, and because Fili and Kili were his nephews they died trying to defend him"

Woah, got me right in the feels there JR! Hankies at the ready.

Forget the obviously padded-out scenes that are clearly filler (the river chase, the Benny Hill-esque chase with Smaug, etc etc), forget the video-game CGI overload, forget changes to the book. The real reason these movies don't work is because it's never focused on Bilbo.

Lord of the Rings managed to juggle ALL the characters who made up the Fellowship, while still managing to keep a focus on Frodo and Sam, the obvious main characters. The Hobbit hasn't managed to find that balance, IMO. Bilbo always gets the shaft, because Jackson is too busy trying to make this as "epic" as the Lord of the Rings was.

Had he recognized that this was a simple children's story and a COMPLETELY different story from The Lord of the Rings, this trilogy could've been fantastic. But Jackson obviously doesn't see it that way. He just looks at it as a prequel to Lord of the Rings, when it really had the potential to be so much more.

I liked the fact that some of the aspects of the book changed for the film. For example the part where the dwarves actually fight inside Ereabor (plz forgive my spelling) rather then hiding within like cowards. I think it makes it more interesting and heroic that way

@RorMachine I'd argue that dialogue doesn't automatically equal character development, and never has. How many times have the Dwarves actually had lines of dialogue and all it consisted of was exposition? People like to get on Nolan for that (for good reason), but Jackson has the same problem. To me, character development is about giving them personalities, and a sense of history, and actual character arcs. By that definition, Thorin has definitely had character development, I agree. But who else? I don't know why Fili (or Kili) is in love with Tauriel. I don't know why Tauriel would ever be interested in him. Or why Legolas is so smitten with her. Or what defining character trait Gloin has, other than name-dropping his son Gimli that one time. Or Bombur, other than being fat.

My point is, Jackson's movies have had a LOT of the exact same flaws as the book. But again, at least Tolkien did that intentionally. Jackson obviously didn't - he made a HUGE point about how the Dwarves need to be distinguishable from each other...but they're really not, apart from their appearance.

And as for the whole Bilbo thing - it's unfortunately true. Every time Bilbo is allowed to have a glimpse of a meaningful moment in the movies, it's immediately taken away from him because the focus has to shift to the other characters. Think of that chapter in the book where Bilbo ventures ALONE into Smaug's lair. It's described as the defining moment for him, because he has to face his uncontrollable fears and choose whether to keep going or turn back. In the movie, he goes in alone too...but then ALL the Dwarves rush in right after, leading to that obnoxious, time-killing chase scene that did nothing to advance the plot. Having the entire Company there takes away from a moment that should've been purely about Bilbo.

Or think of how Bilbo is the one who bravely (yet foolishly) creeps up to the 3 trolls, tries to prove his worth as a burglar and steal something from one of them, and then he gets caught and puts his entire group in danger. Tolkien lets him act rash, make a mistake, and learn from it. In the movie, it's nothing more than an opportunity for an all-out battle scene and a chance for Gandalf to show off some magic. It's apples and oranges, and it happens over and over and over again.

I'm so stoked for this movie!

I'm gonna do the Hobbit marathon and watch them all in HFR 3D!!!

Tolkien purists go to hell

Still, I very much enjoyed this whole conversation Ror! It's always nice to be able to talk movies with someone on this site without having the whole thing devolve into trolling and childish insults =) Cheers!

Mrcbm56

Don't joke about a reboot. The evil reboot gods will hear you and make it come true.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSS

Hobbit Marathon in IMAX here I come!!!!!!! SO PUMPED