It's been too many years since I read the very short book, so I can't judge whether it was really worth creating three very long movies about it, but speaking strictly from a mathematical viewpoint, it just don't add up.
There was this hobbit by the name of 'Bilbo', right? And he was living in his little hole in the ground in a community of like-minded people, some of whom were OK and some of whom were ... annoying. Bilbo, unlike the majority of his neighbors, is curious about the world. When Gandalf, the 'wizard', offers him a chance to explore the world (via some behind-the-back conjuring and outright trickery), he ends up on a big adventure which takes him from the safe confines of his home to the Elven lands and then to a city besieged by an evil dragon and then to the Lonely Mountain where he witnesses a huge fight between Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Orcs. He is rewarded handsomely for his efforts (as a 'burglar') with gold and mithril and goes back home to rest on his laurels and retire in peace and harmony.
Until many years later when he returns to the land of the Elves and leaves his Precious in the hands of his nephew, Frodo. But that's another story.
Three movies. Nearly nine hours. Wow. Seems to me I remember the whole story being told in an animated version several years ago, and that only took two hours. It served the purpose. It got the main points across.
This version goes on for a long time, and after a while it occurs to me that it isn't so much the story of the Hobbit as it is the story by the Hobbit. Bilbo is certainly there as a witness, but he is not central to the action; indeed, in this third part of the new 'trilogy', it is more the story of the Madness of Thorin on one side, and the Nobility of Bard. (There's also some trivial nonsense about the Elves and Wizards battling the Necromancer, but that's just there to create the link to the LOTR story.)
We all enjoyed the movie but I'm not sure what we'll remember when it's all said and done, when the DVD is out and added to our collection and it sits on our shelf along with the other ones. There have been a lot of arguments about it on-line, but since most of us (with the exception of Adam) aren't really interested in debating the subtle nuance of invented worlds, we'll just have to wait and see what kind of staying power it has in our minds.
Meanwhile, we are thankful to James for taking the whole family out to see it. This was his Christmas gift to the family. And we had a lot of fun!
Thanks, James!
There was this hobbit by the name of 'Bilbo', right? And he was living in his little hole in the ground in a community of like-minded people, some of whom were OK and some of whom were ... annoying. Bilbo, unlike the majority of his neighbors, is curious about the world. When Gandalf, the 'wizard', offers him a chance to explore the world (via some behind-the-back conjuring and outright trickery), he ends up on a big adventure which takes him from the safe confines of his home to the Elven lands and then to a city besieged by an evil dragon and then to the Lonely Mountain where he witnesses a huge fight between Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Orcs. He is rewarded handsomely for his efforts (as a 'burglar') with gold and mithril and goes back home to rest on his laurels and retire in peace and harmony.
Until many years later when he returns to the land of the Elves and leaves his Precious in the hands of his nephew, Frodo. But that's another story.
Three movies. Nearly nine hours. Wow. Seems to me I remember the whole story being told in an animated version several years ago, and that only took two hours. It served the purpose. It got the main points across.
This version goes on for a long time, and after a while it occurs to me that it isn't so much the story of the Hobbit as it is the story by the Hobbit. Bilbo is certainly there as a witness, but he is not central to the action; indeed, in this third part of the new 'trilogy', it is more the story of the Madness of Thorin on one side, and the Nobility of Bard. (There's also some trivial nonsense about the Elves and Wizards battling the Necromancer, but that's just there to create the link to the LOTR story.)
We all enjoyed the movie but I'm not sure what we'll remember when it's all said and done, when the DVD is out and added to our collection and it sits on our shelf along with the other ones. There have been a lot of arguments about it on-line, but since most of us (with the exception of Adam) aren't really interested in debating the subtle nuance of invented worlds, we'll just have to wait and see what kind of staying power it has in our minds.
Meanwhile, we are thankful to James for taking the whole family out to see it. This was his Christmas gift to the family. And we had a lot of fun!
Thanks, James!
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