Westside Steve Posted December 17, 2012 Report Share Posted December 17, 2012 The Hobbit New Line PG 13 166 min I wouldn't venture a guess as to the exact percentages but I’d think that there are very few readers out there that have completed JRR Tolkien's masterpiece the Lord of the Rings with indifference. As a matter of fact I'd expect that at least half, if not more, have read the epic multiple times and are at least somewhat familiar with the thousands upon thousands of pages of analysis. It is from those aficionado's that you will hear criticisms of Peter Jackson's work complaining of, but not limited to, combinations of story lines and the elimination of Tom Bombadil and the scouring of the Shire for expedience sake. (To the casual observer I apologize in advance for the background rant.) Acolytes also realize that despite its success The Hobbit was never considered to be an important work by its author but merely a springboard for the greater work to come. For that reason alone I've decided to give Jackson a pass on most inconsistencies to the original book. Also I have not read The Hobbit in quite a few years; not the case with Lord of the Rings. I was fortunate enough to see this one on a big digital screen with a great sound system. We've come to expect a beautiful presentation with this series and it isn’t a disappointment. As to the inaccuracies I’m forgiving? I'll give you a few examples. Neither Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) nor Legolas (Orlando Bloom) were present in the book but if you think about it Galadriel was in with the White Council and Legolas is the son of Thranduil, an Elven king, so there's no reason they could not have been present whether or not they were mentioned in print. Neither does the book include appearances by Saruman (Christopher Lee) or Radagast. Well, I like Radagast and I'm glad to see him added to the mix, not to mention the fact that Lee was furious over having much of his footage cut from LOTR so perhaps this helps to even the score. These dalliances, of course, will probably only upset the strictest fundamentalists. I don't take this book nearly as seriously as its successor so I made the decision going in to just enjoy the ride. Consider this: the uninitiated may have had a problem following the extraordinarily deep roster and scope of LORD OF THE RINGS. Many of us wondered how to cram so much into such a relatively short space. Conversely I wonder the opposite here. How in the world do you stretch a story this simple into three long feature films? Apparently one way is to add the footage from previously absence characters. The plot is fairly simple. Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who, like most hobbits, has little interest in the great wide world or the adventures thereof. He is bewildered as Gandalf and a gang of dwarves invade his home with the proposition to assist them on a mission of monumental importance. It has been many years since the dwarves have been driven from their mountain homeland by Smaug the dragon. Lead by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), the heir to the dwarvish throne, these exiles are determined to reclaim that kingdom and the riches within. Gandalf (Ian McKellen) has convinced them that Bilbo can be a worthy addition to that quest. He’ll need to prove himself as the band battles orcs trolls and wargs. Oh my. This segment, the first of three, brings the companions through many perils and includes Bilbo’s acquisition of the one ring from the pitiable but treacherous Gollum (Andy Sirkis). If you can accept the rewrite (Even Tolkien went back and made changes to better fit LOTR) you’ll probably admit that this ties into the epic acceptably. And it really is a monumental piece of cinema. A- WSS Email westsidesteve@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairHooker11 Posted January 6, 2013 Report Share Posted January 6, 2013 I loved it, and how the story blends in nicely to the Ring series to a point! looking forward to the remaining 2 installments! they will have to re-release the "Fellowship of the ring" to include (the current) Bilbo Baggins when he is in Gollums cave picking up the ring! although a brief clip of the younger Bilbo, it is an obvious difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted January 7, 2013 Report Share Posted January 7, 2013 I will have to go back and read The Hobbit to see just how far Jackson deviated from the book....but, nevertheless, I agree that if the book made no mention of the portentious events to come that that gap needed to be filled in this movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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