The Lord of the Rings and all things Middle Earth were an important part of my youth, and I've read the trilogy and The Hobbit many times. Usually, I'm a purist - this is classic literature, after all, and you shouldn't mess with what your betters have already refined into perfection.
Peter Jackson's long awaited "The Hobbit" is nearly 3 hours long. Of that time, probably less than an hour of what you see on the screen is actually in the book. Some serious license has been taken with the original. And I loved it, every minute of it. The heart, the core, is true to original, and the rest, to me, is just plain rollicking fun. Now I can't wait for the next installment.
With one caveat - I wish they'd get over the 3-D thing. It's not necessary - the characters and action on a movie screen are just as real to me in 2-D as in 3-D. The funny glasses make my nose feel weird because they have to sit in front of my own glasses. Plus every once in a while things move in such a way that I have to deliberately look away for a moment because it makes my stomach go a bit oopsy.
Is this a true-to-the-original movie? No. But I had a blast and I'll happily watch it again.
Thank you for this review: it directly addresses my concern regarding Jackson's, um, expansion of the story.
ReplyDeleteNice to know he didn't mess it up too badly. :)
Some people think that what he did IS messed up. I just had fun.
DeleteNow you've put me on the fence... sigh
ReplyDeleteSee what RabidAlien said below. You'll either love it for itself or hate it because its not really The Hobbit.
DeleteI've heard it described like the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (aside from being a very long "Welcome to New Zeland" Board of Tourism commercial): you'll either love it for itself, or hate it because its not the book. Sorry, but those books were epic, but they were written close to a hundred years ago. The language, the style, they are not going to speak to audiences of today. Some adaptation HAD to be made. And the movie, using the book as a script, would have to be something like 8 or 9 hours long. I'd definitely sit through that, but they'd better provide a potty break somewhere in there!
ReplyDeleteCaveat: I haven't seen "The Hobbit" yet. Yet. It IS on my list, as soon as the wife and I can wrangle a kid-free weekend!
That's it in a nutshell. I found enough of the core there to be a happy Middle Earth fan, but mostly I loved it for itself.
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