I have read the Hobbit twice. I love the LOTR trilogy of films, they're my favorite films ever. I was initially disappointed with the first Hobbit film because my expectations were set so incredibly high from the first three. Having watched it again recently, I can see that it's a great film. A lot of people are upset with this film because it isn't the book. All I have to say is that books and films are entirely different art forms. If you cut and paste the hobbit onto a movie, you get a very bad film. Anyone can be a critic, not anyone can bring one of the most beloved stories of all-time to life on the big-screen. What Peter Jackson has done, along with all of the very talented people who spent years and years of their lives making these film, is nothing short of brilliant. We should be thanking this man for what he has done, not criticizing every little thing we didn't like about the films. You can't please everyone. Also worth noting...The Hobbit was written for kids and it's pretty silly a lot of the time. The trilogy wasn't written for another 20 YEARS and the whole idea of Middle Earth as we know it today didn't exist. So had Tolkien known he was going to make this little kids book into an epic saga, it's not a stretch to think that he would have made some changes to it. In short, the movies HAD to be different from the books to make them entertaining, cinematically compelling and to keep them true to the spirit of what MIddle Earth and the LOTR trilogy are today. Jackson, and all of the people working on these films are the most passionate fans of Tolkien you could ever meet, heck, they spent the better part of 2 decades making 6 films for us to enjoy. So I am going to say, BRAVO!! Peter Jackson!! Okay, but seriously...I like Tauriel but the whole deal with her and Kili was very awkward. The whole romance is smothered on pretty thick. But I'm not going to let that ruin a fantastic film and a fantastic trilogy for me, and I hope you don't either!! Don't expect the book, don't expect anything and you will have your mind blown. :)
