I watched the movie THE HOBBIT this weekend. I’m not as big a fan of Tolkien as some, but
I have read the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, THE HOBBIT a couple of times, and
watched these stories on the big screen.
I say I’ve watched THE HOBBIT, but I’ve actually only
watched about a third of what is that relatively short story. And it took almost three hours. That means I probably have about another six
hours ahead of me to get the full story presented in all of its 48 fps glory. (Not sure if that’s how I actually saw it, it
just looked like a movie to me).
So here’s my rant.
Did Peter Jackson do this classic story a service or an injustice by
stretching it out, puff it up, and possibly making it a bit bloated in his
efforts to create another trilogy?
Bottom line, yeah, just a little.
The book THE HOBBIT is very unique. In so many ways, it’s a rough draft for the
three-book saga that is THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
You can see him trying things out, playing with themes, and taking a
first swipe at what would be expansive world building in his trilogy. And I find a charm in that. I don’t go so far as to say it’s a children’s
book, but there is a fairy tale quality to it and Bilbo, I think, would be very
relatable to younger adults and even preteens who feel like they are setting
off on a journey into a larger world filled with Giants, Goblins, and Dragons
every time they step out their front door.
In my opinion, Jackson has tried to turn THE HOBBIT into a
sequel to LOTR’s, without recognizing that the story is distinctly a prequel,
and is in many ways more like an extended prologue. By adding plots, weight, and melodrama to
what is a more straightforward story, he burdens it a bit.
My point is this (maybe):
When you take a beloved story, even though you are staying very true to
the author’s source material, if you ignore the essence of what that story is,
you may lose something in the process. I
think LOTR fans will love this movie and so will most other moviegoers.
I don’t think anyone who ends up seeing all three movies of
this new trilogy will have experienced much of what people who read the book
THE HOBBIT felt in reading it, and that’s ok.
Movies are movies and books are books.
Sometimes a movie can’t accomplish what a book does, and that’s part of
the magic of books.
What do you think about The Hobbit being stretched out to three movies?
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I'm of two minds about the stretching. On the one hand, I don't think the story itself sustains three films. But on the other hand, I was very tired on the day I saw The Hobbit but I was utterly entranced throughout especially by the performances from Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage (as well as Sir Ian McKellen of course!)
ReplyDeleteI agree. I did not think the Hobbit was one of Tolkien's best writings, but now that you mention it, I can see it was a prequel to the Lord of the Rings (they too were a little too involved for me. I cannot foresee anything good coming out of making the Hobbit into a trilogy. For an action book I thought it was too slow.
ReplyDeleteI have read the books but I have seen none of the movies so I cannot comment on that end of your dilemma.
I believe that you are correct when you say that the Hobbit seems to be becoming a part of the LOTR's movie series. I hate that it is looking like that, because it is it's own book and should not be combined with another series.
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