Book vs. Movie: The Hobbit

Over Christmas break, my husband and I went to seeThe Hobbit in the theaters. I had the flu at the time, and I was feeling pretty gross, but the theater was pretty comfortable and a long movie was just the kind of thing I needed to relax. We bundled my daughter off to her grandparent’s (where she also saw the movie- she thought it was a little too scary for her 6-year old brain) and off we went.

First of all, I hated the fact that they are breaking the movie into 3 parts. Seriously, the smallest book into 3 parts? But whatever. I had to get over that.

Next, I expected the movie to have a darker feel than the books, but I had hoped it would be a little lighter than LOTR. Not so. It was about the same level of dark as The Fellowship of the Ring.

Thirdly, I wasn’t sure if I liked the introduction of the characters not in the book. I know some of them are mentioned in passing, but I don’t think some of them were meant to be main characters. But, after re-reading the book just after going to the movie, I think I see why they did it and where the story is going. Sadly, its pretty much filler to extend the length of the movies and tie in the LOTR story.

Finally, I felt like there was a little too much drama in the story. Every 5 minutes there was a new attack or battle. I thought the thing with the rock giants was silly, and there was no need for so many side orc and warg battles.

From all of this, you probably think I hated the movie, but actually no. I thought it was done really well. It’s just not really the quirky hobbit story from my childhood. It is a completely different tale for adults. So I liked it, because I tend to like richer, deeper stories now, but it is not the same story as the original. So as long as you are fully aware that the movie is Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, and not J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, then you will be fine.

And at least there are more movies to look forward too in the next couple of years. I miss the epic drama build-up from my teen years. 🙂

Meet Brenda

Writer, Editor, Blogger, Book Nerd

I'm Brenda. I'm a writer and a reader.
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