The Length Question

I am pleased to find that I am not the only one who found Peter Jackson's treatment of The Hobbit quite fitting--whatever complaints the critics make. You can read my initial thoughts on the movie here.

Tolkienians will have already seen a certain article linked from TheOneRing.net, but I enjoyed it so much that I must give my own link. The article in question (click here to read it) is from The Huffington Post and it gives a much more detailed analysis than I have seen from any of the film critics--though, admittedly, I quickly stopped looking at reviews.

This article draws from some of the topics I brought up, including the interaction of myths within Middle Earth and Tolkien's own adjustments to texts he had written. I also like that Seth Abramson brought in the potential flaws in the original movie trilogy: with the mainstream praise that they now receive, it can be easy to forget that most everyone doesn't like 100% of even those movies. Movies always have flaws: that's inevitable. But the value of what is brought to the audience has the power to make us look past minor flaws.

So take a look at the look at the article if you still aren't keen on the movie's adaptation or if you're interested in some very in depth discussion. Consider it a way of celebrating Tolkien's birthday today.

Edit: Here is another article from the Smithsonian that takes a look at the different texts Peter Jackson drew from.