Skip it. Read the book.

Rating: 2/10 (4 November 2015)

I fell in love with Lord of the Rings, like most people did, in 2001. The movie took a classic novel and recreated it in a way that I'm sure Tolkien would have given a nod to. It gave us the same things that the book gave us when we were kids - imagination, emotion, laughs, tears - and only a couple of times did we really notice the computer generated effects, that, were, in all honesty, impressive and wowing for the time. But, it was in a way that did not take away from the natural-ism of the environment or the characters or story people have loved for decades. As the series went on, that changed. Though Peter Jackson originally kept to Tolkien's story, he started doing a "George Lucas" on us. Heart, soul, character development, storyline - it began to all be replaced with exaggerated CGI special effects and green screen work that became ever more obvious and distracting. By the third movie, I was ready to be done. I forgot why I cared at first and I had to re-read the book to remember the real magic of Tolkien again.
But it didn't end, unfortunately. Jackson decided to 'Lucas' up "The Hobbit." And, this time, he didn't just over-effect it to the point where it was distracting and obnoxious. He decided he was ABOVE Tolkien, and he completely changed the story of the book, the characters of the book, the relationships between them. I watched the first two Hobbit movies, and I couldn't watch the third. My children cried. Not because it was sad, because it was not "The Hobbit." It wasn't even "Lord of the Rings." It was Star Wars Episode I... only Lucas has an up on Jackson, because he actually WROTE HIS OWN story. Jackson just hi-jacked his, and crashed it.
The CGI effects in this are smothering. The setting feels so claustrophobic. Its obvious that the acting suffers from the lack of a setting/environment, but it doesn't matter, because the focus of the movie is on battle scenes where more and more and more effects can be used. The characters that are reprised from the original feel drier, emptier, even sadder.
The Hobbit was originally a children's adventure book. It is a fun - FUN - read. When I think of The Hobbit, the word I get is "fun." This movie recreates the dark, dreary, war-torn vibe of the Return of the King, and it feels sad and depressing the majority of the time. And, of course, we have to create a make-believe love story between two completely incompatible species and spend SO much time building on that so that it eventually becomes an obnoxious eye-roll jerker. Several character relationships were re-written to meet Jackson's need for personal tension and build up to made-up showdowns between characters who have imaginary "personal problems" with each other. These do not add to the movie, they detract more than anything. This movie leaves you upset, confused, and a little sad. Completely opposite of the book.
Now, of course, everyone is going to say "it doesn't have to be exactly like the book!" This is true... if we're talking about some obscure book that the majority of people have never read. But not all books are equal. There is a reason there is no 'Fahrenheit 451' movie. In many cases, movies are contemporary to the books that inspired them, and the movie actually makes people read the book (especially now). A lot of books only become classics because of their movies. The Hobbit is NOT one of these. It has been widely read for a long time, by many generations. Most people have read The Hobbit at some point in their lives. Its required reading in a lot of schools. In Britain, it is a national treasure, as is JRR Tolkien. You cannot take on such a well-known, broadly read, and deeply loved book like this and think you are above it, or you can improve on it, or that people who have loved it for many, many years aren't going to notice or care. A classic piece of literature like this is above us, not the other way around. There is something about these kinds of books that transcends us. Our "take" on them isn't valid, they are perfect as they are. Even worshiped by some people. When so many people know exactly what the story is, who the characters are, what the plot and purpose is, manipulating that destroys it's magic. It doesn't matter how visually stunning you make it, or how epic the battle scenes are. When you choose to take that responsibility to represent something so beloved, you have to do it with a certain reverence that I think was felt in the first LOTR movie, but waned after every one. There was no respect shown for this book in this movie. No appreciation. Respect started to be replaced with commercialization. For someone to think they can improve on it, or change it to make more money (ie. drag a short story out into three 3-hour movies)... something about that feels disrespectful and prideful. Like disrespecting your elders.
Even if you don't love the book or haven't read it, this movie has so little heart. Its drowning in computerization, the fun has been replaced by dark ire, and sadness, and awkwardness, and these things are hard to look past. The actors themselves are amazing, but its so hard to see it through the CGI that takes over. It turns the characters into accessories instead of centerpieces. It was easy to get bored, as someone who doesn't watch movies specifically for special effects. This movie was made to showcase CGI effects only, and to make money - and that is how it feels.