A great disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (15 December 2013)

I have read and re-read the Tolkein books many times over the years. I enjoyed the LOTR films, despite numerous niggles, and looked forward to the Hobbit with great anticipation. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a laboured, tedious mess. It has been severely stretched to make a trilogy and, as happens far too often, the film-makers have arrogantly decided that hey know better than the author and made arbitrary tweaks that lessen the story. With LOTR, I felt that the changes would make no difference for a new-comer to the story and were not enough to spoil it for a confirmed fan like myself. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the Hobbit. Both my wife and I persevered through the film and ended up determined to avoid the second and third films at all costs.