Peter Jackson Dumbs Down Tolkein for Video Game Generation

Rating: 5/10 (15 December 2012)

As a huge fan of the LOTR trilogy, I have to say first that I loved the High Frame Rate 3D format which created Middle Earth On Steroids and made me not mind so much how repetitive most of the film was of LOTR elements because we got to see them more up close and personal. So I would definitely recommend seeing it in HFR 3D, otherwise it's kind of redundant.
Second, this film has a huge gross out factor that was not Tolkein's doing. If you like jokes about bird poop, belching, butt scratching and nose boogers, this is the film for you! Add in an ad nauseum (pun intended) amount of over the top traumatizing CGI battle scenes (this film is rated PG-13, really?!?) and you figure the target audience for this film is 5-10 year old boys who play video games all day.
All in all, a huge step down from the LOTR in class and message. In LOTR we are led to believe that Elves are kinda sorta more evolved than Dwarfs because they are into things like peace and beauty and consciousness instead of food and gold and drunkeness (Dwarfs). But I guess you can't have a movie starring thirteen Dwarfs that disses Dwarf culture so in this film it's the Elves that get made fun of, being made out to look like prissy hippies. Great...
I do believe Tolkein is turning over in his grave...(sigh)
Of course it's a special effects spectacular. The epic panoramas of Middle Earth are breathtaking. And there are some shots in the film (like Bilbo's first look at Gollum) that are genius direction.
But for perverting Tolkein's message 180 degrees and glorifying violence and dumbing down the message, I have to give this film a very conflicted 5 star rating.