This is how Peter Jackson should have done Lord of the Rings

Rating: 9/10 (23 April 2013)

I want to start off by saying that I am a Tolkien purist. I have read the Silmarillion. I have read The Hobbit twice. I have read all three books of The Lord of the Rings thrice. I use words like thrice. And I have even read the appendices written by Christopher Tolkien; the books on how the books were *written*. I am a huge fan of Tolkien, so I know what I'm talking about when it comes to the movies made by Peter Jackson. Honestly, I don't understand why this movie was panned so hard by critics. All I can say is, if you didn't like the movie, you're going to hate the book. Aside from one or two discrepancies, this movie is pretty much on par with the book.
The way this movie started out was great, with old Bilbo Baggins finally beginning work on his book, There and Back Again, a Hobbit's Tale. As he works on writing his book, we see the city of Dale followed by a detailed tour of Erebor in all its grandeur. I did not see this movie in 3D, but I was still blown away when I first saw Erebor on the big screen. It was a work of cinematic brilliance. Everything about Middle-Earth in this movie was great. It was like the fantasy world we all want to visit.
One thing I love about the Jackson movies is the casting. Everyone in these films looks the part, but the best casting choice beside Christopher Lee for Saruman was Richard Armitage for Thorin Oakenshield. This is exactly how I pictured the king of the dwarfs rather than the stereotypical garden gnome design. Ken Stott as Balin was a perfect choice, and I was glad to see that many other actors had reprised their roles from Lord of the Rings.
What I loved the most about this movie was that it elaborated on many things that weren't explained very much in the book yet would be important in the Lord of the Rings. Best example: the Necromancer. Many people who haven't read the Tolkien books see this scene as pointless, but it is a very important scene as the Necromancer is in fact Sauron. The council scene between Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond and Saruman is a crucial scene as is essentially sets the stage for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some other minor scenes from the book are extended a bit and I will admit that in some cases it is unnecessary, but this hardly detracts from the rest of the experience.
But of course there were discrepancies. The biggest one was with the pale orc, Azog the Defiler. In the book, Thorin's father, Thrain, slew Azog at the battle of Moria and it is Azog's son, Bolg, that is hunting Thorin. However, I find it easier to overlook this discrepancy as even bigger and more blatant mistakes were made in the Lord of the Rings movies and those movies were still great.
This movie is the epitome of a Tolkien book done right. I loved every second of this movie and I look forward to the next two movies.