Uncomfortable mishmash.

Rating: 8/10 (21 December 2014)

I love Peter Jackson's interpretation of Tolkien's Legendarium. In the Lord of The Rings Trilogy, he generally managed all of the various story-telling elements quite well; there was a good balance of humour, excitement, romance, and even gravitas. He made the right cuts, preserving the flavor of the novels, while trimming bulk.
The Hobbit was a different kettle of fish.
The fact that the source material is a scattered stew spanning the length and breadth of the Legendarium with the Hobbit on one end, and the Appendices on the other, makes for a terrible mess. The Troll scene worked as a stand alone piece, but when you fold in the Lord of The Rings trilogy... The sequence comes across as silly and childish. The trolls of LOTR are not cockney buffoons... They are inchoate, blundering, malformed, monsters.
I deplore the additions of Barrie Humphries, and Stephen Fry and Billy Connelly. Humphries especially. It's very hard to see him playing a character, and not see Dame Edna Everage. Especially since the orcs of Moria are not so eloquent or broadly comic. Stephen Fry, too. The character was too broad and slapstick. And the whole time I was reminded of the urbane Mr. Fry, and how cleverly he can play a boor. Billy Connelly was the least sinful of the casting... But by then it was too late. The disbelief, no longer suspended, crashed the show. The ultimate cause of the casting woes was the wholly unnecessary, and unwelcome, addition of one elf.
No, not Tauriel: Legolas Greenleaf. Because Legolas is developed as a character, in the Lord Of The Rings, he is essentially immortal. Thus, every moment he spends on screen becomes an abuse of the audience. He cannot believably be killed. Therefore, he can't believably be imperiled. You thought his stunt with the Mumukil at Pelennor Fields was ridiculous? Observe the zany antics he gets into on Ravenhill. I kept expecting him to whip out a carrot and sarcastically chortle, "meeeeeh, What's up, Doc?"
Which is sad.
I think that Legolas should have had a much reduced role. I really like Tauriel, would like to see more of her. Also, I missed Beorn, and felt his --- and to a lesser extent, Radagast's --- arcs were incomplete.
Still, not a horrible film. Just unsatisfying, and unfocused.