I owe Peter Jackson an apology

Rating: 10/10 (27 December 2014)

My take on Peter Jackson is that he is an adolescent horror film maker, and that he thinks his audience is so stupid that they can't understand the good guys are in trouble unless he puts them in so deep they cannot get out without some kind of deus ex machina. That's why his "King Kong" is so bad. I have reconciled myself to his Lord of the Rings trilogy by thinking of it as PETER JACKSON's Lord of the Rings, and after all he put into it, he has the right to rewrite as he pleases.
The second installment of The Hobbit is painful, 'WAY too long, with many, many more contrived battle scenes than anybody needs, especially since the only battle in the book is with the spiders. The rest never happened, so to speak.
I did not go to the theater today expecting much. I left with a headache from crying.
I owe Peter Jackson an apology.
Yes, he changed things. Yes, his changes were unnecessary. But some of them are so good, I actually think I prefer his version to Tolkien's in places. I will not go into details, I will include no spoilers. Surely everyone knows he found a way to include Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and he created an elf-maid-warrior Tauriel (the luminous Evangeline Lilly). Furthermore, I believe everyone knows he contrived an unlikely romance between Tauriel and the dwarf Kili (Aidan Turner, who is almost as pretty as Ms. Lilly). Did you know he made the romance work cinematically? Watch for it. (They who have read the novel knows Kili does not make it out alive. Have a hanky ready) The additions, Gandalf's encounter with The Necromancer, and walk-ons by Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), Saruman (Christopher Lee), and Elrond (Hugo Weaving) is no secret either. Tolkien never fleshes out the story, so if Peter Jackson elects to portray it, good on him! He did good.
Oh, and I don't read all the pre-release stuff. When I recognized the voice of Billy Connolly as Dain, I was delighted! He is a wonderful addition! My opinion: this is the best of the trilogy by far. I may prefer it to the any of the original trilogy!