Elves and Dwarfs shouldn't mix.

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2013)

After trying my hardest to argue "for" the adaptation of the hobbit into three movies, I suddenly find myself adopting the counter argument. This movie is the reason. I believe that the storyline is largely incoherent with whole segments being largely superfluous (Gandalf climbing the mountain to have a chinwag with Radagast, for example) or attempts to force unconvincing subplots. I still don't understand why Bard is in prison at the end other than an excuse to up the tension for film three; the whole idea of "the prophecy" of Lake-Town seems slightly confused (is it good, is it bad?); and the dwarfs, at times, seem quite indifferent to their task - indeed it is quite easy to forget what their task actually is even though whole segments of the first film in this trilogy establish it quite firmly. Are they trying to kill the dragon, trying to reclaim Erebor or trying to get back the shiny jewel? I don't know, Jackson doesn't seem to know and I'll swear they don't know, but they seem content enough to run around the place, giving the long-neglected industry of Erebor a shot in the arm for no particular reason while they're at it, and play hide and seek with the dragon. I understand the book is not heavy on detail, but it seems to me as though the film-makers have overthought things. In attempts to explain "why is this character doing this?" they feel it necessary to shoehorn prosaic motives and set-ups into the story which, in my opinion, just stretch plausibility and make the film bloated and flabby in places. Maybe it is necessary when dealing with a book which is so light on detail, but then we come back to "why three films?" point. If the three films are full of subplots and tangents (and cringeworthy saccharine love stories that are more High School Musical than Tolkien) that ultimately add nothing to the bigger story then why bother? The strength of the Lord of the Rings trilogy was the clarity and focus in the story; there is none of that in the Hobbit and ultimately I found myself asking "why?" quite a lot, particularly during the incessant and prolonged action sequences. For all this, it is a cinematic experience. It is still very much a thrill for me to see iconic scenes, places and characters from books that I have been reading since I was a child and I do think they are rendered expertly. It is worth a watch and I wouldn't have missed it for the world...indeed I'll probably go and watch it again because I really want to like it. However, I will always come back to "why three films?" and two films in, I'm not convinced of the answer. The fact I'm still asking the question suggests this film does nothing to clear this up and it has become the unfortunate tagline of this franchise, however much I don't want it to be. Sadly my sympathy for the film-makers is waning, particularly when they come up with the indefensible romance between Tauriel and Kili; I heard rumour of it, but nothing could prepare me for just how bad it was! The love triangle doesn't work. It makes Tauriel appear coquettish, Kili appear stupid, Legolas appear like a jealous school boy and the script-writers appear lazy. Singlehandedly dumbing down elves since 2013.