Peter, Fran and Philippa's formula for adapting Tolkien's books

Rating: 9/10 (13 December 2013)

I saw the Hobbit DoS last night. Incredible movie! Very fast paced and action heavy, as I've come to expect.
If I have one gripe it'd be that the action in the two latest hobbit films are too over the top crazy and unrealistic. The action in LOTR was grittier and felt more real, even though it was still fantasy. You actually felt like the characters could die or get seriously wounded in the fights. But in The Hobbit, everyone's just either super lucky or just god mode powerful. Someone mentioned it's like playing a video game on easy mode. LOTR is hard mode. I agree with that assessment. Still, the films are great fun and I found them very entertaining.
Peter, Fran and Philippa tend to follow a predictable formula when adapting Tolkien's books:
1. Cut out as much exposition as possible, and for the exposition that is necessary, tell it through flashbacks if time allows for it. Some Examples: -the intros to the movies are always flashbacks, and there are several flashbacks within the story. -the council of elrond is greatly shortened -lines of dialogue are always a lot more brief in the films than they are in the books: "I am no man" vs. "But no mortal man am I, for you look upon a woman ..."
2. If there are quiet moments in the book, cut it out, or greatly shorten it. Some Examples: -a lot of the down time at lake town, the elven king's halls, and Rivendell is shortened to the point where they seem more like very brief stays, rather than the weeks that were spent there in the books. -Nearly 20 years pass between Frodo receiving the ring from Bilbo, and him finally setting out on his journey in the books. In the film, it seems like it's the next day. -The scenes with Radagast, Gandalf and the white council investigating the necromancer of Dol Guldur, and the corruption of mirkwood occurs over the course of thousands of years in the books. In the film, it all seems to happen within the same week. -The time spent worrying about how much food they have, or how tired and hungry they are on the journey. Worrying about where they're going to sleep, and other serious problems that one would run into while going on a long journey. Bad guys trying to kill you aren't the only thing the dwarfs and bilbo had to worry about on their quest. -Journeys last months in the books, in the movies it feels like only a couple of weeks. -Moments of rest and peace, minor conversations, and minor character moments.
3. Cut out anything that may seem a bit too goofy. Keep children storybook humor and whimsy to a minimum. Some Examples: -Tom Bombadil -The wacky way Gandalf introduces the dwarfs to Beorn -The anthropomorphic dogs and many of the talking animals (and wallets) -Many of the songs are cut.
4. Greatly expand on any and all action that's presented in the book, even if it's just one sentence. Some Examples: -The sentence, "They ran down the stairs and across the bridge." is adapted to a major 15 minute action scene in FOTR when they're running from the Balrog -The expansion of Azog's role in the story (keeping him alive after Moria), as well as expanding Bolg's role. The orcs attack them much more often in the films than they do in the books. -They added a lot more action to the barrel riding scene than was in the books. -The confrontation of Thorin and the dwarfs against Smaug on the Lonely Mountain was a very brief passage in the book. In the film, it's nearly 45 minutes.
5. Expand the roles of the female characters. -Arwen's role is much bigger in LOTR and she even replaces Glorfindel in her introduction. -Galadriel gets more screen time than she gets in the books, though her role in the story is true to the way Tolkien wrote it. -The Elf King's chief prison guard in The Hobbit was a nameless elf with a very small role, but in the film she's a female Sylvan Elf named Tauriel who has a much bigger role and even a romance subplot.
The Extended cuts are paced more slowly, and are closer in feel to the books. A lot of the exposition and quiet character moments are put back in, as well as some of goofy humor and whimsical moments that may have been cut. The extended editions are how the films should truly be seen, IMO.