Review Detail

Massive fan of Jackson's LOTR trilogy, but avoided the Hobbit films like the plague after enduring the first film's stupidities and self indulgence. And 3 films? Surely 2 would have done. So I come to this with a love of storytelling and familiarity with the book and Tolkien's world, but no intimate first-hand knowledge of the famously bloated Hobbit trilogy. I watched the 5-episode version of this cut, 1 episode each night, and was gripped to the end. Character development, pacing and technical quality are all first rate. I can't imagine any more footage being needed. I also don't care what was in the book and what wasn't, I care for the story and execution, and as a standalone film this cut is almost always internally consistent, save the slightly odd jump in narrative in a few spots (and the 5 episode structure cushions these bumps, like a TV show episode structure would - I can't speak for the 5 hour continuous version of this edit). The gentle tie-ins with the Lord of the Rings do not feel overdone either. My first Hobbit edit and possibly the last - because I found it so deeply satisfying. Well done DonKamilo.