Review Detail

It's been an extremely long time since I've seen The Hobbit, I basically haven't touched it since I completed my edit so long ago. When this project was brought to my attention I was immediately intrigued. I have to say, I enjoyed it significantly more than I had anticipated.

My biggest issue with The Hobbit has always been the length. To me, this is a story that didn't need more than 3 hours or so to be told, yet we ended up with almost 9 hours of it. It's bloated, messy, and doesn't feel as technically proficient as the original trilogy of films.

In this edition, the story is told in a 5-part structure. This made it feel less like a trilogy of movies and more like one of those big epic TV miniseries they used to make back in the day. I feel like this structure allows the story to take it's time, and makes some of the things I personally would've cut out a lot more palatable. Beorn doesn't feel like a waste of time now, he's just another stop on the journey.

The "greatest hits" approach really shines here, and I was honored to see some small parts of my edit reflected in this edition. However, It can't be looked how much Stromboli Bones put into this and let's their own sensibilities shine. This isn't just a mash up of 5 other edits, Stromboli really made it their own.

Quality wise, I didn't spot any issues, though I've never been much of a tech head. Everything was in sync, looked good, and the edits are hidden well.

In my personal opinion, this is still too much Hobbit. Obviously I feel that way, as I did my own edit that's significantly shorter. However, if you want to take your time with the story and really spend some time in Middle Earth with Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf, this is likely the best way to do it.

Great job!