Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Edits, The

Thats the way it should be watched ! 10/10
It is now just like one of the trilogy !

The cuts , the quality all superb !
Its like nothing is missing !
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I watched the one movie version !

First, it was the Anti-Cringe fanedit. Now, Stromboli's. The Hobbit, with its episodic structure, surely lends itself better to a miniseries! Stromboli Bones' fanedit saved The Hobbit films for me, which I could never enjoy, even after so many years of going through other edits. His editing skills and knowledge of previous fanedits, which he makes brilliant use of, are unsurpassed. Everything is smooth and the attention to detail is incredible. Most of the narrative choices are very thoughtful and spot on. Brilliant work, Stromboli!

So I have a unique perspective when it comes to watching this edit. My grandpa gave me his extended copies of LOTR and The Hobbit to watch for the first time. I spent 11 hours watching LOTR for the first time and they were very long but enjoyable. However, I was told by others after I had finished it, The Hobbit was a bit of a mess and someone suggested looking up a fan edit of it to save time. I then come across this cut and after considering the two that are here on IFDB, I decided to watch this version and I have to say, it felt very seamless and not bloated at all. The episodic format especially helped give me a bit of breathing room as the LOTR extended versions I couldn't find a good place to stop. I would even say it is pretty close to the quality of the LOTR trilogy as best as it could and I highly recommend this edit to anyone interested. I will be saving this copy and even share it with my grandpa when we I get the chance.

After the masterpiece that was Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, most of us felt less-than-enthusiastic about the final result of the Hobbit Trilogy. And as an owner of the bloated extended edition Blu-Rays, I personally felt like the magic was gone from Jackson's Tolkien vision. The Hobbit was, to me, only slightly better than the Prequel trilogies were to the Star Wars franchise.

With Fanedits, we are often left with "the best that could be managed" with weak source material (again, see the Star Wars prequels). Nothing can turn Hayden Christensen into a great actor or a believable Darth Vader. But unlike the Star Wars prequels, Stromboli Bones has revealed the absolute DIAMOND that was hidden in a chunk of coal.

Excised are the ridiculous elements and the grotesque. The excesses have been trimmed. And what we have left is an absolute worthy prequel to the cinematic masterpiece "The Lord of the Rings."

The Hobbit was Tolkien's foray into writing a story for children, set in the world of Middle Earth he had been developing for decades. "The Lord of the Rings" was a far more adult tale. Literarily, there is a completely different feel between the two masterworks, even though they were penned by the same author. When I originally saw "The Hobbit" in the theaters, there were times I felt it was hard to believe these were taking place in the same world. Thanks to the efforts of Stromboli Bones and the other prior editors who helped contribute to this fanedit, this now FEELS like it should.

The Fellowship of the Ring was released in 2001. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released in 2012. A decade is a long time for an actor to return to a role and portray a younger version of themselves. One of good things about this fanedit is that scenes with actors reprising their roles have been trimmed or minimized. Now I am able to enjoy the film without thinking, "Wow, that actor didn't age well" or some other thoughts that take me out of the story.

For all of Peter Jackson's excesses, he at least gave us all the elements of a great film filled with great portrayals and incredible visuals. There was a lot of fat around the meat, but once that fat has been trimmed, you are left with an incredible piece of cinema and that is this fanedit's greatest achievement. Unlike Amazon's "The Rings of Power," the spirit of Tolkien resides within Jackson's "The Hobbit," and through this fanedit, we can see it clearly.

Absolutely BRILLIANT! Bravo!!! Thank you, Stromboli Bones!

I really enjoyed this edit!
Splitting the story into 5 parts was a great idea.
I don't know what else to say except that this edit is just perfect :D