Hobbit: The Spence Edit, The

This edit is fantastic. It is what I have been waiting for since the first Hobbit movie. It's really gripping from start to finish. The cuts were pretty much invisible, technically very well-executed. The score was very loud for me at three different points (22, 33.5 and 1hr50 minutes) but this is a very minor quibble in what was overall a great experience. Very well done.

This is how The Hobbit should have been! In terms of narrative structure, this is 100% spot-on in terms of an epic Hollywood Hobbit flick. I personally didn't shake my fists in anger that anything was removed, and if anything I felt it could have been cut down more.

There were a few edits that stood out to me, as others have pointed out, but overall this was a smooth ride through Middle Earth. Hats off to Spence for this!

Long story short, this is the go-to edit for the Hobbit Trilogy. If you consider having a LOTR marathon, consider adding this film to it. This is an excellent prequel which stands right beside the LOTR trilogy in terms of quality and narrative. The audio/video editing is also next to perfect and this movie does not feel like an edit whatsoever. My friend hasn't seen the Hobbit at all; he really enjoyed this film and he couldn't spot one edit made to this Trilogy

The Positives:
. The small things this edit does really helps preserve the LOTR trilogy e.g. making Bilbo discover the ring in a way more true to The Fellowship and not having one of the dwarves forcefully recall that Gimli is his son etc.
. Huge chunks from the movie were cut which helped move the story along gracefully
. The transitions between films were unnoticeable
. Making the movie linear and not have it overlap The Fellowship
. TDOS doesen't grind to a screeching hault after the opening act
. The Lonley mountain segment isn't a confusing wreck like it is in the original
. The faster pace keeps the story interesting

The minor nitpicks:
. There is a bit of an anti-climax in the end battle
. The movie begins very quickly, giving us no back story on what occurred before Bilbo's adventure

Overall, this edit is excellently radical and it proves to me how the The Hobbit could of easily been one movie. Well done Spence!

And if your feeling adventurous, could you be able to do an edit of entire Star Wars Prequel Trilogy? ... that would be fantastic ;)

I recently rewatched this edit and it's easily the best 3-in-1 edit I have watched. It seamless combines all three movies and makes them one huge epic. There is however some minor nitpicks that I feel if addressed could make this stand up as if it was planned all along.

First of all I like the fact that you kept the Dol Guldur subplot and that you set it up as early as possible because that way we are introduced to the big baddies that play heavily in the end battle. However it does feel like the sense of threat by Azog and the Necromancer are not as looming in the film as they could be, mainly because in this version they only connive in their lair. We don't see them have a presence of physical threat to the company, which I feel would add a much needed sense of importance and urgency to their quest. It's much more engaging to watch the company if you know they're being hunted. The way to fix this I feel would be to leave the reference that the Goblin King makes of Azog and him sending one of his underlings to tell him of Thorin's whereabouts. And before the scene of arriving in Mirkwood have the scene of weather top where the orc tell Azog through new subtitles that the goblin's have spotted the company on their way to the forest. Then we show Azog dispatching orcs. Then you integrate the orcs back into the barrel sequence, without a lot of the superflous action of course, but having their presence alone makes for a better set up of the Battle of Five Armies. It also explains Kili's injury.

The third act is the messiest mainly because the third film is just the messiest of the three. I feel like the moment where Thorin has his acid trip and comes to his senses is a bit silly but essential to his character arc. Otherwise his change of heart seems way to jarring. The extended edition with the funeral I feel would add emotional resonance to the story.

The animosity between Dwarves and Elves should be restored in the Rivendell scenes since it sets up Throin's discontent with Thranduil. One of the most important things that I feel should be restored is the extended conversation between Gandalf and Elrond where Bilbo and Thorin overhear them speaking of the sickness of the treasure. This sets up that storyline early on as the prologue is no longer present to do so. Without it, it kinda comes outta nowhere when Balin brings it up outside the mountain.

I know all these suggestion might make the runtime too unbearable but I feel like if that is the case then the movie should be split in two. And the first one should definitely end after the barrel sequence.

As far as 3-in-1 I feel like this is as good as it gets. It's fast, almost all the story information is there and it's all done in a manageable length considering. Oh and the way you handled Smaug not having a gold crust I thought was genius. Great job Spence.

I agree with everything thecuddlyninja said below, and I agree with the others who have said before me that the original theatrical versions are too much bloated with uninteresting stuff. This is how the hobbit should have been released in theatres in the first place. My only wish would be that the audio of this edit was more balanced and had six instead of two channels.