Review Detail

Like many Tolkien fans I went in to the cinema when the first Hobbit film came out with high hopes. I'd enjoyed Peter Jackson's LOTR interpretations and was hoping for an enjoyable Hobbit adaptation. I was a bit worried when it was announced that the planned two films had become a trilogy, but I still had hope. Then I saw the first film, and my first reaction was "Meh". It was decent, but was in the 6/10 territory and several levels lower than the LOTR films. It felt very bloated and took ages to get going. My feelings on the second and third films were even lower, mainly thanks to the addition of the worthless Tauriel character (The Hobbit trilogy equivalent of Jar Jar Binks). The tacked on and stupid love story, the over the top CGI sequences (Barrel chase anyone?) and annoying characters (Alfrid especially) really soured me on The Hobbit trilogy.

I am happy to report that Billy Batson (Henceforth referred to as B.B) has produced my go-to version of The Hobbit. With this version we start with Gandalf and Bilbo meeting, then literally 5 minutes in the Dwarves are arriving and the story is underway. What I especially like is that B.B has pruned back the over the top action sequences, but has left in the character moments. The conversation with Bilbo and Elrond at Rivendell, Nori stealing the tableware (And it later being discovered by the Goblin King), the party first meeting Beorn two at a time, the white Stag in Mirkwood, Bilbo and Bofur's conversation ("Goodbye Bilbo...") and Bifur losing his axe are all in this edit.

Gone almost completely are the overdone Ring references, 98% of Alfrid's scenes (He has only a few lines left now), all of Tauriel's scenes (Good riddance) and all bar two brief moments with Legolas. The focus stays predominantly on Bilbo and the Dwarves, as it should do. I especially enjoyed B.B's work on the barrel escape sequence and the death of Smaug. Both scenes are a credit to this edition. The Jackson narrative means that unfortunately there won't ever be a version without Azog, but in this version he's just a leader Orc without a name. I watched this version with my wife and some of our friends last night, and it was a unanimous thumbs up from everyone. The only reason I rated Audio Editing as a 9 is because there were some moments where the music changes seemed a tad abrupt. That's my one very minor complaint about this stellar work. Thanks B.B.