I’ve been reading the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy since high school in the early 60’s. I just finished reading the Hobbit again last year before the first prequel was released. I love the books and read them every few years.
But the movies are very well made too. So they may vary a little from the books but what movie doesn’t? No movie I ever saw that was made from a book was EXACTLY like the book. They never are.
But books are for curling up on the couch to read or reading in bed before falling to sleep at night. Movies are meant to be a completely different experience. Bigger than life screens, popcorn and a soda, an entertaining movie in a dark theater are great times. Reading books and watching movies are not meant to be the same. And who really cares if the movie is a little off from the text? All movie-makers take some creative license to make the movie as entertaining as possible.
My wife and I and enjoyed the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies and have seen the prequel of the Hobbit. We are looking forward to seeing the second part as well. These are timeless classics and I am glad someone finally put them to the big screen in a quality way.
Well, I enjoyed the Lord of the Ring movies, in a way. But they kept straying further and further away from the books, and in the end I was very disappointed. It wasn’t just a question of leaving out complications, but it was a failure to understand some of Tolkien’s most basic ideas.
Nobility and honor, for instance.