Sorry to go full nerd.
“Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 children’s tale which set the stage for the author’s much darker and heavier later books, Jackson’s “The Hobbit” harkens back to a more innocent time when men were men and gold-hoarding dragons were the biggest evils plaguing the land.”
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, fake, wrong.
This person obviously hasn’t read the books. The way I read this paragraph is that The Hobbit is set in more innocent times than the LOTR. That’s the only way it can be read since the subject is unchanged.
Going by memory the LOTR saga occurs 70 or so years after the events in The Hobbit. Gandalf reveals in the LOTR that he was actually on an intelligence gathering mission, amongst other things, during the events of The Hobbit. In fact in The Hobbit Gandalf is missing for a period of time during which he is penetrating the lair of the Necromancer. In the LOTR he reveals that the Necromancer was in fact Sauron, gathering his power.
It is still in living memory of the characters of the book, not a different era as this author suggests. It is really just a continuation of The Hobbit.
And I’ll never watch the movie. I’ve had the books in my head for 25 or so years...I don’t need no moving pictures messing with my Tolkien reality.
After typing all this out it sounds incredibly nerdy...but the books really are fantastic and pose many interesting philosophical questions along with a great message.
Sympathize but disagree.
I've probably read (all) the books 40x or more, but greatly enjoyed the movies, though I had a major disorientation moment every time the movie diverged from the book story I knew so well.
I have now found that the movies (which I've now also watched many times) and books blend together into a confusing mish-mash in my mind. Have to concentrate to remember which is which.
Disappointing moments in the movies for me, mainly because it didn't match the picture in my head.
Gandalf facing the Balrog. G was great, the Balrog didn't do it for me.
Eowyn vs. the King of the Nazgul. Loved that part of the book, and it just didn't work as well for me in the movie. Possibly because I don't think the actress was quite right for the role.
Sam vs Shelob. Can't quite put my finger on it, but it just didn't match the epic nature of my mental vision.
I also really disliked the movie showing Frodo turning on Sam, which is not a trace of in the book. Showed Frodo's mental deterioration under the stress of the Ring well, but p*ssed me off.
As earlier mentioned, the denigration of Faramir and the absence of the Scouring.
Can live with pretty much all the changes. A direct book to movie transfer would probably be 30 hours or more.
Hmmm. I could live with that. :)
Sauron, as a sorcerer, will be interesting.