Okay.  It’s been almost a day since we saw the movie.  Are we going to talk about it, or what?

 

Muse:  Yes.  I’m ready.

You slept in quite a bit today, didn’t you?  Until 1:00 in the afternoon if I can recall correctly….

Muse:  There’s a reason for that.  For the remainder of the night, I kept having these nightmares about Azog.  I was cornered, and I was cut in two by his mace….

*sigh*  Is that the only reason?

Muse:  Yes.  I know….It’s pretty dumb, isn’t it?  I have these dreams a lot in some of the mystery books that I read….

Well anyway, let’s get to the movie.

Let’s begin with first impressions.  What did you think of the beginning?  There was a scene where Smaug burned Laketown to a crisp.  After that, Bard saves the day.

Muse:  The beginning was pretty good.  Not to mention, the title card for the movie did not even appear until after Smaug was killed and it showed Erebor again.

After that, we see Tauriel, the elf that’s not supposed to exist lead the company of elves out of Laketown on a boat.  Not to spoil much, the dwarves get back to Erebor, the five armies assemble and there is an epic fight.

Muse:  Let’s get to the differences, since there are still some that infuriate me.

This seems to be the theme for the Hobbit.  Let’s try to see how many times we can contradict the book…

Muse:  And like before, they have done it again!  Like last time, Tauriel is still there.  She does NOT exist in the book and we don’t see Legolas until Lord of the Rings!  And like last time the plot builds on events that don’t exist in the book!  Galadriel helps Gandalf and Radagast escape.  Galadriel almost gets possessed by Sauron and tempted by him, but she casts him away into Mordor.  The dwarves NOT entering Erebor while Smaug was there when that happened TWICE in the book!

That’s quite a few differences!  Now…

Muse:  I’m not done!  One big mistake is that the movie included Azog!  Azog is supposed to be dead!  He existed 150 years before the events of The Hobbit! Thorin’s cousin Dain killed Azog at the Battle of Azanulbizar in the year 2799 T.A.  The Hobbit takes place 2941 to 2942 T.A.  With that said, that final fight with Azog is not supposed to exist!  Yes, Thorin dies in the book but it wasn’t from Azog!  And Tauriel is not supposed to exist!  I hate the stupid love triangle!  Urr…Jackson!  Why?

Okay.   There were a lot of big changes in the movie that were not very good.  One redeeming quality was the battle scenes near Erebor and Bilbo’s return to the Shire…

Muse:  Those scenes were good, but I HATED that final Azog battle scene!  He’s a walking contradiction to even still be alive!  Jackson probably wanted more action, so he “revived” him…

Indeed.  Anyone who has not read the book would not know any of this.

Muse:  I know!  That’s what makes me mad.  Anyone who has not read the books will not see the store as it should be.  Everyone.  Read the book! There are so many things wrong with this movie…

Now let’s get to the ending.  It ties back in to the events of The Lord of the Rings.  It’s Bilbo’s 111th birthday and Gandalf visits him once again.

Muse:  I like the parallel of him holding the ring in the past to him holding it 60 years later…

Overall, I give the movie a 4 out of 5.  The movie cannot be five stars, considering all the mistakes they made with the unnecessary additions…

Muse:  Really?  You’re being very generous.  I give it a 2 out of 5.  Because of that stupid final battle scene with Azog and all the other stupid additions that they made to this movie…

Thanks for you insight on all the differences.  With that, I will have to read the book again.

Muse:  Read it again, please! I have some more reading to do.

And my Galadriel dress needs to be washed.  It’s stained with popcorn seasoning from the other night.  See you tomorrow….

I’ll let you do that.

That’s it for the discussion.  Stay tuned for the review!

Until then, I’ll see you tomorrow!