Book to Film: The Hobbit

While I enjoy watching movie adaptations of books, I tend to be bit of a purist. I fuss and complain about changes that don't matter. I can't grasp the logic. When something has done well in print and can make the leap to the screen without losing its power, why would you want to change it? It's the height of arrogance to think you can improve on a classic. I'm not opposed to artistic license, particularly where it relates bringing print to a visual medium.

Back in December, when the first Hobbit movie was released, I thought about reading the book. Maybe I should say, "read the book again." It is one of the few books that I have read more than once. It had been several years since I last read the Hobbit, and I thought it would be a good idea to refresh my memory.

However, I stopped myself from reading it before I saw the movie. I knew that if the book was fresh on my mind, I couldn't enjoy the movie. I would spend the whole movie wondering why ignored this scene or changed that line. In order to enjoy the movie, I had to see apart from the book. The movie adaptation tends to be more enjoyable when I don't think about the book upon which it is based. I can enjoy the movie as a movie, and not as a desecration of cherished book.

I thought the first Hobbit movie was alright. It wasn't terrific (there are too many needless additions for the sake of making a trilogy, and not to progress the story. I'm afraid the dwarfish love of gold has infected Peter Jackson), but on its own it was good bit of story telling. And the special effects were astounding. It just wasn't the Hobbit.

Since viewing the movie, I have read the book twice and I'm currently reading it a third time. Why would I read it three times? It's a beautiful story. It makes me laugh. It makes me cry. It makes me believe in Middle Earth--a world and realm not completely removed from ours, but full of adventure and magic. It reminds me that just as Bilbo Baggins (the main character) learned that there was a bit more to him than he realized, so to there may be a bit more to me than I realize. It reminds me that courage isn't the absence of fear, but the willingness to endure and act in spite of it.

In spite of my disappointments with all that the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey wasn't, I intend on enjoying for what it was: eye candy. Strip away the stunning visual effects and the realistic back drops and you're left with an "Eh" kind of movie. The acting is fair. The action is exciting (even if unbelievable at times). It's a good (long) escape into another world where adventure is right outside waiting on your doorstep.

I'll give it a  D for accuracy (to the book); a B+ in entertainment value; and a A+ in visual effects.