We saw the Hobbit, but somehow going to the theater didn't have the same sense of being an event like seeing The Fellowship of the Ring eleven years ago. Are all of us, even the film crew, just older and more tired? I mean, even though we knew a decade has passed, it was still a shock to see how old Ian McKellan looks (well, either that or they muffed the makeup), and I definitely noticed that Saruman remains seated for almost the entirety of his time onscreen (a kindness to Christopher Lee, who turned 90) -- I do like the addition of the Council of the Wise scene, if only because Saruman painting Gandalf as a dangerous schemer is a nice touch.
Given all the other edits -- and while there are many poorly chosen deviations from the original story, I won't belabor them here** -- the decision to keep the reunion of Bilbo & the dwarves after the escape from the Misty Mountains, but prior to being chased by the wargs, is extremely curious to me. All the speechifying in that reunion breaks up the action and would have worked better at the very end of the film, because the same points are simply being rehashed.
** Well, maybe just Radagast***... for me, the most disappointing bit about Radagast's role in this is that it seems to break an important connection between Thorin and the Necromancer: Gandalf acquired the map and key from Thrain in the dungeons of Dol Guldur! Thus, he already knew about the darkness gathering in Mirkwood; thus, Radagast's filmed role was unnecessary. Then again, perhaps it will turn out that Gandalf did already know what Radagast reports, and was simply being coy. That's probably too much to hope for.
*** No, no, we just got to Bert, Tom, and William. They've taken a great scene in the book and turned it into a stream of bodily functions jokes. I had blocked out just how terribly awful this is.
Now I'm sad again that Jackson doesn't seem to truly understand the importance of song in Tolkien.
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