Home and borders are themes that have run through this trilogy, from Bilbo's (Martin Freeman) heartfelt declaration of solidarity at the end of An Unexpected Journey, to Kili's (Aidan Turner) fevered speech to Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) as she heals his wounds in Desolation, when they realise reconciliation is possible. And those qualities are married to a thematic depth missing from its bedtime story source. For all The Lord of the Rings' mythic grandeur and complex world-building, there's a warm geniality and brisk impetus to these lovingly crafted films. I'd like to be clear on my admiration for what Peter Jackson has done with The Hobbit so far. Beorn and Radagast) are given literally seconds of screen time and for the first time in this prequel trilogy, a whole chapter (The Return Journey) is pretty much elided entirely. Characters we've come to love or loathe arc into nothing others (e.g. It's as if, after all the complaints about splitting a pamphlet of a novel into three parts, Peter Jackson is playing a joke on us: This is what you get when you ask for Middle-earth-lite. Because right now this feels like An Unfinished Journey. For The Battle of the Five Armies, it may - I hope - be transformative. For The Desolation of Smaug we got bags more depth and character. For the first part we got some jolly embellishment. What a difference an Extended Edition makes.
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