Three films. Really? Yes, really.

I’ve talked about my thoughts on Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy before. Since then my view has deflated like a balloon left long after the party has moved on, just hovering through the middle of the room never reaching the height it once attained and knowing it will end up on the floor, or worse in the end.

I had the opportunity to go and see the final installment, but was forced by schedule to go to see it in the dread 3D. I went, but I didn’t have high hopes. The middle film had moments but I just wasn’t certain the folks on Jackson’s team could pull off the mind numbing spectacular ending they would need to blow past the critics and wow the viewing audience. I hated the very idea of seeing this in 3D. In the end 3D didn’t detract from the film particularly but it didn’t add anything either. Save the money and see it flat if you see it in the theater. IF you see it in the theater. I was not moved by this film at all. The above mentioned mind numbing? It was administered in drawn out, wannabe heartfelt moments that lacked impact because they were so far removed from the rest of the movie. All the positive character development and relationship emphasis faded over the course of the year. What was left felt like… leftovers.

Smaug, the five minute preface to some other film? That’s what we got here. Yes, the special effects were magnificent but the impact was lost. The gap killed the dragon with certainty. Not the gap in his scales, the gap between his start as this amazing horror and his ignoble end. Time killed his power more than any black arrow.

Love and death can be heart wrenching, gut twisting and draw tears from the most stoic. Time and distance don’t kill love in the real world, but it flat out kills the impact of it in the movies. It was strained and made up and it didn’t work for me. I don’t begrudge Kili a love life, I just don’t want it in the movie. It took up space and watered down other relationships that could have had more impact. Think back on Two Towers when Gimli tells Eowyn that Aragorn has fallen in battle. The emotion there is a punch to the heart. If you’re going off the books, do it well or don’t do it at all!

Cross dressing jokes? Not in the film – save them for the gag reels. I’m not going to discuss these any more. This… this I blame Hollywood for.

I suspect that when all the film parts are watched together they will have a greater impact and the gaps that killed the theater going experience will be minimized. There will still need to be gaps – most humans will need a break somewhere in the eight hours or whatever it will be to see all the films at once.

IF you saw the other two parts in the theater, see the third one there too, but don’t rush. I’ll be interested to see how many box sets of this are created when all of the movie bits are finally released to DVD. If you’ve skipped the theater experience so far, definitely wait for all the parts to hit DVD and check them out in the comfort of your own home (with your own ability to pause for pee breaks!).

i09 says this: http://io9.com/everything-they-said-about-making-three-hobbit-movies-w-1671978013 and I agree.