Yeah, I'd rather have a long movie with all the great details of Tolkien's world rather than a 2-hour "Greatest Hits" version. They've tried to do that before, with Bakshi's LotR, and, of course the 1977 Hobbit. Bakshi's film failed, and while the '77 Hobbit was close to the book, it still felt way too "quaint".

It was paced pretty much exactly like the novel, except with a bit more dramatic weight to it. I was perfectly fine with the pacing. Different strokes, and so on...

The connections are canonical, so it didn't bother me at all. And, yes, I prefer easily distinguishable dwarves to a crew full of Gimli's.

I'm, for one, glad Jackson cut down on them. There'd be a bigger uproar if all of them were in it. People would be calling it a disney musical. I was glad, however, that "That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates!" was in it. I was singing along to it :D

Tolkien's work was popular with "ahem" certain subcultures, particularly in the 1960s. Remember when Saruman told Gandalf in Fellowship that his "love of the halfling's leaf has clearly slowed your mind"? And, of course, Old Toby, the finest weed in the South Farthing. Its pretty much injokes to the history of the…

Agreed, if the movie was just the book as its written, people would say it's lightweight fluff. There's already a film version like that, the 1977 cartoon. To the haters, go watch that if you want the "fan-edit". This is meant to be much more than the text of The Hobbit. We already knew about Jackson wanting to show…

The necromancer subplot was actually a fairly big event in the Tolkien universe. It was summarized in parts of other Tolkien books but it was in no way of little importance.

Yeah, that's why I prefer creative criticism, which respects the work and the creator while offering criticism. Its just a movie, a method of leisure, there's no need for byperbole. There's far more important things in this world to direct that type of ire upon.

If you understand that its part one of a 3-part single movie, then its fine. The equivalent would be the first episode of a television miniseries. The plot hasn't concluded yet, but its on its way.

Yeah, The Hobbit does not exist in a vacuum away from LotR. Events that take place in The Hobbit directly connect with LotR, especially the Dol Guldur subplot, which, canonically, was part of the same events in Tolkien's timeframe, just not described in The Hobbit itself, but in other books.

Not expanded universe, not cameos. It's all canon. Those events were happening at the same exact time as The Hobbit, they were just described in other books.

Loved the movie when I saw it first, loved it even more when I saw it the second time. 48 fps was an interesting experience for my first viewing. Some parts it worked well, some parts it didn't. When I saw it the 2nd time in 24 fps, while it was more comfortable and "felt" like a traditional movie, I did notice how…

In Tolkien's mythos, the eagles are their own race who do their own things, and won't do anything that's asked of them unless they really want to. Also, in the book, they're kinda dicks who only helped Gandalf out because he helped out their king once.

Agreed. And outside of some character development moments, the scenes between Balin and Thorin and Gandalf and Bilbo stood out for me as particularly good additions, the entire Bag End scene was almost exactly like the book and felt very brisk to me.

China's bubble bursting in 5...4...3...2...

Methinks you confused Lord of the Rings with The Silmarillion. Originally, The Hobbit had nothing to do with the Silmarillion. Only when writing LotR did he decide to incorporate The Hobbit and LotR into the larger Silmarillionverse, and he rewrote several chapters of The Hobbit to make it fit. Indeed, later on, he…

Yup, that's the same way to me. When I was watching Fellowship of the Ring Expanded Edition on BluRay last night, I came to the conclusion that the LotR movies, and, I'm sure, The Hobbit are the cinematic equivalent of a long, comfortable soak in a hot tub. Just really cozy and lovely. You just soak in what it has to…

It's not the first time. Jackson intentionally, and has noted in the commentary tracks, put in nods and references to earlier adaptations into LotR. Most notably: "Proud Feet!"

Hmm, well, I'm seeing it tomorrow (me and my dad are driving 3 hours to an IMAX 3D HFR showing, yeah, we're hardcore) so I'll know then. I did like what I heard from the soundtrack, though, so maybe its just a fluke for one scene.

I haven't seen it, but, from what I know, I'm thinking the "Ringwraith/Attack on Weathertop" music is a bit of a hint of things to come that directly connect the Necromancer subplot of The Hobbit with LotR.