Which Plotline In The Hobbit Movies Is Your Favorite?
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There are a number of different plot lines in The Hobbit, I thought it would be cool to see which is the most popular among us.
To clarify the last two choices, for the fifth one I meant the whole dynamic between Thranduil, Legolas, and Tauriel of whether the Woodland Realm should help with the outside world or not. I see the whole Kili/Tauriel thing as an intersection of plots 2 and 5. Similarly, for option 4 I meant it to encompass the whole situation of Lake-Town - should they risk death or should they stay in their currently corrupt society?
Kinda lost so far. I'm hoping the theft of the Arkenstone and betrayal of the dwarves will cause a bit more focus on his development from the childlike/childish innocent of The Hobbit to the morally complex character he is in LOTR.
with the White Council vs. Dol Guldur a close second. It may be called The Hobbit, but I've always found it's more Thorin's story than Bilbo's. Our little hobbit friend just plays a part in it (but I still don't like him taking the Arkenstone, even if it is to more protect Thorin in the latest movie version). Just remember, the story is written from Bilbo's point of view, so of course it's going to be called The Hobbit, but that doesn't mean it has to always focus on Bilbo. If it weren't for Thorin (as well as Gandalf, who is responsible for setting the whole thing in motion), there wouldn't be a quest to go on in the first place.
I still remember when, back in 2012, I saw the first blurry picture of the White Council in Rivendell and it was at that moment that my excitement level went from mildly interested to as excited as I had been about the LotR movies ten years earlier. So yeah, the involvement of the White Council is definitely my favourite thing and what sucked me in. I've come to love many other aspects of these movies as well, but that's still the biggest source of excitement for me.
I've always liked that The Hobbit stood apart from LOTR as a stand alone fairytale, and Bilbo's 'simple' straight forward journey from a introverted sheltered hobbit to unlikely, moral hero was to me, more engrossing than Frodo's journey in LOTR. Martin Freeman captures Bilbo perfectly, and shines when he gets the chance, unfortunately (as others have indicated) his storyline has been lost under a mountain of appendices material, expansions and fabrications, many of which I simply find tedious or extraneous, either braking the flow of the story I hoped to see, or feeling oddly tacked on, perhaps it is simple bias on my part, but these films seem to lack the natural flow and pacing the LOTR trilogy did
That said I read The Hobbit after LOTR and enjoyed it more (I wouldn't say it was a better book though) so I'm aware my opnions are somewhat...odd.
The Dol-Guldor storyline was so vague in the books I never saw the need to get too excited about it, Jackson's adapation of this storyline hasn't grabbed me very much so far, though I'm certainly intrigued to see where he takes things in BOTFA.
Although I liked Thorin in the books (shock horror!) Richard Armitage hasn't grabbed me, I found alot of Thorin's heroics and grimacing distracting and protracted in AUJ, to be frank film Thorin just annoys me for some reason, and I don't expect to feel any different come December.
Laketown and the Woodland realm aren't fresh enough in my mind to comment, I only saw DOS once when it first came out, and I'm not really inclined at present to rush out and buy the EE to refresh my memory, though I remember thinking Lee Pace owned every scene he was in.
Admittedly It's probably a little odd I'm posting on a forum dedicated to films I feel so ambiguous towards, but I guess that explains my ever decreasing post count here...
The idea that he is in league with Sauron is pretty intriguing to me - but I suppose that could be part of the White Council v. Dol Goldur subplot. Glad you left out the Azog subplot, really could live without that one. Thorin will redeem himself well enough without Azog's help.