[orthodoc]

I saw the second Hobbit movie last weekend. I read the book when I was ten and loved it (hated the end, don't know if spoilers are okay or if everyone knows what happens at the end). I was a Lord of the Rings geek in university, able to find random quotes in seconds anywhere in the trilogy (please don't laugh too hard). I loved Tolkien's writing, I loved his lofty poetry/prose and themes.

But this movie was ... boring. I hate to say it, but I was ready to leave halfway through. I didn't particularly enjoy the insertion of an entirely new character/romance/romantic triangle just to make the movie go better. I stayed mostly so that I could hear what Benedict Cumberbatch did with Smaug. I wished that Bilbo's encounters with Smaug hadn't been condensed into one scene. And the character arc for Thorin has been turned into a 2x4 that bludgeons you repeatedly. The book was more subtle, more interesting. Maybe some books, like this one, should simply translate into one movie. There and back again.