So I’ve finally seen The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. Any time I watch a beloved book turn into a movie, it takes a few days to fully process my thoughts. Of course there are the comments that I give in the moment to the people unfortunate enough to be seated next to me. (In most cases, my mom and husband are the lucky — or is it unlucky? — two.) The rest, though, requires a few days of brewing and some discussion.
Overall, I liked it. While I would still rate The Lord of the Rings films more highly, I still enjoyed it. There are some things that I would have changed if I’d been given a say, and there are moments that I hope will be included in the extended edition because they deserved some screen time, but I can say that for nearly every adaptation I’ve ever seen. And they were balanced out by great moments that I have long been hoping for.
Since I can’t say much more without spoilers (though if there were an expiration date on spoilers, I would think about 76 years should do it :) ), the whole topic has gotten me thinking about movie adaptations in general. There are some that I’ve really loved over the years and some that have earned my deep animosity.
Peter Jackson’s adaptations of JRR Tolkien works are obviously some of my favorites (and if LOTR were video tapes instead of discs, mine would probably be in the early stages of those weird problems tapes used to have from overuse). So is the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. (Six happy hours of banter and the Bennets!) And the newest incarnation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The film is actually the reason I broke out my mom’s old books. To do things right, I read at least the first book before the film, and it’s still a movie I put on in the background when I need to relax and have a good laugh.
One of the worst that I actually watched: Eragon. When a friend bought me the book and the movie, she warned me that the movie was awful, and it was. It’s been years since the one and only time it was in my DVD player, but I remember how far it felt from the book and how easily it glossed over major plot points. No book deserves that sort of treatment. That’s why, when I know it’s bad, I try to just avoid them altogether.
And one of the rare moments in which I enjoyed the movie more than the book: Stardust. While similar for most of the ride, the climaxes are completely different. Since I watched the movie first (which is understandable since I had no idea it was a book), I expected something rather exciting and still quirky. When it turned out to be downright anticlimactic, I left the book puzzled and a bit disappointed. There is a certain appeal at times to anticlimactic endings, but this was less Douglas Adams or Kurt Vonnegut and more a huge sigh from all of the characters as they wandered off saying, “Oh, I give up.”
Obviously, there are many more to talk about, but I’m out of time at the moment.
So, what did you think of the film adaptation of The Hobbit and other books you love?
The Everyday Epic 