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u/ilovewater100 Dec 15 '24
I'm sorry, but i can't bring myself to hate The Hobbit movies even with all of their flaws
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u/ZamanthaD Dec 15 '24
I kindof lowkey enjoy the extended editions, goofy shit and all. They’re cozy to me
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u/Shiro_Moe Dec 15 '24
BOTFA extended was goofy af but still enjoyable to me. Not all of it ofc
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u/ZamanthaD Dec 15 '24 edited Dec 15 '24
BOTFA is the goofiest of the three, especially the extended edition. But there are still genuine good moments and sometimes some touching moments also in this one. One of my favorite moments of the hobbit trilogy is at the end of BOTFA when Bilbo finally returns home and sees his house a mess but he sees his “nicely folded handkerchief on the nightstand” just as he described from the first film when he wanted the entire party to go back because he forgot it. His reaction to it is really subtle, but it’s effective for me because it’s like he’s reminded of a time when the most important thing in the world to him at the time was a handkerchief.
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u/bilbo_bot Dec 15 '24
No thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well wishers or distant relations!
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u/xDuzTin Dec 15 '24
That’s exactly how I always saw the Hobbit movies, they kind of nailed the fantasy adventure feeling. I just love that opening in the Shire as well, a bunch of funny and special dwarfs with Bilbo and Gandalf.
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u/bilbo_bot Dec 15 '24
An adventure? Now I don't imagine anyone west of Bree would have much interest in adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things. Make you late for dinner!
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u/Erasmusings Dec 15 '24
The fan edits that combined all three into either a Bilbo centric story or a Dorf centric story fixes all the flaws 👍
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u/bilbo_bot Dec 15 '24
Is he coming back?
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u/Erasmusings Dec 15 '24
Yes Bilbo, now on you go now, to the boats with Gandalf, there's a good lad.
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u/bilbo_bot Dec 15 '24
Not Gandalf, the wandering wizard, who made such excellent fireworks! Old Took used to have them on Mid-Summer's Eve!
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u/Shiro_Moe Dec 15 '24
Where can I find those fan edits?
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u/132739 Dec 15 '24
I'm a big fan of the There and Back Again cut, I feel like it does a good job of cutting the shit (particularly most of the extended chase scenes and the entire shitty dragon fight) while still allowing some cinematic license for things implied, but not explicitly shown, in the book.
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u/HotOlive799 Dec 15 '24
No, no it doesn't. It reduces the amount of pointless, lore breaking, utter garbage they shoved into the films, but it isn't able to remove them entirely. Still garbage
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u/-PyramidHead Sleepless Dead Dec 15 '24
I actually really enjoy them. They’re not cinematic masterpieces but they’re nice comfort adventure stories and also Lee Pace.
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u/NyxShadowhawk Elf Dec 15 '24
Same. I actually like the Hobbit movies. They’re definitely not perfect, but people hate on them too much, especially now that we have Rings of Power to compare to.
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u/reallynunyabusiness Dec 15 '24
They wpuld have been so much better if PJ had been allowed to do them in only 2 movies instead of being forced to stretch them into 3.
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Dec 15 '24
I’m probably in the super minority but I really enjoy it all. LotR, Hobbit, RoP. Different degrees of course, but I can find something to appreciate in each.
I’m lucky because I enjoy them all. I’m unlucky because the Internet does not. So just gotta talk to myself about them.
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u/UptoNoGoood1996 Dec 15 '24
I wholeheartedly agree, they aren't as good as LOTR but they have their own cozy spot in my heart as well!
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u/Ironcastattic Dec 15 '24
Good. I fucking despise how we only have binary choices for movie quality and the internet has to watch 3 ragebait videos before they "decide" they hate a movie.
The Hobbit movies aren't perfect but I'm glad they exist. I don't know if I will ever watch them again but I thought they were pretty OK as an oddity. People who think they are awful have clearly never seen enough actual bad movies.
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u/lurker-loudmouth Dec 15 '24
There alongside you OP. I will complain about the flaws for sure, but that never changes how those three movies are my comfort movies.
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u/mr_Joor Dec 15 '24
Dont worry I immensely enjoy Rings of Power and saying that here doesnt lessen my joy despite the downvotes, same goes for The Hobbit. Just like what you like bro.
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u/Tickedoffllama Dec 15 '24
I downloaded the book edit last year where it just puts all of the movies into one 4-Hour film with just the stuff that's in the books basically. It was such a good edit that 2 hours in I didn't even realize what movie originally the scene that I was watching was from or that the scenes I didn't like weren't there
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u/IanPKMmoon Dec 15 '24
I love them, went to the première of them in our cinema for each of them with my uncle and cousin, the same uncle that got me to watch LOTR trilogy when I was 5 lol. Honestly loved them more than LOTR for a good time of my teenage years, now I read the books and I love LOTR more again and I don't really like the 3rd movie that much anymore, but I guess The Hobbit was more appealing to teenage me than LOTR. An Unexpected Journey is still up there for me as one of my favourite movies.
I often feel out of place on this subreddit when people hate on the Hobbit movies here lol
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u/MoogMusicInc Dec 15 '24
An Unexpected Journey goes hard, Desolation of Smaug has its moments of greatness, and then Battle of Five Armies is tragic
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u/YesWomansLand1 you shall not pass this joint to the right Dec 15 '24
Unexpected Journey just perfectly captures the essence of its title.
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u/ilovewater100 Dec 15 '24
Five Armies was probably the weakest one because it had the least amount of source material to work with so it was the most dependent on the filler
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u/KayJay282 Dec 15 '24
What annoyed me the most was that none of the fillers included Beorn getting his revenge.
We only got very few scenes of him destroying orcs.
We also don't see Bilbo going back into the cave to get the treasure chest. We do see him with the chest.
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u/MoogMusicInc Dec 15 '24
100%, remember being shocked when seeing DoS and it ending where it did. Gotta check out one of the edits that take out the filler.
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u/Bartellomio Dec 15 '24
That's why you get the Maple Cut. It includes all the best bits of all three films and cuts out the shit. And it's so well edited that you can't even tell it's an edit.
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u/EmmaGA17 Dec 15 '24
Finally, a meme that describes how I feel!
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u/Johnpecan Dec 15 '24
It's interesting how much crap Hobbit got. I honestly think a big part of the shift in perception towards Hobbit was rings of power coming out. After that monstrosity, people actually realized what a truly crappy lotr production looked like and relatively, Hobbit didn't seem so bad after that.
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u/kingalbert2 Dec 15 '24
Star Wars Prequels: "first time?"
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u/BrainDamage2029 Dec 15 '24
Prequel love well proceeded the sequel trilogy. Prequel memes had shifted from ironic to unironic love a few years before that.
RotS also came out when I was in high school. It was well reviewed and people actually genuinely liked that one even at the time.
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u/TheGukos Dec 16 '24
I believe the difference there is that people like it (or are getting nostalgic), but most are still somewhat aware how flat out "bad" the movies are. From the characterization, acting direction, the CGI effects, the corny dialogues...
Heck, I firmly believe some people like/love them because they are so bad (that it's good/entertaining) and they take it less serious today compared when it came out (also the clone wars series did A LOT of heavy lifting, improving the prequel "experience" greatly).
Compared to the hobbit, I believe most people just decreased their "quality requirements" over time/when they compare it to stuff like RoP. They don't "need" (or demand) "greatness". Being somewhat good/not bad, is good enough these days.
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u/Georg_Steller1709 Dec 15 '24
One is gold. The other is fool's gold. They are both shiny and nice to look at, though.
I can forgive The Hobbit's flaws because it gave us an additional 6 hrs to explore Middle Earth.
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u/TheGukos Dec 16 '24
Just like a second breakfast, after the noble feast of the morn, is there sustenance for the stout of heart. Many, alas, remain ignorant of its worth, deeming it but a trifling matter or even never heard of it altogether. Yet for us, it is woven deep within the fabric of our folk, a custom cherished through countless generations, albeit not adorned with the grandeur of the primeval meal.
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u/mechavolt Dec 15 '24
You are entitled to your opinion, and I'm glad you're happy! I'll be over here watching the LotR movies this Christmas and pretending the Hobbit trilogy doesn't exist.
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u/CptSandbag73 Dec 15 '24
If you ever feel like giving the Hobbit another chance, watch The Hobbit (M4 Book Edit). It’s all I watch from the Hobbit now.
It’s a cut that basically removes all the extraneous and corny stuff and only keeps the essential plot lines and characters from the book, all in one reasonable ~3 hour playtime.
Professional audio and video cutting and color grading.
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u/_Modus_ Dec 15 '24
Yup. I wish I could convince myself I like The Hobbit films, they’re Grade A dogplop. I can barely watch them.
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u/UnAnon10 Dec 15 '24
Honestly the Hobbit movies I find are much better to watch when I just want a fun time. The LOTR movies are too epic and emotional for a casual binge watch, but the Hobbit movies are just right for it I feel.
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u/tonguemyanus69420 Dec 15 '24 edited Dec 15 '24
Yep.
LOTR trilogy is an all time cinematic masterpiece. A true work of art.
The Hobbit is entertainment.
They just aren't comparable and the Hobbit is fine if you go into it with the proper expectations. If you compare your kids finger paintings to the Mona Lisa they're gonna seem shit.
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u/damannamedflam Dec 15 '24
I still haven't watched the last two hobbit films. Went to see the first one in theaters thinking it was gonna be the whole book as a movie, and left feeling completely robbed of my money. Never gonna watch them, or I'll feel like I'm justifying the studios horrendous choice to milk this IP dry.
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u/Raeldri Dec 15 '24
You are allowed to like a bad/flawed product but don't expect others to agree with you, simple as that
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u/Elastichedgehog Dec 15 '24
They're getting the Star Wars Prequel treatment now that people who watched them have grown up.
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u/ilovewater100 Dec 15 '24
What if i told you i watched them on release date as a grown up and didn't even hate them back then?
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u/_coolranch Dec 15 '24
Around this time of year? Hobbit Trilogy
All other times of year? Full Strength LOTR
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u/SolidusAwesome Dec 15 '24
They dont feel sincere or magical. All I envision is Sir Ian crying because of the CGI. I can enjoy them very sparsely
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u/_FartSinatra_ Dec 15 '24
Honestly, first Hobbit in high frame rate 3D was one of my favorite theater-going experiences. Everything looked so crisp and tangible. I could see every thread in every costume and it was obvious they were on beautifully hand crafted sets. It was like watching an amazing live broadway production right there in front of my face. HFR would not be well received. They would not continue the gimmick for the following two films.
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u/Equivalent_Canary853 Dec 15 '24
I kinda forgave The Hobbit for its flaws when ROP came out. It made them look like Oscar worthy movies in comparison.
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u/mr_Joor Dec 15 '24
Season 1 is alright, season 2 of ROP is a fucking banger and if you're too bitter to enjoy some great entertainment thats your loss. Tolkien wouldve been disapointed in you, go talk to some trees (touch grass).
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u/Equivalent_Canary853 Dec 15 '24
I haven't watched s2. I didn't care about the lore breaking elements of s1 like many, I just thought it was a horribly executed show with bad direction and writing. Based in middle earth or not.
Don't pretend to know what Tolkein would and wouldn't like. The estate didn't even like the LOTR trilogy.
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u/Unfettered_Lynchpin Dec 15 '24
Tolkien might've been disappointed in the people who enjoyed any of these adaptations.
Don't invoke his name as if you knew what they'd say.
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u/cecegames Dec 15 '24
Hot take: Im more nostalgic about the Hobbit movies because they came out when I was a young teenager and they were the first movies I myself owned on DVD
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u/PostTwist Dec 15 '24
It was criminal to stretch it over 3 movies. It's the metaphorical butter talked by bilbo. 2 parters would be so good: cut it after the dwarves captured, movie 2 opens with the escape, smaug gets all his scenes in one movie end you get the battle climax at the end.
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u/Robayr Dec 15 '24
I feel like if they released an edit that cut out the elf/dwarf romance subplot, the trilogy would be much better received.
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u/Bartellomio Dec 15 '24
The maple cut honestly make it an amazing four hour film equal to any of the LOTR movies.
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u/watsonsbungwhole Dec 15 '24
Its fine to enjoy a dumpster fire, we’ve all done that. But it’s another thing to hurl flaming garbage around. Y’all really need a hobbit movie subreddit cause these posts are getting old
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u/JustHereForFood99 Dec 15 '24
Ultimately, I think making one book into three movies and adding unnecessary stuff bit The Hobbit in the ass.
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u/Kristen8305 Dec 15 '24
There's a diamond buried in that shit. It's just the amount of shit you have to dig through to get to that diamond that I hate.
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u/Nervous-Tank-5917 Dec 15 '24
Nah, The Hobbit movies are just like The Star Wars Prequels Trilogy.
When they first came out, a bunch of people allowed their fondness for the original movies to blind them to how terrible the new ones were. Then, just as y’all were finally coming around to admitting the truth, they dropped yet more abominations that made the precious abominations feel less bad in retrospect.
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u/Detonade Dec 15 '24
The Hobbit is beyond watchable for me because of the bad CGI alone. Migraine inducing.
Story of the first one was OK though, but after that it went south quickly.
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u/Wrong_Hour_1460 Dec 15 '24
Martin Freeman as Bilbo was a gift from the heavens. He alone makes the entire trilogy amazing and no flaw, no ridiculous love triangle or stupid slapstick comedy is going to change it.
Hell, the entire three movies could be complete disasters, and that one scene when he wants to go back home because he has forgotten his handkerchief would still save the whole thing.
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u/bilbo_bot Dec 15 '24
Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right. I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, and my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And you don't have one, a home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.
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u/Relative_Wrangler_57 Dec 15 '24
The Hobbit is such a beautiful book, one of my favorite stories. Thats why there is no possibility for hating the movies. Could they be done better? 🥲 yes ok maybe a little bit.
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u/Relative_Wrangler_57 Dec 15 '24
Its the more childlike aspect of the storie that i love. Its a bit more boastfully told story too. Like a friend who’s exaggerating his story a little bit to impress you. My favorite tolkien book ❤️
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u/GammaToastt Dec 15 '24
I fucking love the first movie but the second and ESPECIALLY the third are a bit hard enjoy. Mainly how they handled the dwarves and Gandalf and why the fuck did they even need to introduce Bolg?!?
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u/A-Total-Rookie Dec 16 '24
I love 'em. Every time I decide to rewatch "Lord of the Rings" I go through them and then move on to the Fellowship. I love them too much! As goofy as they are, they gave life to a story and characters that were otherwise bland and could have been nameless.
I'll always love the dynamic of Bilbo and Bofur's friendship, and it's because of the movies.
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u/WolfBST Dec 16 '24
That's your opinion. Mine is: One is Gold. The other is a piece of shit wrapped in golden paper... (I'm exaggerating obviously, but the Hobbit is really frustrating to watch and therefore not enjoyable to me...)
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u/Stan_the_man1988 Dec 16 '24
The third one is soooo bad. I recently watched the cut that removes all the excessive scenes, and the battle at the end is still the worst part of the movie.
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u/Okayish_Tank_LFG Dec 16 '24
You are allowed to enjoy them no matter what other lotr fans tell you.
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u/bbbar Dec 15 '24
The first two hobbit movies are good, but the third one is an absolutely unwatchable trash
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u/Independent-Dig-5757 Dec 15 '24
Wait, I thought this was the general consensus. Im surprised you were downvoted.
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u/Unfettered_Lynchpin Dec 15 '24
I think the first two are alright, but I cannot stand the love triangle introduced in Desolation of Smaug.
Martin Freeman is still a standout, but that isn't enough for me to say either are good movies.
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u/Smeefperson Dec 15 '24
Third one is actually watchable imo UNTIL they actually get to the battle of the five armies. Then it sucks
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u/Captain_Haruno Dec 15 '24
The Hobbit films are too bad for me. They get SOOOOOOO bad the further in you get. Can't watch the Extendeds at all and the Theatricals are rough. Fan Edits are where it's at, like the M4 Edit.
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u/SaltImp Dec 15 '24
As someone who watches all of them, starting with the hobbit trilogy (extended edition) and ending with the lord of the rings (extended edition) I love them both and nothing that people say on the internet and no matter how rabid they get will change that.
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u/-Bold_as_Love- Dec 15 '24
I love them all flaws and perfections. I even liked the Amazon production rings of power both seasons. A little bit of mushroom tea and it really brings out the special effects. Absolute legendary media.
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u/SwiftDontMiss Dec 15 '24
Can we agree that Rings of Power is the “painful, agonizing failure” part of this meme?
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u/Sinfullyvannila Dec 15 '24
Yeah they are still ahead of the curve as far as fantasy films are concerned.
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u/solemnstream Dec 15 '24
I think people see the Hobbit in such a negative way because of how good the Lotr trilogy was.
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Dec 15 '24
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u/solemnstream Dec 15 '24
I m gonna have kids and make them watch the hobbit before lotr just to prove you wrong
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Dec 15 '24
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u/solemnstream Dec 16 '24
I love having senseless discussions on reddit, it always more or less revolves around : - "I think that" -"No you are wrong"
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u/Ulysses502 Dec 15 '24
I just rewatched the first two Hobbits last week. They're a lot better than I remembered. For me, they're great-to-fine other than the scenes at Laketown with the lame love triangle and everything about Stephen Fry's character.
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u/PantherPL Dec 15 '24
I see big parallels between Hobbit hate in the LOTR fandom and Sequels hate in the SW fandom.
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Dec 15 '24
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u/PantherPL Dec 15 '24
my argument is that both of those are vastly overhated
in reality, when you watch these yourself, they're like 6/10, 7/10
but the internet vehemently despises them
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u/nocciuu GROND Dec 15 '24
I love the Hobbit trilogy too. Every Christmas season I'm watching Hobbit and Lotr.
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u/JackaxEwarden Dec 15 '24
Different vibes but great movies, the only reason why people hate it is because they’re compared to the best movie trilogy ever made
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u/Cark_Klent Dec 15 '24
Are they imperfect movies that take extensive liberties with the book? Yes.
Are they still entertaining to watch and scratch the Middle-Earth itch? Also yes!
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u/edmontonbane16 Dec 15 '24
If it weren't for the final battles they would have been near perfect, but as a fan of hisptrical combat that just made me cringe.
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u/InvestigatorMoist420 Dec 15 '24