Adaptation by Vague Recollection

[Leaf]

I think the general problem is a kind of incompatibility between typical fantasy-action film motifs and Tolkien's style of writing. The Hobbit novel subverts a lot of expectations.

To name a few:

1. The main antagonist (Smaug) only appears briefly in the story and his demise doesn't accompany the end of the story.

2. It isn't the protagonist who resolves this situation; This is accomplished by a minor character (Bard) who appears very late in the story and is just barely fleshed out.

3. There's no brave hero-character in shining armor, who's struggling against opposition and eventually overcomes his enemies by force and skill. Instead, the protagonist is a Hobbit, which is virtually the opposite of this concept.


Those things weren't seen as a charming detour from the usual fairy tale-route, but as risks which could potentially alienate a general audience from the movies. So they decided to play it safe. That's the reason why we got this mess of subplots and extra stuff (i.e. the Bard back-story) and a complete shift in perspective towards Thorin's story arc. From this viewpoint you can deduce a lot of changes, I think. Especially Bilbo's involvement (or the lack of) and his role in the story.

We have to keep in mind that those movies had a combined budged of about $600 million! And I can understand that, with that kind of investment, you decide to play it safe and just reproduce those well known and proved concepts. It's a shame, really. We won't even ever be able to tell if a general audience is really so petty-minded and resistening to change as this thinking makes them out to be.

Addendum:

I think it's wrong to pin this problem (and the blame) on some supposedly mean-spirited and greedy individuals. It's just the consequence and the logic of an industry that primarily creates content, not as works of art, but as products. That doesn't mean that this duality can't produce some very movies, which are a compromise between art and profit, but as movies are getting more and more expensive to make, innovation and progress seems to cease.