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A review by crufts
The Hobbit: or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
When a book is adapted as a movie, a talented director can elevate the humour and plot beyond the original material. For example, the HP books are decent, but the movies are superb. There are dozens of jokes in the HP movies that never existed in the original books. The HP movie plots are also a lot tighter, with unnecessary subplots either removed or combined.
When I read The Hobbit, I predicted that the book might have a similar relationship to the trilogy of Hobbit movies, i.e. the book would be decent but maybe not quite as funny or well-plotted. But I was wrong!
It turns out that virtually every joke from the movies was taken directly from the original book. In other words, the book itself was already really funny without any help from the film director.
Not only that, but the book's plot is actually a lot tighter and cleaner than the movies. This is made pretty obvious by the fact that a 300-page book does not need to be stretched out into eight hours of film. The problem is so well-known that there are about a dozen fan-made "supercuts" of the trilogy that cut down the unnecessarily long runtime. In contrast, the original book is fast-paced and efficient.
Finally, I really liked the characters and their different attitudes to the adventure. They're now so famous that they've virtually become archetypes (for example, Bilbo has become a classic Reluctant Hero), but putting that aside, I liked how they were written and definitely found myself caring about what happened to them.
Great fun, arguably better than the movie trilogy, would recommend.
When I read The Hobbit, I predicted that the book might have a similar relationship to the trilogy of Hobbit movies, i.e. the book would be decent but maybe not quite as funny or well-plotted. But I was wrong!
It turns out that virtually every joke from the movies was taken directly from the original book. In other words, the book itself was already really funny without any help from the film director.
Not only that, but the book's plot is actually a lot tighter and cleaner than the movies. This is made pretty obvious by the fact that a 300-page book does not need to be stretched out into eight hours of film. The problem is so well-known that there are about a dozen fan-made "supercuts" of the trilogy that cut down the unnecessarily long runtime. In contrast, the original book is fast-paced and efficient.
Finally, I really liked the characters and their different attitudes to the adventure. They're now so famous that they've virtually become archetypes (for example, Bilbo has become a classic Reluctant Hero), but putting that aside, I liked how they were written and definitely found myself caring about what happened to them.
Great fun, arguably better than the movie trilogy, would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Some typical fantasy racism appears towards orcs, goblins, etc. The ending of the book involves a huge battle. Giant spiders appear during the forest sequence.