J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Maple Films Edit)

I am someone who enjoyed The Hobbit Trilogy (though I do agree will a lot of the criticisms). So when I heard about this Fan Edit, I was intrigued to see how Maple Films would accomplish condensing these Three Films into a Single 4-Hour Film. Needless to say, I was thoroughly impressed with the results.

I was suprised with how much of the Original Material was jettisoned from the Edit without affecting the Narrative. I was also happy with how the Edit was regraded in order to match the LOTR Trilogy's Look. And thankfully, for those who can't sit through the whole thing in one sitting, an Intermission has been included to give the Viewers a break if needed.

Now I do have some minor issues with it, mainly with some elements from the Films (like the Erebor Prologue) that I wish had been kept in (which is just a personal preference for Me).

But overall, this was a Fantastic Fan Edit, and those who either wanted a more faithful adaptation of the Book or just weren't . Maple Films have also made a Companion Edit to this One "Durin's Folk and the Hill of Sorcery", which comprises of Gandalf's Subplot that was excised from The Hobbit Fan Edit. I would highly recommend that as well for those who liked the Subplot, but felt it distarcted from the Main Story.

Overall this was very good. I have not seen a bunch of different Hobbit edits, but this one was very close to what I wanted so I am happy to stick with this.
What I wanted (which this edit delivered):
1. Doesn't need to be pure to the book, but should avoid unnecessary changes. (I'm not opposed to changes in principle but IMO Jackson's changes are always overwritten and trite)
2. Doesn't need to be short, but should avoid the long, cringey and ultimately boring action scenes which are the principle source of bloat in the films.
There were only a few points that could use a little tuning. There were a few jarring cuts, for instance at the Front Porch. And the final battle still felt a little long to me.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this edit. The next time I watch the Hobbit it will be this cut.

As someone who was forced to watch original Hobbit film in the cinema and could never get through the other two, this was a breath of fresh air.

This edit makes the film much much much closer to the original books, and also leads much better into the Lord of the Rings.

The only criticisms I'd make of it, is it's a bit stop-start near in the first half (I feel like there is still more that could be cut!) and the battle of the five armies ends quite abruptly. Like, there isn't really an end? What happened to the 5 armies?

I'm not sure if I'm really being fair, because if the footage isn't there then you can't do much more, but it just needs something to complete the battle.

Having said that it's so so so close to being perfect, and so much better than the originals.

I wish I had known there was an intermission! We watched it in 3 sittings.

9.7/10

I haven't been capable of rewatching these movies since I saw them in theaters and this edit officially helped me get over that hurdle. I'm truly impressed by the sheer volume of cuts while still feeling like a cohesive, professional film.

Goes without saying that there are plenty moments where the edit makes you want for this to have been the manner in which Jackson had been able to approach the films. Still sucks to see the white orc but it's a necessary evil.

All in all deeply impressed and frankly can't imagine choosing any other way to rewatch these films.

I liked it, there were certain things I didn't, and certain things I liked more than the other edits. Left stuff in I liked alot. I'm happy with it. Will for sure rewatch it at some point. Cheers