[Taikero]

I finished watching the first Appendices disc yesterday, and it was interesting seeing their justification for why the battle with Smaug occurred at all.

Two movies turned into three meant that movie two needed a climax with significant emotional heft and action, and they also wanted to showcase Smaug a bit more. The book wasn't really big on extrapolating emotional qualities into the dwarven characters, which is something dramatically changed in this adaptation, so having the dwarves fight for their home is much more emotionally charged than what's in the book. I don't agree necessarily with the way they adapted to these circumstances, but I understand why something like what we see at the end of the second film was necessary.

I believe Thrain should have been left in the theatrical cut, and they could have cut out more of the barrel riding, Tauriel, and Legolas bits, and even some Laketown bits as well. I'm fine with what was all added back into the EE, but frankly Thrain carries a lot of emotional heft in the EE and I feel it was a mistake to leave him out of the theatrical cut.

That said, I realize they didn't want to cut out much of the barrel riding because it took at least 5 if not 6-7 different techniques for them to get those scenes done. It's really incredible the effort that went into just that bit.

As for the battle at the forges, that was all basically winged in the last month and a half before the movie came out. They literally went down to the wire figuring out what it was going to be so I can understand why it doesn't work as well as it probably should. Additionally, the melting gold was oversaturated (discussed in the Appendices), and I don't agree with the amount of oversaturation that occurred, because it makes the gold look incredibly fake in the film. One of my few actual CGI gripes in this one.

Frankly, if they'd just left Tauriel out of this one, the theatrical cut could've included much more of what made it into the EE, and maybe the EE could have had other good stuff that remains on the cutting room floor to date. Evangeline Lilly may be a decent enough elf, but she was unnecessary. It would have been better instead for Jackson to explore Legolas's and Thranduil's relationship more in-depth (do I obey my father, or do I fight for what I believe is best for the world?). Essentially, Tauriel stands in as the moral centerpiece here when Legolas should have been that centerpiece all along. We could also have seen the beginnings of a friendship with Legolas and Gloin, a foreshadowing of what was to come with Legolas and Gimli later on. We also wouldn't have negated the power of Arwen standing in for Glorfindel in Fellowship of the Ring, as no lowly Sylvan elf should be able to use magic powerful enough to keep at bay the effects of a Morgul weapon (much less heal it as is implied in DoS). The inclusion of a Morgul weapon was also ridiculous, but that's another topic.

Basically, real character development was forsaken to add in an unnecessary female character that isn't even part of the book or world as a real character. A bunch of previously established characters and concepts were ignored, retconned, or otherwise abused for the sake of trying to deliver on a love triangle and political correctness. It's a shame.