The biggest criticism that Tolkien fanboys seem to have towards Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies is that they aren't faithful enough: regardless of whether or not the movies themselves are better viewed as "inspired by" rather than "based directly upon" doesn't seem to matter. The decision that Jackson took to split the Hobbit into three movies (we're talking about a relatively short book here) was also derided. In the Desolation of Smaug, he goes as far as to make up an entire character. Tauriel, as played by Lost's Evangeline Lilly, pops up at the movie's mid-point to serve a purpose that a variety of other characters might've served: as a young and ruthless elf, she's also teased as a sort of love interest, but mostly Tauriel can be viewed as filler - the perfect summary of Jackson's willingness to build on his world in anyway that he wants. Does it really matter? Probably not, but Jackson's liberal approach to Tolkien's universe has a lot of fanboys massively peeved.
