10 Simple Fixes That Would Have Made The Hobbit Awesome

8. Be A Story In It's Own Right

The Lord Of The Rings was a huge commercial and critical success, so (from a business sense) why not make three more films following more or less the same formula? Therein lies the problem with The Hobbit; it's a kids book taking place during a period of time where the evil of Sauron has not quite spread as far. The tone of the film is always going to be slightly lighter and more whimsical than the story that follows. From a narrative point of view it does make sense that there will be the occasional piece of plot information that contributes to the later set of films, but when it is forced into the script in such a clunky manner, like with Thranduil telling Legolas to go and find Aragorn, it comes across as though it is making the most of the significant good will towards The Lord Of The Rings. Legolas isn't even in the book - don't be lazy and let the existing characters tell their own tale.