The Major Problem: The Addition Of An Unneeded Romance
Quite possibly one of Peter Jackson's most awkward decisions in filmmaking, and maybe even Philippa Boyens as some blame in this, was developing a romantic relationship between Kili and Tauriel. Let it be known that Tauriel is an original creation for The Desolation Of Smaug and its sequel coming out next December, since she never appeared in the book, nor the Appendices, which of course means that this relationship never happened, and Kili never had an emotional bearing in the book. So the scriptwriters decided it would be a great idea to develop Kili a little more by not only creating a new character who bears some resemblance to Liv Tyler's Arwen, but having them develop a relationship over the course of the film. Now I love Kili and find him to be one of the more entertaining dwarves of the bunch, and I understand Tauriel as a character in the scheme of things, but what I don't understand is their relationship. Is it really even needed? Not really, it just feels like an excuse to carry over the romanticism between Aragorn and Arwen into a book that never really had that connection in the first place. And although the running time is vindicated this time around, the whole scenario between Kili and Tauriel could have been replaced with more action or interactions between Bilbo and Smaug, maybe even more time for Gandalf and Radagast. How do you guys feel? Do you agree with any of the mentioned aspects of The Desolation Of Smaug? Are there any other elements that you found particularly annoying or unwanted? Your comments are always appreciated and opinions welcome.
Ryan Glenn is an amateur writer in pursuit of a career in both the writing and graphic design fields. He currently attends the Art Institutes of Illinois and looks to go back for a degree in journalism. A reader of an exhaustive library of books and an adept music and video game lover, there's no outlet of media that he isn't involved in or doesn't love.
