Five years later and Maple Film's 4-hour cut of the Hobbit is the quintessential way to view the Lord of the Rings prequel

It's long been said that there's a good film hidden in the Hobbit trilogy, it's just surrounded by so many unnecessary subplots and side characters. Well I'm here to tell those who are still unaware that this "condensed edition" is that movie. It recuts the films to be more faithful to Tolkien's classic novel. Gone is the Tauriel and Kili romantic subplot, Legolas's presence is reduced to a small cameo making it feel more special, Radagast is nowhere to be seen, Azog's screentime is greatly minimized, and the Necromancer is now only briefly hinted at just like in the book. But best of all, Alfrid is almost completely removed.What was once a bloated, 532-minute trilogy is now a more digestible 245-minute epic. Maple Films really went above and beyond, elevating the Peter Jackson adaption into an incredible movie experience that I can't recommend enough. I recently showed it to my 65 year old father, who's been reading Tolkien since he was a child, and he absolutely loved it.TrailerReviewFor more information on how to view the film and a complete list of changes, check out their website. via /r/movies https://ift.tt/2QTRw27