So, about the Hobbit Movie

[Faeelin]

Was it just me, or was it hard not to see the orcs and goblins as, if not good guys, then at least rational?

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

[Ideologue]

Dunno. I got my fill of this stuff when I watched five billion hours' worth of Lord of the Rings back when Korea was around.  The only reason I'd have to watch The Hobbitt would be to evaluate the 48 FPS screening, and that's not being shown around here, and even if it were it's not really worth it to see thee more hours of Middle Earth.

[merithyn]

I thought the orcs attacked Moria, not the other way around.

[Faeelin]

I thought the orcs attacked Moria, not the other way around.

The way it's cast in the Hobbit, Moria had been abandoned, orcs had moved in, and the dwarves show up to claim it as their own.

[Viking]

I beg to differ in 1947 the Orcs declared they were going to throw the Dwarves into the sea. The Dwarves, however, under the leadership of David son of Gurion managed not only to throw them back but also conquer the plains of Negev and the mines of Galilee. 

[Fate]

I struggled to stay awake during the movie. It's a two and a half hour cock tease. When's the next one coming out?

[Martim Silva]

Was it just me, or was it hard not to see the orcs and goblins as, if not good guys, then at least rational?

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

Just saw it yesteday on IMAX, with all the bells and whistles. Thought it looked great.

That said, "The Hobbit" was written in 1937 as a book for kids - a very different proposal from the theme of "The Lord of the Rings", where Tolkien just wanted to create a good story. As a result, characters are more multi-dimensional (even Smaug is) than they would become later. So, you'll relate easier with them than in LoTR.

Also, Jackson got stuff from the Silmarillion (a collection of lost tales used by Tolkien as reference) and as a result he has a huge amount of lore to dwell into. Using that to increase the length of the 'Hobbit', he can add some extra stuff, like the fact that the Dwarves had lost Moria to the orcs earlier, and had tried to reclaim it in the past (several times, in fact).

[Syt]

Was it just me, or was it hard not to see the orcs and goblins as, if not good guys, then at least rational?

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

I thought the Moria bit was completely unnecessary. As far as I'm concerned, Thrain lost his mind in the dungeons of the Necromancer and didn't die in battle against a white orc.

[Martinus]

I thought the orcs attacked Moria, not the other way around.

The way it's cast in the Hobbit, Moria had been abandoned, orcs had moved in, and the dwarves show up to claim it as their own.

So they are a greedy gold-loving bunch of people who show up to an inhabited area and attempt to take it back based on some ancient claim? 

[Martinus]

I beg to differ in 1947 the Orcs declared they were going to throw the Dwarves into the sea. The Dwarves, however, under the leadership of David son of Gurion managed not only to throw them back but also conquer the plains of Negev and the mines of Galilee. 

I was too late. 

[sbr]

Was it just me, or was it hard not to see the orcs and goblins as, if not good guys, then at least rational?

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

I thought the Moria bit was completely unnecessary. As far as I'm concerned, Thrain lost his mind in the dungeons of the Necromancer and didn't die in battle against a white orc.

It takes a tremendous amount of unnecessary stuff to turn a 200 page kids book into 3 3 hour movies.

[Admiral Yi]

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

I'm confused (been a long time since I read The Hobbit).  The Dwarfs dug Moria.  How would they ethnically cleanse Orcs from a place they created?

[The Brain]

"The Orc King wants to kill Thorin to wipe out the line that tried to invade his people's home and ethnically cleanse them from Moria."  Err.

I'm confused (been a long time since I read The Hobbit).  The Dwarfs dug Moria.  How would they ethnically cleanse Orcs from a place they created?

Kill every single Orc they encounter. Deportation is never mentioned.

[Faeelin]

I'm confused (been a long time since I read The Hobbit).  The Dwarfs dug Moria.  How would they ethnically cleanse Orcs from a place they created?

So by your logic, if Native Americans started killing white Americans today, it wouldn't be ethnic cleansing?

[CountDeMoney]

That said, "The Hobbit" was written in 1937

So, in other words, it's wasn't intended to be an allegory on Palestine and Israel, just interpreted by Europeans that way.  Roger that.