The meaning of bloat: movie ads

It's useless to criticize Peter Jackson for what he's done to J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Hobbit." What's done is done.

Depending on what format you consult, hardback or paperback, print editions of "The Hobbit" contains anywhere from 270 to 300 pages of text. Compare that to — again depending on the format — the 1,100 to 1,300 pages for the three novels that make up the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Even given the extras that Tolkien added from what are called "The Appendices," which provide the kind of background material that would be a bit much even for obsessive Tolkien fans, "The Hobbit" would seem to be too slim a story for three full features.

After actually seeing the third in the series, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," I feel proven correct. Again, even "Hobbit" fans have to admit that this final in the series has just too many scenes are are either simply unnecessary or overly long. By not going with the initial plan, which was to do "The Hobbit" in two parts, Jackson and company have not just given us a bloated single film but has — I don't think this is going too far — cheapened what his original "LOTR" trilogy achieved.

But, as I opened, what's done is done. "Hobbit" fans aren't likely to care either way.

One thing all movie fans should care about, though, is the bloated nature of what comes before the movies. I belong to the generation that grew up with three kinds of things showing before movies: Cartoons, ads for what can be purchased at the concessions stand and trailers of coming features. We no longer have cartoons, but along with news about concession specials (which in some cases cost more than the movie tickets themselves) and trailers, we now have ads for everything from cars to Coke.

At the "Hobbit" screening that I sat through on Friday, the movie was supposed to start at 11:45. The ads began at 11:35, and the movie began at 12:06. Even with my poor math skills I can figure that out: some 31 minutes of ads and trailers before the movie began.

Seems like everyone is taking lessons in bloat from Peter Jackson.