Pacific Rim

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And they did, to a much greater extent than you and others are willing to see.

In my opinion, of course.

[Passdagas the Brown]

I'm betting PJ & crew's comments also suggest they were planning on treating the material with intelligence and depth....

I don't think DOS was just big, dumb and fun, but I would say that no - nothing PJ and Philippa said about TH made me think that they would get it right, or treat it with intelligence and depth. I found (and find) most of their comments about the adaptation process to betray a very superficial understanding of the material.

In contrast, GDT said some very insightful things about TH and his intentions while he was still on as director (which makes sense to me, as he is a serious student of myth and legend). Not sure if you remember this, but he produced a regular series of statements (and Q&As) on the TORN messageboards, the content of which convinced me that he was up to the task. He was even firmly committed to making sure that Bilbo was unconscious for the BoFA, as he felt that was part of what made the book more than just a "big, dumb" sword and sorcery story.

I was never reassured by PJ and Philippa, while I was very reassured by GDT. And despite the fact that I liked DOS a lot more than you did, I still wish these were GDT's films (well, I wish Alfonso Cuaron had made them, but that's just another of my unfulfilled fantasies).

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm very glad that it was neither of them, as I don't think I would have liked either of their takes, particularly del Toro's.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Well, it really is impossible to say what their Hobbit films would have been like. But it would have been nice for another artist to get a hack at these stories. As much as I enjoyed DoS, a PJ fatigue seems to be growing among the fan base...

[yovargas]

And they did, to a much greater extent than you and others are willing to see.

To say we are unwilling to see it is rather insulting.

If you read me the world's most beautiful poem while I'm in the middle of riding a roller coaster, don't be surprised if I don't find the poem particularly moving.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I think "unable to see" would have been insulting (and, I think, untrue). I don't think that unwilling to see is insulting, unless your claim is that the depth is objectively not there, and that anyone who claims that it is wrong, wrong, wrong. Now that would be insulting.

[eborr]

Bit of a specious argument. We will never know how good or bad Del Toros hobbit would have been. I think its not a pertinent argument to make a judgement on Pacific Rim and extrapolate that to another film.
Whether you like or dislike del Toros work he has demonstrated that he can deliver very different films. There is a massive contrast between something like Blade 2 and Pans Labyrinth. My expectation is tbat his next film will be very different from Pacific Rim. This is s silly film but a very well executed silly film.

[Passdagas the Brown]

Well said, eborr. Though I haven't yet seen Pacific Rim.

ETA: To yov and Tel - I don't think "unable to see" or "unwilling to see" is accurate. I think "unable to appreciate" is a much fairer statement, as it seems to reflect yov's actual opinion, which goes something like: "Yeah, there's some nice stuff in there, but it's all secondary to, and overwhelmed by, a bunch of ridiculous nonsense."

If I am not off-base, it's a similar opinion that I have of LOTR. I am able and willing to see some of the beautiful stuff, but am unable to appreciate it as a whole because of all the melodramatic junk that surrounds it.

[yovargas]

Yes, I think that is a fair way to put my view. Though at least I thought the ridiculous nonsense was pretty fun, unlike AUJ (asides from the final Smaug chase).