[ekianjo]

> thinly-veiled amusement-park ride that the Hobbit movie ended up turning into under Jackson's tutelage.

If it were only that... let's not forget the major changes in the story and the reintroduction of LOTR characters who had nothing to do with the story in the first place. It does not make any sense at all if you have ever read the book.

At least the LOTR movies kind of followed the story, but the Hobbit is just something else altogether.