Greenleaf wrote:True. :3 Tauriel is actually a very intriguing character that would be a great subject of character study; I personally do not like non-canon romances thrown in by directors in movie adaptions for 'drama', nor am I a fan of the Kíli/Tauriel thing as it makes absolutely no sense to me (dwarves and elves getting together? I'm not against interracial marriage, but isn't the only reported incident of dwarf and elf friendship in Middle-earth between Legolas and Gimli?), but it's interesting seeing her and Legolas's relationship.
My feelings exactly. c: I actually like Tauriel's character a lot, and I love how she gives Legolas more of a personality than in LotR; he's always been my favorite character, but before now he was just a bland, nice-looking side character in the films. Too good, too perfect--I can't recall a single time in the LotR films where an enemy touched him even once. I get that he's supposed to be an elf with superhuman abilities and all, but still ... Come on. ^^' Is he like that in the books, too? I've only read The Hobbit and part of Fellowship of the Ring several years ago.
Anyway, back to Tauriel: her character alone is a nice touch, but what I really don't like is the relationship with Kíli. It feels entirely random, even forced, not to mention the complete rip-off of the Morgul blade bit from Fellowship of the Ring, right down to the "Kingsfoil is a weed" dialogue. -_- And I agree with Barry Allen that the filmmakers probably just included the romance so we would feel something at the end.
I have enjoyed the Hobbit films otherwise, the second better than the first (no doubt I'm biased, though, as any film that gives Legolas more screen-time is a good film to me. XD) Can't wait to see how Battle of Five Armies turns out. I deliberately avoid reading rumors and production hints so I can watch the film without expectations or advance knowledge outside of what I already know from the book.