I understand that some changes are necessary to translate 1500 pages into 3 movies, but as long as they don't replace major characters I'm fine. Eliminating Bombadil makes sense, generally, though they will then need to explain where the hobbits' swords/knives come from since there can be no barrow wight now.
Well, yes... It's using one medium to interpret another. Of course, I'll have to wait 'til I see the movie to critique it. I stand by my comment about changing a classic though. If I take a photograph of the Mona Lisa, I shouldn’t use Photoshop to fix her smile.
I haven't seen or heard the delivery of the "come and claim him" line.
I agree that Bombadil is an easy and painless character to cut. (My least favorite part of the book.) I would prefer they cut entire characters rather than change them or rewrite them--It's much cleaner and historically accurate.
There you go--that's better. It's like rewriting history. It is history--for goodness sakes. It's the history of Middle Earth and Tolkien painstakingly preserved it for us, and we shouldn't rewrite it.