Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - - - - Part 13

[Tacit Ronin]

I find that almost impossible to believe. Jackson didn't compound the entire premise with spare orcs and perhaps strangling trees or quicksand or 300 spiders?

 

[TheVileOne]

I think some of you guys are getting a bit too serious over the CG visuals. Now were they perfect? No. But even plenty of them were flawed in the original trilogy.

Just remember, the warg sequence was done with completely CG wargs and the soldiers fighting nothing but air. Same with Sam and Shelob.

They still had lots of sets and costumes and creatures in costume in An Unexpected Journey.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Warg sequence was awful. Only the dinosaur stampede topped it.

 

[Liam_H]

Just got out of my screening and similar to the first Hobbit, I enjoyed it overall. Minor complaints here and there. If you liked the first one you should like this one.

 

[craigdbfan]

Just got out of my screening and similar to the first Hobbit, I enjoyed it overall. Minor complaints here and there. If you liked the first one you should like this one.

Right on.

 

[Broseph44]

Just got out of my screening and similar to the first Hobbit, I enjoyed it overall. Minor complaints here and there. If you liked the first one you should like this one.

I loved the first film so I'm def gonna love this then it seems. What were your thoughts on Smaug and the last half hour or whatever it is with him.

 

[Marvolo]

Just got out of my screening and similar to the first Hobbit, I enjoyed it overall. Minor complaints here and there. If you liked the first one you should like this one.

Care to go into detail about the cliffhanger ending?

 

[Liam_H]

I loved the first film so I'm def gonna love this then it seems. What were your thoughts on Smaug and the last half hour or whatever it is with him.

Spoiler

The entire Smaug sequence was fun, reminded me a lot of the entire Goblin King section in the last movie. With them running around and trying to survive. But like the last movie it did get kind of tedious after awhile.

I will say Smaug talked a lot, I really wanted him to back it up but the movie ended before he did or attempted to.

 

[craigdbfan]

I'm glad Smaug got a lot of talking time. That's exactly what I wanted in fact. I was a tad bit worried his dialogue would be truncated but I'm glad he's getting to blab away.

 

[Liam_H]

Care to go into detail about the cliffhanger ending?

How much detail?

Spoiler

Smaug heads towards the lake town intending to destroy it with Bilbo looking on saying something similar to "What have we done". Inter-cut with everyone we know (Tauriel, some of the dwarves left behind etc.) in the town looking worried.

 

[Ponyboy]

Thanks for not spoiling too much Liam!

 

[Liam_H]

I'm just a casual fan of this entire franchise so could anyone with knowledge, who doesn't care about a spoiler, answer me a question about Tauriel?....

Spoiler

One of my problems with the movie is this supposed romance they have between Tauriel and Kili. Does it exist in canon? Cause it felt pretty forced and awkward to me. I'm unsure if they are planning to set up some love triangle situation along with Legolas, cause it appeared so.

 

[Marvolo]

I'm just a casual fan of this entire franchise so could anyone with knowledge, who doesn't care about a spoiler, answer me a question about Tauriel?....

Spoiler

One of my problems with the movie is this supposed romance they have between Tauriel and Kili. Does it exist in canon? Cause it felt pretty forced and awkward to me. I'm unsure if they are planning to set up some love triangle situation along with Legolas, cause it appeared so.

No Tauriel doesn't even exist in the book.

About the ending, you said it intercuts with "Tauriel, and some of the dwarves left at Laketown ". Which dwarves remain at Laketown? That is a pretty big departure from the book. If I remember correctly all 13 dwarves go to the mountain.

 

[Liam_H]

No Tauriel doesn't even exist in the book.

Spoiler

About the ending, you said it intercuts with "Tauriel, and some of the dwarves left at Laketown ". Which dwarves remain at Laketown? That is a pretty big departure from the book. If I remember correctly all 13 dwarves go to the mountain.

I see, I quite like the character but her subplot not so much.

Spoiler

I believe a total of 4 dwarves remained behind: Kili, Fili, and two others that I don't remember the name of. Details below of why that is below...

Kili took a poisonous orc arrow to the leg/knee. So Thorin asked him to stay behind cause he would slow them down. Fili refuses to leave his brother behind. This also feeds into the whole romantic subplot as Tauriel heals him and they have a "moment". And one of the other two overslept and missed the boat taking everyone else to the Lonely Mountain.

 

[Marvolo]

I see, I quite like the character but her subplot not so much.

Spoiler

I believe a total of 4 dwarves remained behind: Kili, Fili, and two others that I don't remember the name of. Details below of why that is below...

Kili took a poisonous orc arrow to the leg/knee. So Thorin asked him to stay behind cause he would slow them down. Fili refuses to leave his brother behind. This also feeds into the whole romantic subplot as Tauriel heals him and they have a "moment". And one of the other two overslept and missed the boat taking everyone else to the Lonely Mountain.

Could you describe the two who's names you don't remember?

 

[Liam_H]

Lol, nope. I genuinely can't remember much about them at all. Certainly wasn't [BLACKOUT]Balin[/BLACKOUT].

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Tauriel looks endearing, but her role and story just feel like they are going to conflict horribly. A boring interference.

 

[vinsanity]

Could you describe the two who's names you don't remember?

Spoiler

it's Bofur and Oin that stay in Laketown with Kili and Fili

 

[DarthSkywalker]

spider scene is actually my favorite part in the book. i hear it's a tad brief in the movie but, man, i am really looking forward to that scene.

I can never seem to pick my absolute favorite part. Sometimes it is the unexpected guests, others times the trolls, sometimes Beorn's house, every once and a while the spiders and then of course Smaug time. That is of course leaving out the barrels and Riddles in the Dark.

Going into DoS though, the scenes I am most anticipating are the Smaug, the spiders and the group arriving in Lake Town.

 

[regwec]

About the CGI v practical effects thing: a part of this debate, for me, is the fact that I enjoy and appreciate stagecraft: costumes, sets, locations and props are a big part of a film's appeal for me. It just isn't the same when you know that what you are watching is all a distorted blue screen illusion constructed by sweaty men in a computer laboratory. The fact that the results look less convincing just adds insult to injury.

 

[jonathancrane]

About the CGI v practical effects thing: a part of this debate, for me, is the fact that I enjoy and appreciate stagecraft: costumes, sets, locations and props are a big part of a film's appeal for me. It just isn't the same when you know that what you are watching is all a distorted blue screen illusion constructed by sweaty men in a computer laboratory. The fact that the results look less convincing just adds insult to injury.

This.

 

[Tim_Riggins]

If they could do everything practically, they would, fact is even stuff like simply having Gandalf with the dwarves in the same room had to be done via green screen, and I'm pretty sure nobody noticed.

 

[regwec]

And yet in FOTR we had a special kitchen table constructed so that Gandalf would appear bigger than Frodo while they sat opposite each other.

And yet the Orcs of LOTR were men in masks, and looked better than the CGI soap sculptures of The Hobbit.

No one is demanding that Smaug be a spray painted iguana shot 500 yards in the foreground of Martin Freeman. We just question the wisdom of using CGI where practical effects once did a wonderful job.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Just got out of my screening and similar to the first Hobbit, I enjoyed it overall. Minor complaints here and there. If you liked the first one you should like this one.

Doesn't seem a gushing endorsement. Perhaps you are not the sort to geek out. But is the whole of the experience just enjoyable or worth geeking over?

 

[jonathancrane]

And yet in FOTR we had a special kitchen table constructed so that Gandalf would appear bigger than Frodo while they sat opposite each other.

And yet the Orcs of LOTR were men in masks, and looked better than the CGI soap sculptures of The Hobbit.

No one is demanding that Smaug be a spray painted iguana shot 500 yards in the foreground of Martin Freeman. We just question the wisdom of using CGI where practical effects once did a wonderful job.

This is so going to be a special effect for my next film. You'll be credited for the idea, of course. t:

On a serious note, your criticism is correct: these cases of CGi usage seem to be more problematic (and less effective) than if he had gone the traditional route. Again, it raises the question of why: someone posted in the previous thread about the effects not showing up well on the 48fps, and another article hit upon the exhaustion Jackson had with practical effects in the preceding trilogy, but the continued use and never-ending list of problems with the CGI seems to outweigh the benefits of using it.