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

[Persona]

I saw an advance screening tonight... let me just say this....

One of my favorite books growing up was The Hobbit, a story that was child-friendly and whimsical, yet contained a rousing personal adventure that could appeal to all ages.

I look forward to the day when someone makes a movie based on that book.

I gave up on this current "epic trilogy" right around the time that Thorin Oakenshield balanced on the tip of Smaug's nose while hurtling down a mineshaft before swinging away on a chain like some kind of MMORPG fantasy Tarzan. Ugh.

Andrew O'Hehir's Salon review was a good read and i think offers a great perspective for Tolkien fans hoping to enjoy the movie.

 

[Persona]

It's basically supposed to be an evolution compared to talkies from silent film.

Avatar 2 will be the best Fern Gully yet!

 

[The Lizard]

I would say that Tolkien fans of The Hobbit book need to adopt the same attitude that fans of the World War Z book did upon going to see the movie titled World War Z.

 

[Persona]

I would say that Tolkien fans of The Hobbit book need to adopt the same attitude that fans of the World War Z book did upon going to see the movie titled World War Z.

that's probably fair.

 

[ares834]

I would say that Tolkien fans of The Hobbit book need to adopt the same attitude that fans of the World War Z book did upon going to see the movie titled World War Z.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing the film, but I'm going in just expecting an entertaining movie not an adaptation of the novel.

 

[The Lizard]

that's probably fair.

And, as a big fan of the WWZ book, I went in to see the WWZ movie with the "I'm expecting to see nothing of what I loved about the book", and I was actually able to enjoy the movie reasonably well on its own terms.

Admittedly there are some of "legit" Hobbit moments in this new movie, but they are a bit too few and far between. I've been saying that I would love for someone to fan-edit all three movies down into one "actual Hobbit story" movie after all three Hobbit movies are released on home video, but after seeing DoS, I don't really know if that can be done.

 

[SonOfMim]

Just got it of a screening of this. It was decent, much better than the first one which I thought was terrible but it still is unnecessarily long and about 3/4s of the movie I could careless what happens. I don't really like any of the characters and they're all very one dimensional. You could cut out 8 of the dwarves and It would still be the same movie. Surprised by how much I enjoyed the elves even though they don't belong in this movie and the action looks cool but it is all cg and you can tell, the cg is very bad. Rarely was I ever convinced by it. But the movie is worth it for one reason, Smaug. Holy hot damn he is amazing, everything with Smaug is perfect except how they pronounce his name. Cumberbatch knocks it out of the park. His voice, the mannerisms, the tension in the scene, even the cg isn't bad. They chose a really poor place to end the film and if he would just trim the unnecessary stuff, he would have time for a proper ending but alas he didn't know how. Unfortunately I saw it in 3d and it was terrible, hate 3d. I have a lot of complaints but the non stop action and Smaug helped me forget them. I'd say it's a solid 7-8/10

Totally agree with you, but I'd give the movie 6 or 7. And where the hell was the White Council?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I would say that Tolkien fans of The Hobbit book need to adopt the same attitude that fans of the World War Z book did upon going to see the movie titled World War Z.

That it sucks?

 

[Leenie]

I still see these movies as completely pointless.

An Unexpected Journey was not a bad movie ... But it had so much unnecessary filler, because the studios want three 3-hour long movies from one bloody book. Looks like this sequel will be more of the same, and that's why I'm not spending money on it in theaters.

All The Hobbit needed was ONE 3-hour long movie. And it would have been amazing.

(And by the way, I loved the World War Z book, and thought the movie was a steaming pile of you-know-what ... Both as a film AND as an adaptation.)

 

[Marvolo]

I still see these movies as completely pointless.

An Unexpected Journey was not a bad movie ... But it had so much unnecessary filler, because the studios want three 3-hour long movies from one bloody book. Looks like this sequel will be more of the same, and that's why I'm not spending money on it in theaters.

All The Hobbit needed was ONE 3-hour long movie. And it would have been amazing.

(And by the way, I loved the World War Z book, and thought the movie was a steaming pile of you-know-what ... Both as a film AND as an adaptation.)

Even tho the studio is no doubt happy because they got three movies, it wasnt their doing. Jackson shot way too much footage, and didn't realize just how much until they started putting it together. I know that might sound fishy, but Jackson shot the two original films at the same time with scenes from both films mixed together. When they assembled the first part it was approaching a ridiculous length (like 4 hours). There was too much to move to film two without that film going over 4 hours so it was either drop an hour of footage from film one from the theatrical release, put it out as an insane EE, or add a middle film. They chose a middle film. If they hadn't done that a lot of what they shot wouldn't have made the theatrical film and then stuff from film two would have needed to be cut because the setup would have been cut from film one. With all the footage they had it required them to shoot very little to have enough to make a middle film.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Just listened to the soundtrack.

First impressions:

- It is very strange that the Misty Mountains theme (that's the main heroic theme from Unexpected Journey) doesn't appear AT ALL. A rather bizarre choice.

- Tauriel / Kili love theme mentioned in the liner notes. Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Why dear Illuvatar why?

- A startling dominance of the Necromancer theme and the Smaug theme. Really dark score with few instances of heroism or levity in it at all. Darker than any of the LOTR scores, in fact.

- The new musical identities for Mirkwood, Dale, Bard, etc. are recognizable but do not really stand out. This score is very organic and kinda flows together in a background kind of way rather than having distinct suites of unique cultural flavor. The elvish material here seemed far less uniquely elvish than say the Lothlorian theme or the Rivendell theme. Surprising, to say the least.

- The choral work in this score is absolutely beautiful. Well written stuff. And the action material has greatly improved and seems even more complex. Both are highlights.

 

[Leenie]

Even tho the studio is no doubt happy because they got three movies, it wasnt their doing. Jackson shot way too much footage, and didn't realize just how much until they started putting it together. I know that might sound fishy, but Jackson shot the two original films at the same time with scenes from both films mixed together. When they assembled the first part it was approaching a ridiculous length (like 4 hours). There was too much to move to film two without that film going over 4 hours so it was either drop an hour of footage from film one from the theatrical release, put it out as an insane EE, or add a middle film. They chose a middle film. If they hadn't done that a lot of what they shot wouldn't have made the theatrical film and then stuff from film two would have needed to be cut because the setup would have been cut from film one. With all the footage they had it required them to shoot very little to have enough to make a middle film.

So Peter Jackson didn't learn his lesson from King Kong and went trigger happy with his camera, with nobody on the editing floor to tell him "no" once in a while.

Got it.

 

[Marvolo]

So Peter Jackson didn't learn his lesson from King Kong and went trigger happy with his camera, with nobody on the editing floor to tell him "no" once in a while.

Got it.

Pretty much.

 

[jonathancrane]

Just listened to the soundtrack.

First impressions:

- It is very strange that the Misty Mountains theme (that's the main heroic theme from Unexpected Journey) doesn't appear AT ALL. A rather bizarre choice.

- Tauriel / Kili love theme mentioned in the liner notes. Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Why dear Illuvatar why?

- A startling dominance of the Necromancer theme and the Smaug theme. Really dark score with few instances of heroism or levity in it at all. Darker than any of the LOTR scores, in fact.

- The new musical identities for Mirkwood, Dale, Bard, etc. are recognizable but do not really stand out. This score is very organic and kinda flows together in a background kind of way rather than having distinct suites of unique cultural flavor. The elvish material here seemed far less uniquely elvish than say the Lothlorian theme or the Rivendell theme. Surprising, to say the least.

- The choral work in this score is absolutely beautiful. Well written stuff. And the action material has greatly improved and seems even more complex. Both are highlights.

I am looking forward to listening to it.

 

[Marvolo]

Just listened to the soundtrack.

First impressions:

- It is very strange that the Misty Mountains theme (that's the main heroic theme from Unexpected Journey) doesn't appear AT ALL. A rather bizarre choice.

- Tauriel / Kili love theme mentioned in the liner notes. Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!! Why dear Illuvatar why?

- A startling dominance of the Necromancer theme and the Smaug theme. Really dark score with few instances of heroism or levity in it at all. Darker than any of the LOTR scores, in fact.

- The new musical identities for Mirkwood, Dale, Bard, etc. are recognizable but do not really stand out. This score is very organic and kinda flows together in a background kind of way rather than having distinct suites of unique cultural flavor. The elvish material here seemed far less uniquely elvish than say the Lothlorian theme or the Rivendell theme. Surprising, to say the least.

- The choral work in this score is absolutely beautiful. Well written stuff. And the action material has greatly improved and seems even more complex. Both are highlights.

Yeah I'm pretty upset at the lack of Misty Mountains theme. I really thought he would develop it across the three films like he did the Gondor theme. I really hope it shows up in the Battle of Five Armies especially in one moment from the book if its even in the film.

Spoiler

its when the 13 dwarves bust through the front gate pf Erebor and join the battle.

When I read that I could practically hear that theme, and it would fit perfect. If the theme is never used again I'm gonna be really pissed. Its the one theme from this new trilogy I love and I'm humming it all the time. Its not the type of theme you throw away.

 

[Leenie]

Pretty much.

Le sigh. That's so sad to me, because I still absolutely love the LOTR movies (it's one of the best trilogies of all time, second to only the original Star Wars trilogy, in my opinion). Those movies needed to be long, and I guess the success of that trilogy told Peter Jackson that he needed to keep making really long movies.

It's also sad because when An Unexpected Journey actually followed the book (and its tone/spirit), it was great. Despite my overall feelings about the film, I can't take away the fact that Riddles in the Dark was phenomenal, as was the part when the dwarves broke into Bilbo's home.

I hope someone on the internet makes an ultimate cut of all three films, so that it's only one movie with no filler.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Yeah I'm pretty upset at the lack of Misty Mountains theme. I really thought he would develop it across the three films like he did the Gondor theme. I really hope it shows up in the Battle of Five Armies especially in one moment from the book if its even in the film.

Spoiler

its when the 13 dwarves bust through the front gate pf Erebor and join the battle.

When I read that I could practically hear that theme, and it would fit perfect. If the theme is never used again I'm gonna be really pissed. Its the one theme from this new trilogy I love and I'm humming it all the time. Its not the type of theme you throw away.

Yeah, its an odd choice. I really thought it would be the "Fellowship Theme" of this trilogy. Maybe it will appear in the film even though it isn't represented on the extended album... but I doubt it.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I saw an advance screening tonight... let me just say this....

One of my favorite books growing up was The Hobbit, a story that was child-friendly and whimsical, yet contained a rousing personal adventure that could appeal to all ages.

I look forward to the day when someone makes a movie based on that book.

I gave up on this current "epic trilogy" right around the time that Thorin Oakenshield balanced on the tip of Smaug's nose while hurtling down a mineshaft before swinging away on a chain like some kind of MMORPG fantasy Tarzan. Ugh.

I'll be going in with very low expectations, I'm sad to say.

 

[TheVileOne]

So Peter Jackson didn't learn his lesson from King Kong and went trigger happy with his camera, with nobody on the editing floor to tell him "no" once in a while.

Got it.

I mean it happened with Lord of the Rings too man. Tons of stuff was shot that never made it into the movie.

Also keep in mind, the extended cuts all together are about 11+ hours of content.

They shot a lot of alternate story footage that never made it into the films.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Times Review of The Desolation of Smaug:

“Aren’t you going to search me?” [Kili] asks when he enters the Elven fortress. “I could have anything down my trousers.” Pert Tauriel replies, “Or nothing.”

Tolkien is rolling in his grave.

 

[Roose Bolton]

 

[Liam_H]

Powerful line, cause after that she was smitten with him

 

[ThePhantasm]

I think that review sapped the last bit of interest I had in seeing this film. Everything that reviewer saw as a positive I saw as a negative.

 

[craigdbfan]

The HFR theater lists are all over the place and contradicting with the information on Fandango.

What a mess. I'm actually curious to see it in HFR this time around but there's contradicting information out there so I don't know what to think.

 

[craigdbfan]

Ok so I just read an article saying that WB actually hasn't decided how many HFR copies it actually wants to send out. Apparently it has it's accountants number crunching to see if they'll benefit with more or less HFR copies out there.