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

[X Knight]

soo.....any ravens appear in this??

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Anyone else utterly disappointed in how they handled Beorn? Part of the fun of the episode with Beorn in the book was the tension in regards to whether he would help or hurt the company. [BLACKOUT]In the film Bilbo dozes off and wakes up to find Beorn already helping his troupe. Beorn's home and what a place of unexpected beauty and weird curiosity it was to the company was also regretfully discarded.
[/BLACKOUT]
I guess much of that might be in the extended edition. It's a crushing shame that Beron has to be truncated to later be included in the extended edition to make way for scenes barely hinted at, characters not having anything to with the story, or straight made up characters.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

In terms of the Hobbit, the Dwarves' fight with Smaug undercut any dramatic tension.

What else undercut the tension was [BLACKOUT]the constant cross cutting to the far less effective scenes of Killi's poisonous plight. Whose brilliant idea was it to shred Smaug's battle with Bilbo and the Dwarves with so much digression?[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Liam_H]

Gotta set up that triangle.

 

[Pinkypants]

Can anyone explain to me why Legolas looks possessed in this movie? He had normal brown eyes in the lotr movies, yet here he has these crazy ass blue eyes.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

His eyes changed hues quite a lot in the movie. First it was dark blue then on [BLACKOUT]Laketown[/BLACKOUT] it was piercing bright blue. I guess it changes with his morphing mood/physiology. Dark blue is his "hardened" state, chiefly when he is next to Tauriel.

 

[jacobed]

Just another bad decision made.

 

[Octoberist]

Can anyone explain to me why Legolas looks possessed in this movie? He had normal brown eyes in the lotr movies, yet here he has these crazy ass blue eyes.

.

No he had blue eyes in the original buy there a few scenes where they forgot to put in Otlando's contacts in.

Also Lego's eyes are bluer this time around because Jackson totally overestimated the Red Epic Camera's weaknesses. I guess when they were testing the cameras all the colors appeared muted. So they overcomposated by saturating the sets with overly bright colors. They probably did the same thing with Lego's contacts.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

On the plus side, Luke Evans was great as Bard the Bowman. It was fascinating to see him evoking so much while saying so little. His earnestness, fears, determination, and kind heart was greatly dramatized. Kudos to the actor.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Anyone else utterly disappointed in how they handled Beorn? Part of the fun of the episode with Beorn in the book was the tension in regards to whether he would help or hurt the company. [BLACKOUT]In the film Bilbo dozes off and wakes up to find Beorn already helping his troupe. Beorn's home and what a place of unexpected beauty and weird curiosity it was to the company was also regretfully discarded.
[/BLACKOUT]
I guess much of that might be in the extended edition. It's a crushing shame that Beron has to be truncated to later be included in the extended edition to make way for scenes barely hinted at, characters not having anything to with the story, or straight made up characters.

That's a damn shame.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Just got back. Of two minds. I am not sure it is a better film then AUJ, but it definitely has the best scenes I have seen since The Mines of Moria.

The Stupendous
- Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins. His first steps into the treasure, his battle with the spiders, his reaction to the barrels, etc. Martin Freeman is the Hobbit.

- Smaug. Good Lord, Smaug. No words. Utter perfection. His semi-grin when he awakes. Great Caesar's Ghost!!!

- Barrel Ride. Some rough bits in terms of CGI, but overall it was stunning and fun. Bombur is a barrel ninja.

- The naming of Sting. The scene felt a bit truncated, but I loved that moment, along with the Dwarf method of killing spiders.

- "And who is this mutant goblin?" This might have been my favorite appearance of Legolas.

- Tauriel, the fairest of all elves. Her storyline is actually pretty painful, but she is quite nice.

- The Pie Maker's performance as Thranduil is appropriately off putting. I love his little interaction with his son.

- "Does that mean good luck". Bard the Bowman is great, as are his children. His introduction tells you everything you need about his skill, while the little ones are so adorable.

- Dwalin and Balin. An incredible duo. One brings the levity, the other the sincerity. Great combination that liven up scene after scene.

- Gandalf doing actual, combat worthy Magic!!!! I almost cried. The scene was horribly placed, but it was awesome nevertheless. I have been waiting for that since the first trailer for the LotR. All the hints couldn't compare to Gandalf the Jedi.

- Who wouldn't follow Thorin Oakenshield? Great portrayal, great performance.

- The fight between Legolas and [BLACKOUT]Bolg[/BLACKOUT] was pretty great, beside the straight CGI at the end.

- Best statue ever.

The Tyrannical
- Whoever decided that it was a good idea to cut from the confrontation with Smaug over and over again needs to be fired, even if it was Peter. It is impossible to care about anything else at that point. Nothing else matters. When the first two cuts happen and literally split up Bilbo walking into the mountain my entire theater groaned. It was horrible editing. Razzie level stuff.

- This films is a strong example of how to integrate new material (Legolas) and exactly how not to (The Necromancer and Azog). For the second straight film the opening is overlong because we are forced to deal with things that have nothing to do with the journey.

- I really like Tauriel. Evangeline Lilly has never looked more beautiful (and that is saying something), and her performance is strong. Too bad her storyline is absolutely horrible. It blew my mind that anyone would think that was a good idea. It is laughably bad. They should have just kept [BLACKOUT]her longing for Legolas[/BLACKOUT], while being awesome. You really think I care if that contrived [BLACKOUT]Kili[/BLACKOUT]crap matters to anyone while the Kings Under the Mountain battle?

- Beorn is so wasted, I don't want to hear any excuses. It is embarrassing and he has even less screen time then I anticipated. Felt like Peter completely missed the point.

- Kili was a pain. His storyline dictated that he'd be the annoying one who gets in the way of things we actually want to see.

- Bolg looked horrible. Like really, really bad. Azog looked far more finished this time around. His scars actually looked like scars. But Bolg looked even more unfinished then Azog did in the first film. And I think it is pretty clear why. They changed his location and Azog's. They flipped their stories. The shot of Azog from the first trailer is missing while there was the behind the scenes inform on Bolg being there with Gandalf.

- Bilbo goes missing for large parts of time and it is because of all the non-journey material packed in. It is a distraction.

- Bard [BLACKOUT]teasing the arrow[/BLACKOUT] seemed really, really early. It was too obvious and is a symptom of what was once two films being three.



Overall, I will definitely me seeing it again. Smaug and the performances are more then worth it. But those painful moments that just chew up time are probably going to get worse and more annoying without the aid of remote to fast-forward past them.

 

[Victarion]

What did Bolg look like? Dwalin was the dwarf with the piecemeal armor and mohawkish hair, right?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

What did Bolg look like? Dwalin was the dwarf with the piecemeal armor and mohawkish hair, right?

Yep, that is Dwalin. And he is so awesome. His temper is laugh inducing.

Bolg was the orc from the television spot. You can find an image a few pages back.

 

[#1Batmanfan]

i loved it! the love triangle didnt bother me at all!

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I am not sure it is a better film then AUJ

After dwelling on it, I would have to agree. Regretfully. DOS is the most charmless film of the five middle earth films. It maintains a nonstop tone of dreariness from start to finish. AUJ for all its plodding and digressions, also has copious amounts of charm that might tip the balance in its favor on repeat viewings.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

After dwelling on it, I would have to agree. Regretfully. DOS is the most charmless film of the five middle earth films. It maintains a nonstop tone of dreariness from start to finish. AUJ for all its plodding and digressions, also has copious amounts of charm that might tip the balance in its favor on repeat viewings.

There is this weird thing where they play music that is inappropriate for scenes. Hopeful music when it isn't called for. I don't agree that it is charmless though. Smaug and Bilbo are charming as all get out. I got behind Thorin when he did his speech thing.

 

[gohei_]

I just came back from it. I have zero knowledge of the books so I went in fresh, but I saw the first one though, and I thought it was allright.
I really liked Evangeline's performance but Persbrandt as Beorn was boring as hell.
All in all, I enjoyed it.

 

[Vartha]

forgot to post my bro's Orcrist Scabbard update
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...843.1073741849.140496065975995&type=1&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...843.1073741849.140496065975995&type=1&theater

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I was borderline shocked at how horrible Bolg looked. He looked as bad as that single shot of him in that TV spot. At least that had the excuse of being a TV spot, with possible unfinished footage. But he looked just as terrible in the film. Especially next to Azog. How does that ugly piece of CGI overtake the practical, more distinctive Bolg is beyond me.

[BLACKOUT]Plus, is Bolg Azog's son or not? Azog and Bolg's relationship didn't seem anything more than Captain and lieutenant.[/BLACKOUT]

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I was borderline shocked at how horrible Bolg looked. He looked worse than that single shot of him in that TV spot. At least that had the excuse of being a TV spot, with possible unfinished footage. But he looked just as terrible in the film. Especially next to Azog. How does that ugly piece of CGI overtook the practical, more distinctive Bolg is beyond me.

[BLACKOUT]Plus, is Bolg Azog's so or not? Azog and Bolg;s relationship didn't seem anything more than Captain and lieutenant.[/BLACKOUT]

No idea. They definitely didn't say either way in the film.

But the CGI is shockingly bad.

 

[Octoberist]

Thats why I think Warcraft's Orcs will be better realized because Duncan Jones and ILM conceived them as CG from the get-go. Here Bolg was CG at the last min and it looks like it shows.

 

[Vartha]

Murph finally finished the Scabbard tonight

 

[DigificWriter]

My review:

Spoiler

The Hobbit is the only one of Tolkien's Middle-earth stories that I've actually been able to read in its entirety, primarily because of its simplistic style as compared to The Lord of the Rings.

However, that simplicity is also a double-edged sword that, in other circumstances, would prevent it from being adapted in any medium other than animation.

Regardless of how you feel about the decision to make a trilogy of 3-hour long movies out of a fairly short story, Peter Jackson and Co. have succeeded with flying colors in making the story adaptable in live action by augmenting its fairly simplistic narrative with additional material - original or otherwise - a decision that allows the core of the novel's story - which IS very much present in both this movie and An Unexpected Journey - to work in a way that doesn't feel silly, which, incidentally, is also what Andrew Adamson was able to do with his adaptations of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian (particularly the latter).

Two specific instances from this movie that demonstrate what I'm talking about are the introduction of Beorn and the Mirkwood spiders sequence where the spiders talk to each other. Both of these things could've made the film seem silly, but by not dwelling too much on Beorn and having Bilbo only be able to perceive the spider's chatter by putting on the Ring, Jackson and Co. were able to maintain the 'historical reality' tone they'd already established for the franchise with their LotR adaptations and their adaptation of the first third of The Hobbit as realized in An Unexpected Journey.

The Smaug sequences did seem to drag a bit in places, but were still very well-handled, and Cumberbatch was the perfect choice to voice the character, giving him a sense of menace and malice that perfectly fits with the tone of the film and makes you believe that he's a real creature that could've existed in our prehistoric past.

I'm giving the movie a 10 out of 10, although I did miss part of the ending due to some drowsiness and therefore need to see it again.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Thats why I think Warcraft's Orcs will be better realized because Duncan Jones and ILM conceived them as CG from the get-go. Here Bolg was CG at the last min and it looks like it shows.

That is true. Azog looked much better this time. Also doesn't hurt that it is ILM.

My review:

Spoiler

The Hobbit is the only one of Tolkien's Middle-earth stories that I've actually been able to read in its entirety, primarily because of its simplistic style as compared to The Lord of the Rings.

However, that simplicity is also a double-edged sword that, in other circumstances, would prevent it from being adapted in any medium other than animation.

Regardless of how you feel about the decision to make a trilogy of 3-hour long movies out of a fairly short story, Peter Jackson and Co. have succeeded with flying colors in making the story adaptable in live action by augmenting its fairly simplistic narrative with additional material - original or otherwise - a decision that allows the core of the novel's story - which IS very much present in both this movie and An Unexpected Journey - to work in a way that doesn't feel silly, which, incidentally, is also what Andrew Adamson was able to do with his adaptations of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian (particularly the latter).

Two specific instances from this movie that demonstrate what I'm talking about are the introduction of Beorn and the Mirkwood spiders sequence where the spiders talk to each other. Both of these things could've made the film seem silly, but by not dwelling too much on Beorn and having Bilbo only be able to perceive the spider's chatter by putting on the Ring, Jackson and Co. were able to maintain the 'historical reality' tone they'd already established for the franchise with their LotR adaptations and their adaptation of the first third of The Hobbit as realized in An Unexpected Journey.

The Smaug sequences did seem to drag a bit in places, but were still very well-handled, and Cumberbatch was the perfect choice to voice the character, giving him a sense of menace and malice that perfectly fits with the tone of the film and makes you believe that he's a real creature that could've existed in our prehistoric past.

I'm giving the movie a 10 out of 10, although I did miss part of the ending due to some drowsiness and therefore need to see it again.

The movie was so good you fell asleep.

 

[ares834]

When the first two cuts happen and literally split up Bilbo walking into the mountain my entire theater groaned. It was horrible editing. Razzie level stuff

I actually enjoyed that in a sorta perverse way.

You just want to get to the Bilbo/Smaug confrontation and they just drag it out building up the tension.