Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - - - - - Part 14

[Infinity9999x]

Reg's a pretty open minded guy actually. And unlike many people, he's not afraid to admit it if he changes his mind on an opinion. Way back when in the year leading up to TDK, Reg was not a huge fan of the Ledger look and all the stuff he was seeing for the film. (With valid reasons). After the film he didn't hide the fact that a lot of his worries were misplaced.

So he's not the kind of poster who's going to come in and rip on a film only for the sake of ripping on it. It's because he cares about the Hobbit story, and he has valid complaints he's going to make.

 

[jonathancrane]

Believe it or not, I am not a Jackson worshiper. Aragon killing the Mouth is one of those creative decisions that will piss me off for the rest of my life. I would pay good money to have listened to the rationalization when that scene was composed. As for the mass market aspect, I would agree that it is present, but inevitable with a blockbuster production. Since Hollywood is run by bankers, the quieter moments from pre-existing properties-such as the Mordor Emissary's offer to the dwarves, Frodo's wait for Gandalf: months, not days-are always lost, since audiences cannot have a scene last more than a minute.

 

[Octoberist]

I loved Smaug and Bilbo once the dwarves come in it gets horrible fast. Really horrible. None of that action worked. They made Smaug into an idiot after setting him up as the opposite. Their plan to stop him didn't even make sense. The cg was embarrassingly bad. Just embarrassing. And then to top it off they just end it in the middle of the climax.

I think the elongated scenes with the dwarves and Smaug was a bit too much; though i don't know how people who haven't read the book felt about it. It felt like Peter Jackson was thinking 'Let's kill some time'

 

[regwec]

The movie had already dragged on an awfully long time by that point.

 

[Octoberist]

And the whole point with the liquid gold was a little baffling. Smaug was already on the verge of leaving the cave, wanting to attack Lake Town..then the liquid gold thing happened, and it was pointless.

 

[hammerhedd11]

Reg's a pretty open minded guy actually. And unlike many people, he's not afraid to admit it if he changes his mind on an opinion. Way back when in the year leading up to TDK, Reg was not a huge fan of the Ledger look and all the stuff he was seeing for the film. (With valid reasons). After the film he didn't hide the fact that a lot of his worries were misplaced.

So he's not the kind of poster who's going to come in and rip on a film only for the sake of ripping on it. It's because he cares about the Hobbit story, and he has valid complaints he's going to make.

Um, I'm not arguing against his opinion at all, nor do I even necessarily disagree with many of his points, considering I'm not all that big of a fan of The Hobbit films in the first place. But I've been following these threads for a while and find it humorous to continue to see him pop up every so often to throw in the same criticisms that were played out months ago. It's very obvious he hates these movies, which is fine, but it gets sort of tiring to continue to read random, almost passive aggressive remarks against the films that don't add anything to the conversation ("Was anything done about the appalling CGI?" etc. ). You would just think after a while that it's useless to continue putting so much time into hating something. I guess that's what's the internet's for these days, I just don't understand it.

 

[Octoberist]

I've grown to like Regec to be honest. Though i disagreed with him when it comes to Nolan's Batman, he's often insightful.

 

[jonathancrane]

And the whole point with the liquid gold was a little baffling. Smaug was already on the verge of leaving the cave, wanting to attack Lake Town..then the liquid gold thing happened, and it was pointless.

It did not help that the editing was confusing; the frantic cuts made it somewhat difficult to piece together what was occurring.

 

[Octoberist]

Yeah, it didn't gel well.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

One thing that bothers me about discussing these films, is it seems to come down to "well it is more Tolkien on the big screen". Like that is enough, even if the films are badly crafted and lack the essence and ideas of the book.

And really, what is with blaming the source material? You are darn right the book is much better then the films. This has been Jackson's style since ROTK and it is why he hasn't made a truly good film since The Two Towers.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Harry Potter is a good example of how to do it right. There are a couple of films that were better then the books, and few that equaled quality books.

 

[regwec]

would just think after a while that it's useless to continue putting so much time into hating something. I guess that's what's the internet's for these days, I just don't understand it.

It takes no time at all, and I often do something else at the same time.

I don't know what anyone else's message board habits are, but I tend to log in, skim my subscribed threads, and post anything that pops into my head. It isn't particularly onerous.

 

[green]

One thing that bothers me about discussing these films, is it seems to come down to "well it is more Tolkien on the big screen". Like that is enough, even if the films are badly crafted and lack the essence and ideas of the book.

And really, what is with blaming the source material? You are darn right the book is much better then the films. This has been Jackson's style since ROTK and it is why he hasn't made a truly good film since The Two Towers.

I don't think badly crafted is really a fair assessment. All one has to do is see any of the blogs or "the makings of" to see that a ton of talent went into making them. The sets, costumes, props and acting is all superb. Yes I agree there is some bad editing and special effects, but on the whole I think they are well crafted movies.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I don't think badly crafted is really a fair assessment. All one has to do is see any of the blogs or "the makings of" to see that a ton of talent went into making them. The sets, costumes, props and acting is all superb. Yes I agree there is some bad editing and special effects, but on the whole I think they are well crafted movies.

The amount of time it took to make these films is irrelevant. The pacing and structure are bad. At times, really, really bad. There are so many tones clashing, while having characters and scenes that feel like they are just there to make the film longer. When you can probably cut out 40 mins from each film and make them significantly better, that is poorly crafted in my book.

And this is before you start touching on the CGI, its quality and how it clashes with the practical dwarves.

 

[Boom]

I remember spending a decade praying for this adaptation to happen.

Now here we are in 2014, and I find myself completely apathetic to the third installment of a bloated trilogy. I could just barely muster up excitement for the second one, and that excitement was focused solely on Beorn and Smaug - the former being laughably undercut and the latter being reduced to a joke.

 

[Marvolo]

While Ill no doubt watch TABA in theaters, Im not overly excited about it. Apathy is a good way to describe my feelings.

 

[green]

The amount of time it took to make these films is irrelevant. The pacing and structure are bad. At times, really, really bad. There are so many tones clashing, while having characters and scenes that feel like they are just there to make the film longer. When you can probably cut out 40 mins from each film and make them significantly better, that is poorly crafted in my book.

And this is before you start touching on the CGI, its quality and how it clashes with the practical dwarves.

I said nothing about the length of time they took to make, so yes you are correct, it is irrelevant.
I was purely referencing the artists that did some amazing work.

I take it you are really looking forward to the extended edition.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I remember spending a decade praying for this adaptation to happen.

Now here we are in 2014, and I find myself completely apathetic to the third installment of a bloated trilogy. I could just barely muster up excitement for the second one, and that excitement was focused solely on Beorn and Smaug - the former being laughably undercut and the latter being reduced to a joke.

While Ill no doubt watch TABA in theaters, Im not overly excited about it. Apathy is a good way to describe my feelings.

Exactly. And I wanted to loves these. But after each film, I was more annoyed then anything. Seeing glimpses of what could have been.

I said nothing about the length of time they took to make, so yes you are correct, it is irrelevant.
I was purely referencing the artists that did some amazing work.

I take it you are really looking forward to the extended edition.

The director, writers and editors didn't exactly produce amazing work. Thus, poorly crafted.

 

[Octoberist]

While I love the original Lord of the Rings films, I just think The Hobbit just lacks vision. It all feels like 'killing time' or playing things by ear.

 

[Marvolo]

While I love the original Lord of the Rings films, I just think The Hobbit just lacks vision. It all feels like 'killing time' or playing things by ear.

Its very clear that Jackson and Boyens werent paying attention to the script. They just let it run wild then didnt pay attention to how much they had shot and ended up shooting too much for 2 films then had to make a middle film. That is horrid planning and execution for a film production. Its like intending to hit a mark but missing it by a mile. And it shows in the final product.

 

[jonathancrane]

Harry Potter is a good example of how to do it right. There are a couple of films that were better then the books, and few that equaled quality books.

It is not hard to mess up on adapting the books as they have the intellectual and artistic complexity of cotton candy. That's not even touching on how much Rowling borrowed/stole from Tolkien.

 

[Vartha]

Well I agree to some point they did too much adding. To me Legolas sounded too much like Elrond. In some instances sentences were taken directly from LotR, but so far that's really my only gripe since the theaters HERE won't show the higher Frame per second versions.
I'm VERY entertained by these films.

 

[Vartha]

]It is not hard to mess up on adapting the books as they have the intellectual and artistic complexity of cotton candy[/B]. That's not even touching on how much Rowling borrowed/stole from Tolkien.

I agree with you there. Had PJ used everything in the LotR books we would have had more movies. lol

I do think PJ made the right version of LotR tho. the way it's written it's next to impossible to make it EXACTLY like the book. Why do you think Bakshi had so many problems? lol

 

[Iceman]

The 1st half of FOTR would have been bloody boring as a direct adaptation.