No one is defending it. We're just saying given the circumstances its far from funny. And laughing about it or taking cheap shots at it is distasteful.
It was a cheap move by PJ, and distasteful to use Connolly's illness as cover.
I can't come to any other conclusion. There is no possibility that a man who can manage a stand-up tour on the other side of the world cannot read some lines from a prompt.
I saw it last night. I thought that, for all its flaws, it's still a very enjoyable film. Much like the other two installments. It's a worthy end to the trilogy, but its extended version will probably greatly improve it. Ranking them individually, I'd have to say the best is An Unexpected Journey, followed closely by The Battle of the Five Armies, with The Desolation of Smaug being the weakest. Having said that, as a whole, I consider the entire Hobbit trilogy a great film experience and a worthy precursor to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, even though it pales in comparison to that (but then again, so too does the book compared to the LOTR book trilogy).
What worked:
[BLACKOUT]Once again, Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, and Richard Armitage carried the film. Armitage in particular killed it this time around. The dragon sickness scenes were among my favorite in the film. The performances from the supporting cast were pretty good all around, with Ken Stott, Lee Pace and Graham McTavish being the standouts among them. People who compare The Hobbit trilogy to the Star Wars prequels have to admit that the performances in these films are what make all the difference. The hard work from these actors really shine through and it elevates these films from mediocre to good, in my opinion.
Smaug's attack on Lake Town was incredible, even though it really should have been the ending of the second film. I get that they were trying to go for the whole James Bond opening, but this really should have been seen last year. It's going to be a moot point by the time the Blu-ray comes out and we can just pop in TBOTFA after DOS ends, but I would have much preferred this to the dwarves pulling a fast one on Smaug in the furnace.
The pacing was great, even if the ending felt a bit rushed. Complete 180 from Desolation of Smaug, which felt like it would never end.
The death scenes were very poignant and emotional. Freeman and Armitage absolutely nailed Thorin's death scene. Fili and Kili's deaths were both quite horrible, a great more graphic than any other hero death in this series.
The battle scenes, while entertaining, didn't quite enthrall me as much as the one-on-one fight scenes between Legolas and Bolg and Thorin and Azog. Sketchy CGI aside, I was on the edge of my seat for both of those fights even though I knew who was going to win. Legolas's finishing move was particularly badass.
Kamikaze Battering Ram Troll had me laughing my ass off.
Beorn's midair transformation was awesome. I hope there's more of him in the EE.[/BLACKOUT]
What didn't really work:
[BLACKOUT]Over-excessive CGI. Everything just seemed too polished. Dain being CGI was ridiculous, and after reading the reason why on this page I still have to say there are other ways around that. They could have used cue cards if Billy Connolly couldn't remember his lines. On a brighter note, he was a great addition to the film, as brief as his appearance was.
The White Council vs. Sauron seemed very rushed and almost an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. Galadriel turning into "The Ring" girl was random too. I thought there would be a lot more time devoted to that. Maybe in the extended edition?
Alfrid. There was no reason for him to keep sticking around. In fact, I sort of wish he just stayed on the boat and met the same end as the Master. Were we ever supposed to give a **** about this character? There was too much time focused on him in favor of more important scenes such as Thorin's funeral or Dain being crowned king or even a proper sendoff for Radagast.
As I said earlier, the ending felt a bit rushed. There was no breathing room between Thorin's death and Bilbo returning to the Shire. I wasn't expecting it to be drawn out like Return of the King, but I was at least hoping for Thorin's funeral or an extended goodbye with Bilbo and the dwarves.
The fact that there was that much cut from this movie is ridiculous considering they split a 230 page book into three long films. [/BLACKOUT]
Overall, I enjoyed it. It's sad to leave Middle Earth behind, but I will be greatly anticipating the extended edition next year.
I did the same thing when I first frequented this thread more often...It's the poll for Unexpected Journey. lol unlike most most THIS thread should have it's own forum at least a Tolkien Forum so we CAN make threads for the different films books and other media.
It's funny how the mentality has changed over ten years.
The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions simply added to what were already wonderful experiences in the theatrical cuts. The eleven-month wait for them was perfectly tolerable in that regard, because they weren't necessary. We already had three very good films. Now, these DVDs have become the default excuse by fans and, hell, even the filmmakers themselves in justifying putting out lackluster and, frankly, butchered theatrical cuts for The Hobbit.
BotFA spoilers:
"How could they sideline Beorn for the sake of Legolas?"
"Don't worry. There will be more of Beorn on the DVD!"
"Seriously? Dain isn't crowned King and just disappears out of the movie like a fart in the wind?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure they're saving it for the DVD!"
"We don't see Thorin's funeral? But they'll have action scenes and battering-ram trolls and giant Dune worms and Elf-god Legolas up the whazoo? Are you ****ing kidding me?"
"DVD!"
So I need to wait an extra eleven months in hopes of seeing a more complete film? Then why the hell am I wasting fifteen dollars this December?
Three movies, and key scenes from the book are STILL left on the cutting room floor for the sake of superfilous fan-fiction. And that's perfectly okay with these filmmakers, because it's just another opportunity to milk the fans next November. This movie was just released and they were already pimping out the extended edition leading up to the premiere.
"Did you hear? Peter Jackson says there's probably 30-40 minutes of cut material for the extended edition! Well, time to head on into the theater!"
I forgot this already came out. If I do end up seeing the damn thing in theaters, it will have been just to say I saw all of the Middle Earth films in the theater, in a completionist sort of way. Not because I'm actually excited for it.
So...I might actually pass on it. Which I would've never imagined doing before Unexpected Journey dropped.
This whole trilogy isn't as bad as the Star Wars prequels, per say, but it has left a really similar aftertaste in my mouth. A narrative that feels never ending, on top of filler CGI set piece after CGI set piece.
It's funny how the mentality has changed over ten years.
The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions simply added to what were already wonderful experiences in the theatrical cuts. The eleven-month wait for them was perfectly tolerable in that regard, because they weren't necessary. We already had three very good films. Now, these DVDs have become the default excuse by fans and, hell, even the filmmakers themselves in justifying putting out lackluster and, frankly, butchered theatrical cuts for The Hobbit.
BotFA spoilers:
"How could they sideline Beorn for the sake of Legolas?"
"Don't worry. There will be more of Beorn on the DVD!"
"Seriously? Dain isn't crowned King and just disappears out of the movie like a fart in the wind?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure they're saving it for the DVD!"
"We don't see Thorin's funeral? But they'll have action scenes and battering-ram trolls and giant Dune worms and Elf-god Legolas up the whazoo? Are you ****ing kidding me?"
"DVD!"
So I need to wait an extra eleven months in hopes of seeing a more complete film? Then why the hell am I wasting fifteen dollars this December?
Three movies, and key scenes from the book are STILL left on the cutting room floor for the sake of superfilous fan-fiction. And that's perfectly okay with these filmmakers, because it's just another opportunity to milk the fans next November. This movie was just released and they were already pimping out the extended edition leading up to the premiere.
"Did you hear? Peter Jackson says there's probably 30-40 minutes of cut material for the extended edition! Well, time to go into the theater!"
lol yeah a few people like my brother Murph thought the same thing. I wish he was around to see this, he did think PJ should have stuck to the 2 films tho.
I forgot this already came out. If I do end up seeing the damn thing in theaters, it will have been just to say I saw all of the Middle Earth films in the theater, in a completionist sort of way. Not because I'm actually excited for it.
So...I might actually pass on it. Which I would've never imagined doing before Unexpected Journey dropped.
This whole trilogy isn't as bad as the Star Wars prequels, per say, but it has left a really similar aftertaste in my mouth. A narrative that feels never ending, on top of filler CGI set piece after CGI set piece.
ONE of the biggest things I'm looking foreword too is the defeat of Smaug. I REALLY want to see that on the big screen, the fact that it's supposed to be the last of the Tolkien films on the screen is another.
When it comes to the books, The Hobbit was always better than Lord Of The Rings IMO.
And the problem with the films was that LOTR was so good, people had their expectations up too high for The Hobbits. The previous trilogy set the bar and it was going to be hard to top it like how Dark Knight Rises pales in comparison to its predecessor.
With that said, I'm going to enjoy the end of a 13 year cinematic journey tonight. t:
When it comes to the books, The Hobbit was always better than Lord Of The Rings IMO.
And the problem with the films was that LOTR was so good, people had their expectations up too high for The Hobbits. The previous trilogy set the bar and it was going to be hard to top it like how Dark Knight Rises pales in comparison to its predecessor.
With that said, I'm going to enjoy the end of a 13 year cinematic journey tonight. t:
When it comes to the books, The Hobbit was always better than Lord Of The Rings IMO.
And the problem with the films was that LOTR was so good, people had their expectations up too high for The Hobbits. The previous trilogy set the bar and it was going to be hard to top it like how Dark Knight Rises pales in comparison to its predecessor.
With that said, I'm going to enjoy the end of a 13 year cinematic journey tonight. t:
It seems to be the case that everything that gets ****ed up on a movie results in more CGI. Based on that metric, The Hobbit's production must have been pretty ****ed up.
Everything I've read from this movie just makes it sound like such a disappointing mess. Possibly the weakest of the three Hobbit films even though it was intended to be the epic conclusion - of a short story ballooned out over three films. Cutting scenes to slap them on extended editions, excessive and fake looking CGI, the focus on introduced characters who weren't even in the book, overlong and boring action scenes, plots that go nowhere...etc. So in other words, just more of the same.
Eh, I thought was alright. It does what it needs to do, gets the job done, and mostly ties up everything which leads into the original trilogy. If you liked the other two, you'll like this one.
While I love these ones (I haven't seen Armies yet but saw Journey and Smaug) just as much as the LOTR, the wait for extended cuts does bother me. It's a long ass wait and I definitely agree about that with you guys.
Is it true that Bofur has no lines in the theatrical cut?
Edit: Confirmed: Bofur along with half of the dwarves have zero lines...in the film that is supposed to wrap up this great adventure and give it closure Jackson couldnt even give us a scene of the dwarves telling Bilbo goodbye. After trekking through danger and wilderness and war they dont even say goodbye.
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