Official 'The Hobbit' Thread - - Part 16

[jonathancrane]

I really enjoyed the film. The only [minor] complaints I had were some of the gags falling flat and the forced analogues to the original trilogy. aside from those, I loved the film. Sure, it's mechanically inferior to Return of the King...but, in all honesty, I enjoyed the film MORE than Return of the King. There was a lot to love; one of my favorite moments was the exchange Bilbo had with Thorin about the acorn. It was really sweet.

 

[Boom]

I saw it. I'll be sharing more thoughts tomorrow once I've had time to digest everything.

I will say this. The scenes with Bilbo were excellent. Martin Freeman continues to be a shining beacon throughout this trilogy with his sincere performance, and there is one particular scene with him in this movie that is absolutely heart-breaking. I applaud Freeman for making the most (and best) out of what he was given.

Which, sadly, continues to be not so much. And for a movie trilogy in which he is the titular character, that remains a severe disappointment. Some of the scenes and dialogue lifted straight from the book (again, namely the Bilbo ones) were a joy to watch. But the rest? Well, what comes as a surprise to no one I'm sure, I didn't care for it.

Having completed this trilogy, I can now conclusively say that as one fan of The Hobbit, this is not the adaptation I wanted to see. Peter Jackson continues to either completely disregard key thematic subtext from the book, or blow it up to ridiculous proportions that ultimately miss the point. He continues to display a profound unawareness of when to pull himself back to a place of sincerity or meaningfulness at the expense of over-the-top spectacle and scene-chewing action pieces. It comes as no surprise to me that the only things that truly work in these films are those elements ripped straight from Tolkien's book. Everything else? Clearly the work of someone whose paramount mentality throughout was, "Wouldn't it be cool/funny if [insert juvenile idea here]?"

The fact that I literally walked out of this movie questioning whether or not [blackout]Alfrid the fan-fiction stooge[/blackout] had just as much screen time as Bilbo (if not more) is simply stunning. It sure as hell felt like it.

 

[Quasimod0]

In this movie

Spoiler

Gandalf's only magical thing he did was wizard-chating with Ragadast. All he did in battle was hitting people with his stick.

Take that as you will.

Other than that is an entertaining film.

Well that's pretty much all he did in battle in the LotR trilogy. Jackson has said that he likes to keep Gandalf's "wizardy" stuff limited.

And I'm glad you saw it and liked it Vartha!

 

[ThePhantasm]

Can't wait for Boom's review

 

[Boom]

Can't wait for Boom's review

I'm not happy at all.

Guess how much screen-time Beorn gets.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Bear-ly any?

 

[CapedCrusader14]

Bear-ly any?

 

[Boom]

Bear-ly any?

Let me put it this way.

Spoiler

If you let out a big yawn (the kind where you close your eyes) while he was on screen, you'd miss him.

 

[ThePhantasm]

Well they had to make room for those non-book characters somehow

 

[Quasimod0]

Let me put it this way.

Spoiler

If you let out a big yawn (the kind where you close your eyes) while he was on screen, you'd miss him.

If you sneezed twice in a row, you could miss him as well. lol

 

[matrix_ghost]

Has anyone seen this movie in IMAX HFR 3-D ?
I will see BOFA next wednesday and i am looking forward to watching this movie in the same format again. While the first hobbit definately took some getting used to when it came to the HFR , i greatly enjoyed it in Desolation of Smaug.

 

[Thundarr]

I saw the movie on Wednesday afternoon. I was going to write a review right after, but I still had a ton of Christmas shopping to do that day. Then by the time I got home, I was so exhausted I went right to bed and slept the whole night through and much of the following day. So here I am to write my review now.

As a whole, I was less impressed with this trilogy than I was the original trilogy. Mostly due to PJ adding too much stuff in as filler in order to justify turning a 250 page book into a 9 hour trilogy (unlike LOTR, which was so long in book form that he had to cut a bunch of stuff in order to make it fit into a 12 hour movie trilogy). That's not to say I didn't enjoy The Hobbit, only that I wasn't as impressed as i was with LOTR.

I don't know why, but for some reason all of the scenes that featured the people of Lake Town felt like I was watching the BBC made for TV version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Maybe it was because it was shot in 3d, I don't know.

Like other people had mentioned, I think the deliberate tie ins to the first movie trilogy were unnecessary. The opening of the first film, and the end of the third, with Bilbo writing his book, is all that was really needed in that respect.

And while I did enjoy Billy Connoly's performance as Thorin's cousin, I feel that

Spoiler

either Fili or Kili should have survived the final battle to become King Under The Mountain. Incidentally, I think too many of the original 13 dwarves survived as well. Balin had said in the first film that most of the company was made up of "merchants, miners, tinkers, and toy makers". At least SOME of them should have died in battle. I believe in the original book (and the animated movie) that only 6 of the original 13 survived the final battle. I would have maintained that number.

Again, I did enjoy the movie. I just think LOTR was better.

 

[Slushy]

Enjoyed the movie overall although I felt Jackson tried too hard at times. Made up for The Desecration Of Smaug with some of the lame creative decisions that were made in that. The Battle Of The Five Armies itself was fantastic. As soon as they assembled, I was wondering where The Hero Of Ferelden was, but then Oghren (Dain Ironfoot) led the way!

PROS:

Spoiler

I liked how they showed the aftermath of Laketown's destruction (which reminded me of the videogame "Nightmare Creatures"). It was realistic and not often you see that kind of focus in movies after an attack in a populated area.

Elrond and Saruman fighting The Ring Wraiths = HOLY SH**!

Bilbo admitting his betrayal to Thorin was an emotional gut punch after how much trust he had in him.

Thorin breaking free from dragon sickness was spectacular. I didn't know it was an actual disease or whatever it was. I always thought Thorin just turned into a lying, greedy pr*ck in the book on purpose after getting his stuff back because some people are like that in real life.

I knew 3 of the dwarves were going to die, but it was hard to see it happen since you got used to them. Damn near balled my eyes out seeing Bilbo mourn Thorin's passing. Martin's performance was boss!

I was impressed with Thranduil bringing food to the humans and showing compassion to Tauriel. Not a total d*ckhead like I thought he was.

Strider mention!

CONS:

Spoiler

Yes, yes, Cumberbatch is badass and gave another wowing speech as Smaug, but it was unnecessary. Bard shooting the fatal arrow to kill him as he was flying above would've been sufficient enough. His death is supposed to be anti-climatic.

Smaug's death was cool, but him landing on The Master of Laketown was stupid Hollywood crap!

Forced "comedy" scenes with Wyrmtongue...I mean Alfrid. UGH!

Dragon sickness was too much like The One Ring's influence.

Fu** the giant bats and giant worms! Dumb ass sh** that didn't need to be there.

I was fine with Legolas doing all his little stunts in LOTR because it just worked, but in Desolation and this movie, ironically it was one of the worst things about the films because they want to ram it into our heads that like Vin Diesel, he's SO COOL!. So over the top and too unrealistic. The moment he was acting like Super Mario with the blocks, all I could do was

...

Everybody and their grandmother knew Azog was going to break through the ice. The writers couldn't have been any more predictable!

The Eagles got gypped on screentime! That's supposed to be the best part of the story!

No "The Greatest Adventure"? FU**ING BULLSH**!!!

Cut out some of the above in a fan edit and the movie would be 5 stars. Looking forward to The Extended Edition.

 

[regwec]

Rewatching Hobbit 1 and 2 again (having seen them just before 3) and Martin Freeman is just awesome, absolutely perfect for the role. And all the dwarves have grown on me a hell of a lot more than when I 1st saw the 1st film.

I saw it. I'll be sharing more thoughts tomorrow once I've had time to digest everything.

I will say this. The scenes with Bilbo were excellent. Martin Freeman continues to be a shining beacon throughout this trilogy with his sincere performance, and there is one particular scene with him in this movie that is absolutely heart-breaking. I applaud Freeman for making the most (and best) out of what he was given.

Perfectly cast characters in PJ's Middle Earth:

Gandalf
Boromir
Theoden
Denethor
Bilbo (Freeman)

LOTR wins 4-1 (4-2 if you count Gandalf's return), but Freeman's Bilbo is such a huge asset to The Hobbit movies that it almost balances the two. Without him, this trilogy would be diminished beyond repair.

I agree that he deserved to play the role in a better series of movies. Perhaps he can play Bilbo again in a new version of LOTR in 20-30 years time?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Freeman is the reason I have stuck through this series. He is a fantastic Bilbo, better then I could have ever hoped for.

 

[Greens]

I will say that most of the Hobbit cast is really good. Most of them just don't get the chance to shine.

 

[Raiden]

Freeman is the reason I have stuck through this series. He is a fantastic Bilbo, better then I could have ever hoped for.

I agree, but for a trilogy that calls The Hobbit, Bilbo really feels like a supporting character in the movies that he is supposedly the main character.

 

[04nbod]

Lee Pace is spectacular in his role I think.

You have made me notice one iffy bit of the conclusion, we never found out who ruled the Mountain. I did like that the Orc succeeded in destroying the line though, things are getting dark in the story, things are going to be dark for about 80 years in Middle Earth. Also I would have liked the conclusion to put more focus on the shadow in the Great Greenwood and the constant battle to come. Sure we got some in movie two but I would have liked more of that at the end. They aren't going back to peace.

Apparently these scenes from the trailers were not in the movie as well!

Spoiler

The one on the ice isn't I dont think. Nor the one of Gandalf. all the others are generic battle pictures. Sauron is in the film that is where it all goes blue.

So is Legolas pretty much

Spoiler

alienated from his father by the end of the film?

No, we know he goes back to his father at some point before Fellowship because he goes to Rivendell as his representative. And I think there was meant to be the realisation that what Thranduil is fighting for is meaningless because his wife left her most precious gem to his care.

 

[Vartha]

I just thought of something. PJ said we would SEE where Gandalf gets his replacement staff and I didn't see that

 

[Venomfan]

saw this posted somewhere else, and having not read the book at the time, this scene was amazing. Was legit scared for the hobbits

 

[Faora]

 

[04nbod]

I think people are getting too hung up on the line about Aragorn.

Spoiler

Its not about Aragorn. His father was a good man, he will be a great one. Its about Thranduil himself and his boy.

 

[Iceman]

Perfectly cast characters in PJ's Middle Earth:

Gandalf
Boromir
Theoden
Denethor
Bilbo (Freeman)

LOTR wins 4-1 (4-2 if you count Gandalf's return), but Freeman's Bilbo is such a huge asset to The Hobbit movies that it almost balances the two. Without him, this trilogy would be diminished beyond repair.

I agree that he deserved to play the role in a better series of movies. Perhaps he can play Bilbo again in a new version of LOTR in 20-30 years time?

For me Freeman's Bilbo may even be THE best, either him or Mckellen's Gandalf. And I'd add Mortensen as Aragorn to the list above. I didn't love every scene with Theoden but his final speech was one of the best parts of all 6 films, and the speech was surprisingly far better than Aragorn's in ROTK (who sounded like he had lost his voice a little).

 

[Iceman]

I agree, but for a trilogy that calls The Hobbit, Bilbo really feels like a supporting character in the movies that he is supposedly the main character.

I don't think the intention was ever to simply recreate the story of The Hobbit faithfully. PJ & co wanted an epic way of continuing the LOTR saga and tried to make a much smaller (in length, scale and stakes) book into a similar product. This should have been one long film or two shorter ones focusing on the key element of the story itself with a load of separate LOTR-supporting films plucked from the Silmarillion and Appendices.

That said I still enjoy every minute of being in PJ's Middle Earth. None of the dwarves piss me of at all any more and the CGI doesn't really bother me. Maybe I'm CGI-insensitive as I'm sure it's as everpresent and dominating as those who notice it more easily say. The one thing I do still struggle with is Radagast.

 

[Venomfan]

For me Freeman's Bilbo may even be THE best, either him or Mckellen's Gandalf. And I'd add Mortensen as Aragorn to the list above. I didn't love every scene with Theoden but his final speech was one of the best parts of all 6 films, and the speech was surprisingly far better than Aragorn's in ROTK (who sounded like he had lost his voice a little).

Aragorn's speech is better in the trailer for the movie than the actual thing for some weird reason. Also has amazing music playing behind it
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