68 replies to this topic

[Veteran]

I went into this movie today expecting it to be Lord of the Rings Part 4 Extended and I loved every minute of it! I came out of it feeling as pleased as I did for Fellowship.

I knew they would change things like I knew they would for Fellowship so I treat The Hobbit in the same way and came out wholy satisfied. My favourite movie of the year.

Spoiler

I agree that keeping Azog alive ruins the continuity somewhat, and also makes Dain less of an automatic badass, but I liked the idea of a unifying villain. Could very easily have been named Bolg instead though.

Only two things bothered me in the movie: the first Dwarf song was too Snow White for me. The Misty Mountain song was awesome, but washing the dishes not so much. The other was Azog being CGI. The Uruk-hai they made for Fellowship looked scarier than Azog and I think it would've been better with a guy in a suit. But maybe having a costume would've made the Goblin King look worse by comparison. Not sure.

Also, best movie ever with a guy with bird shit in his hair.

[Fëanen]

I went into this movie today expecting it to be Lord of the Rings Part 4 Extended and I loved every minute of it! I came out of it feeling as pleased as I did for Fellowship.

I knew they would change things like I knew they would for Fellowship so I treat The Hobbit in the same way and came out wholy satisfied. My favourite movie of the year.

Spoiler

Only two things bothered me in the movie: the first Dwarf song was too Snow White for me. The Misty Mountain song was awesome, but washing the dishes not so much. The other was Azog being CGI. The Uruk-hai they made for Fellowship looked scarier than Azog and I think it would've been better with a guy in a suit. But maybe having a costume would've made the Goblin King look worse by comparison. Not sure.

Spoiler

Eh, I disagree about the song. It might be very silly, but it's pure Tolkien and in keeping with the early dynamic between Bilbo and the Dwarves -they don't think much of him and his Hobbitish ways, so they tease him and drive him nuts. At least they didn't have the goblins singing "Down to Goblin Town" or the elf song in Rivendell- that might've been a step too far. I missed "Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees", though.

[Crimson Lego]

Just finished watching it, pretty pleased overall.

Spoiler

Good:

1. The changes made from the book material worked out decently, imo (eg. Thorin having beef with Azog, emotional bond forming between Bilbo and Thorin, etc.)
2. If I’m not mistaken, Witch-king cameo. Win.
3. Saruman’s reference to Radagast getting high on ‘shrooms. Nice.

Bad:

1. A little too much
2. Too much CGI; would’ve been nice if they had done the sort of stuff in ROTK or at least Two Towers with real actors.
3. Way too much humour added with the Great Goblin/Goblin King and Misty goblins in general; didn’t make them intimidating at all.

Just what I can remember off the top of my head, might add more later.

[SteveT]

double-layered spoiler response to Feanen.

Spoiler

At least they didn't have the goblins singing "Down to Goblin Town" or the elf song in Rivendell- that might've been a step too far. I missed "Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees", though.

If I'm not mistaken, there was a line or two of "Down to Goblin Town." The Great Goblin was singing it right after one of the times they cut back to the Dwarves.

[Steel Samurai]

Saw it last night in IMAX. I'm really curious as to what everyone who saw it in HFR thought of the technology; ie, would you like to see more movies made that way?

Storywise, it worked. Not as flawlessly as Fellowship, but not too distractingly.

[Fëanen]

I'll be perfectly honest, having HFR and 3D at the same time made the 3D stick out more. I have a feeling if it were 48fps 2D I might have been able to form a stronger opinion. I'm seeing the "standard" version on Monday, so maybe I'll notice a difference then.

[DarkJuno]

Finally got the time off to see it. I enjoyed it quite a lot, and while it did get a little blaoted here and there it kinda ran pretty quick, it didn't feel as long as its actual runtime. Agree with the major change, but they have two movies to figure it out and get it back in place, but we shall see. Really wish Azog was a guy in prostethics, but the rest of the CGI ended up looking better then I thought it would.

Also, there is going to be an Extended Edition on Blu-Ray/DVD next Fall. While the documentaries and commentaries will be nice, I'm a little wary of how overly padded that might end up feeling it not done right. Still, who knows.

[Nevermind]

I always loved The Hobbit far more than Lord of the Rings. Saw it in 3D the other night and it was amazing. Yeah, he padded it out for three films but it's like he's taking things from the Appendices and bits that he missed out in LOTR and throwing them in here. I would have preferred that he kept all the Sauron stuff to Lord of the Rings and just stuck to the story of Thorin and Co. but these are meant to be prequel films to his LOTR rather than just an adaptation of the book and it works for the overarching plot

[Crimson Lego]

Desolation of Smaug teaser:

[JRPomazon]

And I see Peter Jackson has thrown in Legolas and some elf characters. Not sure how that will play out but I can only hope for the best.

[Crimson Lego]

 

 

 

 

So much win.

[Elvenlord]

I can't believe I never posted in here.

 

Anyways, my feelings for the first movie can be summed up thus: Thranduil on a fucking elk. Not much hope for this one either.

[SteveT]

And I see Peter Jackson has thrown in Legolas and some elf characters. Not sure how that will play out but I can only hope for the best.

 

Legolas isn't too egregious.  As a prince in Mirkwood, it's feasible that he was present when the Dwarves passed through.  There was some conflict between the Dwarves and the Elves, so putting a famailiar face on that is probably ok.  Of course, they'll probably ruin it with him becoming bros with Gloin or something.

 

The orcs goblins attacking Mirkwood, however, is a little more concerning.

[Crimson Lego]

Some guy made an amazing Lego version of the DoS teaser. o_o

 

 

 

 

 

[Crimson Lego]

New trailer:

 

 

 

[Veteran]

Well then, part 2 was pretty goddamn awesome!

 

If I have one criticism it's only for the beginning as Beorn brought absolutely nothing to the movie. If he doesn't come back in the Battle of Five Armies I'll be left wondering why he was in this one. That aside, I'd heard some reviews talking about some sequences being too long but I never noticed anything of the sort, pleasingly.

 

I got a massive Shere Khan vibe from Smaug, and I love love love Shere Khan. Smaug was perfect.

 

The best thing though, and it's something understandably missing from Lord of the Rings: Bilbo is badass when using the ring. It's only a pity this ended quite quickly, but yes, you can feel Bilbo wanting to use the power! Use it! Gut those filthy spiders! Aaargh!

 

Woo!

 

 

 

And finally, the ending (not really a spoiler below):

 

Spoiler

The ending I think is a giant 'fuck you' to anyone who disliked Return of the King's multiple endings.

[Egann]

*KICK*

 

So I saw it yesterday. I was mostly happy with the changes, and definitely liked it overall.

 

Spoiler

There's no getting around it: this is NOT a faithful version of the book. And personally, I think it's better for that. Good adaptations aren't about being faithful on every detail so much as making smart changes.

 

Telling us where Gandalf is going when he disappears is a GREAT addition to the story. Gandalf's decisions are a little too spur of the moment, but it really makes this movie shine compared to the other adaptations. Also, the side-characters, especially the shape-changer, really seem to immerse the world in lore. I really liked Smaug and his exchange with Bilbo, especially how he seemed to force Bilbo to take off the ring. Smart change, to go from Smaug sparring with an intruder he can't see to a plaything he intends to crush really ups the tension.

 

So yes: good changes. Mostly.

 

As usual, though, the love triangle they added was poorly done.

 

The real problem is that Legolas' only motivation in leaving the forest was to follow Turriel. Fantastic. One of the seminal characters of the LOTR franchise is now reduced to CHASING A PAIR OF PANTIES. I mean, I know he's supposed to be younger and less experienced than he was in the LOTR books, but MY GOD. 

 

By the same token, I didn't like how Tarriel's motivation was basically romantic. One of the few female characters we will get in this movie, and basically the only lead, and her motivations are romantic. I won't outright call sexist on this one because they did a pretty good job with their brief romance arc, but I would have preferred it to be one of TWO motivations, possibly the one hidden from the character, but obvious to the audience.

 

Personally, I would have cut a couple of minutes from the overly indulgent lighting the forges sequence and spent that time on Legolas and Tarriel back in Murkwood. Legolas makes an educated guess his father killed the orc to hide something from him, and when he asks his own people about "the one" he gets nothing. Because his father doesn't want him to know. Finally, in desperation, he turns to his dwarf captive Balin, who tells him what he wanted to know about Sauron. Legolas then finds out about Bilbo's plot to free the dwarves, passively assists the escape, and eventually deciding to assist the quest from the sidelines to get out from under his father. (Remember: Elves never die naturally, so it's not like Legolas can expect to ever be King. He is perpetually overshadowed by his ancestors.)

 

Meanwhile Tarriel has done her getting to like Kili. She may suspect Bilbo is about, but doesn't know for sure. She has ulterior motives for wanting the dwarves to escape because with them there she's just a jailer. With them gone, she'll be back with Legolas fighting spiders and orcs outside. She does NOT want to be a jailer for the next fifty years. She knows she has a crush on Legolas and doesn't even think he might reciprocate until his father pulls her aside. After the escape she basically gets fired and follows the dwarves out of frustration. She isn't even aware of her romantic attachment to Kili until she sees him in pain from the orc arrow.

 

Also, be nice to see Bard and Legolas have a parallel. Both of them are overshadowed by their ancestors, and it would be a nice set-up for Legolas' friendship with Aragorn in LOTR.

 

I should end my rant there because it really was a good movie, but it spent about five minutes too much on gratuitous action, five minutes too little on character, and the changes were a little too safe.

[Alastair]

The second film is far more action orientated than the first. Whether that makes it better or not is very much a question of taste. Personally I prefered the first, though my brother (who I watched the 2nd film with) considered the second far superior. Smaug was brilliant.

 

Spoiler

Most of the changes have already been summarised by Veteran and Egann. One change from the book that was very well implemented was the concept that the Archenstone (spelling?) has a corrupting affect on Thorin similar to that of the One Ring. This ties in nicely with the LotR trilogy as an on going theme. It also allows parallels to be drawn between Thorin and both Aragorn (who was able to resist temptation) and Boromir (who was not).

 

The use of 3D was better than in any other film I have seen, though I am still not convinced that it is actually an improvement. Then again, before seeing the Desolation of Smaug I would have unequivocally derided 3D as a gimmick. Maybe 3D is the future. Likewise I am sceptical of the 48 fps. The image was extremely bright, looking as though most scenes were over lit. At the very least if 48 fps becomes standard then techniques for lighting sets will need to be adapted and/or colour balancing in post-production radically reassessed.

Edited by Alastair, 01 January 2014 - 02:06 PM.

[Crimson Lego]

3rd film name changed to The Battle of the Five Armies: http://variety.com/2...ame-1201163010/

 

 

Gah.

[Masamune]

That is such an awful name. It's clunky and awkward. Why PJ, why.

[DarkJuno]

But....why? There and Back Again was a perfect name tying it into Bilbo's book.

[Elvenlord]

Considering I've felt both movies to be clunky and awkward, it fits. 

[Masamune]

When they first announced the Hobbit, I worried that the dwarves would be sidelined as characters.

 

Never did I imagine that Bilbo would be the one sidelined. 

[Veteran]

I don't like it either.

I'll just have to focus on Billy Connolly as Dain Ironfoot and everything will be okay.

Oh, and hopefully something special with Gandalf, Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond and Radagast versus Sauron. If they do a Wonder Twins with the Three Rings I'll explode.

[Masamune]

The White Council assembles into a giant Megazord to fight a giant Sauron. Fans explode from anger and awesome. 

[SteveT]

After about an hour of bombastic action, Bard takes down Smaug with his super ballista.

 

Cut to Dol Guldur.  Gandalf and Radagast battle Sauron, but it is to no avail.  They flee, and Sauron and Crixus Azog give chase.

 

As soon as the body hits the ground, the mayor, Legolas and Bolg arrive to claim their share of the treasure.  Thorin is all, "nuh-uh this is my gold" and Bilbo says his only line in the movie.  "Thorin, stop being such a douche."  Thorin replies, "Sorry, bro.  I'm a gold-obsessed anti-hero," and stars fortifying Erebor.

 

All four sides start preparing for battle.  Dain restarts the smelting machines again and recreates the giant gold statue--except it's actually a golem.  Thorin pushes him aside and says, "I'm the hero of this film.  I'll be the one to pilot the giant golden golem."  He steps inside and uses the Arkenstone to power it.  Dain starts making more, one for him, and one each for the main Dwarf characters.  Bombur's golem is comically fat.

 

Meanwhile, Bilbo, Dwalin, Bofur, and Dori share a cup of tea.

 

The Dwarves crash out Erebor with a fleet of golden golems and the Battle of Four Armies begins.  No one manages to gain any advantage, but then Gandalf and Radagast fly in on the backs of giant eagles and start messing up the goblins.  But Sauron and Azog show up at the same time with goblin reinforcements.  Sauron uses black magic to resurrect Smaug.

 

So now the eagles are in the air fighting Zombie Smaug.  The humans, Elves, and Dwarves reach an agreement to focus on killing goblins, and Gandalf and Radagast try to double-team Sauron in an epic sky battle.

 

Peter Jackson runs out of time and schedules a fourth movie.  Bilbo is inside reading a book.

 

EDIT: Gandalf and Radagast are fighting goblins, not Dwarves.  Obviously.

Edited by SteveT, 27 April 2014 - 01:26 PM.

[Elvenlord]

Plot-hole!

You didn't say when and how Dain arrived

[Masamune]

After about an hour of bombastic action, Bard takes down Smaug with his super ballista.

 

Cut to Dol Guldur.  Gandalf and Radagast battle Sauron, but it is to no avail.  They flee, and Sauron and Crixus Azog give chase.

 

As soon as the body hits the ground, the mayor, Legolas and Bolg arrive to claim their share of the treasure.  Thorin is all, "nuh-uh this is my gold" and Bilbo says his only line in the movie.  "Thorin, stop being such a douche."  Thorin replies, "Sorry, bro.  I'm a gold-obsessed anti-hero," and stars fortifying Erebor.

 

All four sides start preparing for battle.  Dain restarts the smelting machines again and recreates the giant gold statue--except it's actually a golem.  Thorin pushes him aside and says, "I'm the hero of this film.  I'll be the one to pilot the giant golden golem."  He steps inside and uses the Arkenstone to power it.  Dain starts making more, one for him, and one each for the main Dwarf characters.  Bombur's golem is comically fat.

 

Meanwhile, Bilbo, Dwalin, Bofur, and Dori share a cup of tea.

 

The Dwarves crash out Erebor with a fleet of golden golems and the Battle of Four Armies begins.  No one manages to gain any advantage, but then Gandalf and Radagast fly in on the backs of giant eagles and start messing up the Dwarves.  But Sauron and Azog show up at the same time with goblin reinforcements.  Sauron uses black magic to resurrect Smaug.

 

So now the eagles are in the air fighting Zombie Smaug.  The humans, Elves, and Dwarves reach an agreement to focus on killing goblins, and Gandalf and Radagast try to double-team Sauron in an epic sky battle.

 

Peter Jackson runs out of time and schedules a fourth movie.  Bilbo is inside reading a book.

 

I'd still pay to go see it. I dare any you to say you'd do otherwise.

[Veteran]

The fourth movie is set up by there being a Silmaril-enhanced Nauglamir necklace hidden in Erebor which is what Thranduil is after. Thus the Silmarillion movie is green lighted.

 

And by fourth movie I mean trilogy.

[Elvenlord]

And by trilogy you mean trilogy of trilogies.