The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoilers)

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

But... once the EE comes out why would you ever watch the TC again?

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

Not likely ... well, only rarely ...

What I'll probably do is get the TC on DVD and the EE on Blu-Ray.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I'll likely rent the TC so I can get my fix, but yeah, I only purchase the EEs now. Made the mistake of double dipping with FOTR. Never again.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

Yeah ... it's not like I don't know, going in, what to expect - that I'm exactly the kind of fan they're targeting with the double-dipping approach. At this point, I look at it as completing my "collection" and giving PJ/New Line/WB a bonus for their efforts. I realize not everyone would agree they deserve it, but I happen to think so. And considering I don't spend nearly as much at the theater as I used to (ideally, I would have seen the film two or three times more, spending at least as much on tickets and concessions as I would on the DVD), it's basically a wash anyway.

(Yes, I know, I'm rationalizing. )

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I take it you're not a Hunger Games fan?

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

Why is it that every movie gets A's here?

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I like Hunger Games, but I love love love Tolkein

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

It's interesting how the Hobbit outgrosses Catching Fire basically in silence, but Catching Fire itself was hyped pretty loudly.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

The fad is to fawn over Hunger Games while dumping on the Hobbit because it's a prequel and a vast expansion on the source material. But I love it

Also, Catching Fire definitely beat Smaug in the US domestic box office; 424m over 257m.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

wut? Are you saying there was no marketing for DoS? Because I rather think there was...

Not to mention global attendance, I'd wager, once the 3D inflation is factored in.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

Man of Steel isn't a damn good movie. Yet, it received a lot of A's here. I don't hate that movie, but I certainly don't think that it deserved an A.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I can't speak for anyone else, of course, but I don't generally go to see movies that I don't have much interest in and/or don't think will be very good. So the majority of my ratings are high, simply because I'm not wasting time on movies that would have received a low rating from me.

Besides, is it really that surprising that SF/F fans are giving SF/F movies high ratings? We are the target audience, after all.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

From what I observed on Comic Book Forums, it is the target audience itself that didn't like the movie.

I personally would have given it a B.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

What of it? I generally rate comic book movies much lower than comic book fans. Their particular take on SF/F doesn't appeal to me nearly as much as fantasy in the vein of LOTR/Hobbit. It's possible for different cross-sections of fandom to gravitate more closely toward one aspect of it than another. Obviously the folks here, in a forum specifically for SF/F, found more to enjoy about The Hobbit than the ones on your comic book forum. But you'll also find plenty of legitimate criticisms about both Desolation of Smaug and Man of Steel in their respective threads here. So I'm not really sure what the big deal is.

And for whatever it's worth, I gave DoS and MoS the exact same grades as you: B+ and B, respectively.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I was responding to that thing-of the target audience rating a thing higher then other people. With Man of Steel, I observed the opposite.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

I finally got around to watching this movie. I'd say a B- was a fair score. Some of the movie is terrific and some of the CGI is outstanding (Smaug for instance) while many of the action scenes and battles still seem far to cartoonish. And it seems to me that the writers can't decide if the Dwarves are fierce warriors or inept (depending on what is needed in the script for each individual plot device).

I thought the romance between Tauriel and Killi was a bit far fetched. Sure, maybe flirtacious love at first sight still happens at the tender young age of 600 (her age according to the movie) but it seemed pretty forced and nothing more than a plot device to get her and Legolas more involved in the movie. Then again . . . it seems like every chase scene is simply to get them to the next character introduction so maybe they will end up happily ever after.

My biggest issue is the cartoonish levels of action. Barrels going down a rapid yet never filling with water, Elves exhibiting Matrix style fighting abilities (absolutely unstoppable killing machines), floating down a river of molten gold in a wheelbarrow, being surrounded by fire or incredible temperatures and never even breaking a sweat, a dragon with an incredible sense of smell except when walking right over a bunch of dwarves, etc. Ehhh . . .

And as dangerously impressive as the Orcs look on screen . . . has there ever been a more inept fighting force shown on screen in an action movie? They look like fierce warriors simply to be killed off by the boatload. Maybe the Dwarves are incompetent fighters except when fighting the Orcs who fight like a bunch of girl scouts who have never been in combat before. That might explain it.

And maybe its me but does Gandalf always seem shocked and nervous about every discovery? Shouldn't he be a bit more calm and resolute as portrayed in the book and a little less "Kramer" from Seinfeld-ish?

It seems like I am watching the movies more for the special effects, battle scenes and imagery and less for the characters or story. And perhaps just knowing it will all end happily ever after takes some of the tension from the story (many prequels are like that). Yeah . . . B-

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

Nice review. I do agree with the cartoonish action, for the most part. I really loved the Barrels Out of Bond sequence, including the Elves, except for the part where Bombur bounced and rolled around in his barrel and destroyed like half of the Orcs on his own. It was funny, but a little too close to absurd.

 

Re: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Grading & Discussion (Spoile

<<And maybe its me but does Gandalf always seem shocked and nervous about every discovery? Shouldn't he be a bit more calm and resolute as portrayed in the book and a little less "Kramer" from Seinfeld-ish?>>

Well... this is Gandalf the Grey, not Gandalf the White...

also... this is him discovering that Sauron has returned. I would certainly hope he finds that shocking and unsettling