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

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

I have to say, these movies are really making Frodo seem pathetic compared to Bilbo. This Bilbo is a hardcore guy.

 

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

Bilbo's takedown of the albino arachnid was pretty epic. But it doesn't make me think any less of Frodo and the burden he carried to Mount Doom.

 

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

Bilbo has a lot more personality and spark than Frodo ever did. Frodo was the typical boring lead character surrounded by much more colorful supporting characters.

 

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

Sauron's spirit and connection to the Ring was also far stronger a hold on Frodo than it ever was on Bilbo, for reasons which have nothing to do with either of them. That said, of course I'd rather have a beer with Bilbo/Freeman than Frodo/Wood.

 

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

That goes for all hobbits. Bilbo, Sam, Merry and Pippin are all more likable and don't whine around like little pussies every time the shit hits the fan.

 

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

Boy will you be pissed at Hobbit 3 then (when you only see it to be able to bitch about it)

 

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

Indeed, I may not see it until it hits Redbox, where I can at least take breaks from all the cacophony of carnage. The Hunger Games and Bond may have to fill the holiday-movie void...

T2 is my favorite movie and I love T3, but even I waited for Netflix to see Salvation due to the terrible reviews and lame-sounding story.

 

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

^Sorry mate, but you lost me at "I love T3".

Seriously though, if you're not into big epic fantasy battles then maybe big epic fantasy films aren't your thing. They kinda go hand-in-hand.

 

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

Spoiler alert:

Spoiler: survival

He does.

 

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

Why did I click the spoiler tag :sobs:

 

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

Pippin! Why do you look? Why do you always have to look?

 

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

In related news, ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Greatest Internet Comment of 2013, via the AV Club:

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

Damn, got that one in right under the wire!

 

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

I finally saw DoS yesterday in 3D and HFR. First of all, I have to mention that I adjusted to the HFR much faster than I did while watching AUJ. I couldn't have gotten used to it, since the last time i saw a movie in HFR was 13 months ago. So the projectionist must have perfected the settings and it looked far better than it did during the first film. I still think HFR looks unfilmlike, and it certainly doesn't look "more natural", nor does it improve the CGI. But it does make the cinema experience unique again. I wouldn't want it to become the new standard though. Nothing beats the look of 24fps.

As for the film, like many of you I went in with lower expectations, or rather without expectations. AUJ wasn't what I hoped it be, but on its Blu Ray release I have come to appreciate it for what it is. I approached DoS with an open mind and frankly I was just glad that I was able to return to Middle Earth for 2,5 hours.

Some of the criticism I get. I agree that the titular Hobbit seemed absent for large parts of the film, especially the first two acts. The same goes for the dwarves. By this point Jackson has had 5 hours to flesh these characters out and he hasn't succeeded in doing so. Even worse, I think I can only name 5 or 6 off the top of my head.

I personally at this point don't really see what the point is of bringing Legolas back. Orlando Bloom doesn't get a lot to do, except looking tersely into the middle distance. For some reason, the Legolas in this movie feels different to the Legolas we've come to know. He looks older, not only because Bloom himself is older, but it looks as if Bloom plays him that way as well. Legolas in the LOTR films seemed young and playful but at the same time wise and old. In DoS he seemed to have lost his youthful exhuberance which I find odd, since he is supposed to be younger.

My final criticism is that I'm really disappointed that, like many directors nowadays, Jackson has started to rely even more on CGI instead of practical effects. 12 years ago Jackson built elaborate sets on location like Edoras and used impressive make up effects to create characters like Lurtz. Not so in DoS. Lake Town sadly, unlike Edoras, was a small studio set extended with digital mattes. Azog and Bolg are, unlike Lurtz, unconvincing CGi creations. The practical effects in LOTR added a sense of realism to this fantastical world. With The Hobbit trilogy, that is sadly gone.

Having said all this, I really loved The Desolation of Smaug. I loved the extended action setpieces like the barrel escape and the duel between Smaug and the Dwarves. Jackson, like Steven Spielberg, is a master when it comes to well thought out action sequences. The barrel escape especially was incredibly well imagined, orginal and exciting. I love the casting, acting, production design, the score... Pretty much everything.

Sure, I could point faults and missed opportunities but I really don't want to because for 2,5 hours Jackson and Co transported me back to Middle Earth for a magical and epic adventure.

 

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

I was going to write my own review, but you really said everything I was going to say.

Lurtz is one of MANY characters in the original trilogy that just felt so real to me, threatening, and overall, just incredible, but Azog and his henchman didn't inspire any of that in me. They looked terrible. Every time I play Fellowship, Lurtz's very presence on screen still gives me chills. In scenes where orcs are running across the riverbed, I had the feeling that any actors in the shot (if there were any) were just running on painted dots in a blue screen studio and added to background plates later on. What I'm trying to say is that whole movie felt so fake-y. Although there are some dated effects in LOTR, they all felt of a piece, despite all the different techniques being used, and they all seemed much more tangible.

I too, was also disappointed with Laketown. Edoras felt like a real place, LakeTown looked like a bunch of tricks enhanced with computers. However, it is the only part of the film wherein the soundtrack seemed to work: a Lake Town theme was written and it fit well. But that leads me to my next point: the soundtrack, aside form that, was not at all memorable. That is unusual for a Middle-Earth film

Smaug looked good, but there were a few shots, particular when he turns around, that weren't that great. Much of the blue screen compositing wherein the actors are supposed to be in that setting under the mountain wasn't that great. I don't what happened to Jackson, who was once determined to bring LOTR to life by pushing the limits of the tech at the time and mixing them with some tried-and-true old timey techniques.

I also agree that Legolas seemed so different hear. Angry, and bitter, yet not enough to make me care that he is angry and bitter.

Did Tauriel have more screen-time and dialogue than Bilbo?

I will say that Bilbo did do quite a bit more than what people seem to imply. From the spider rescue to the matching wits with Smaug, there are times for the central character to shine here. But Jackson tabled him to the side in all the other scenes. In the original trilogy, Jackson was so much more adept at balancing the screen-time of ALL the characters, and always reminded us, even with a few seconds here and there, how tumultuous the journey was for the hobbit characters.

 

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

Saw this last night (even weeks after the cinema was almost full) and I enjoyed it and thought it was better than Part 1 even though I also gave it an B+. The Hobbit still suffers under the large shadow of LOTR but thats unfair simply because the LOTR story is simply an more epic one and no one had done a movie franchise in such scope ever before IMO.

Some people in the cinema were a annoyed with the cliffhanger but hey its a trilogy

 

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

Sooo.... pretty much like in Lord of the Rings?

 

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

I don't get the criticism regarding Bilbo. He was the most important character in the film, and even if he didn't have the most screentime, he owned the most important plot beats, his character is the one that moves the story along. Except for the flashback, the film begins with him and ends with him. But naturally, he hides between and behind the dwarves in action scenes, but that's just it.

 

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

<<I finally saw DoS yesterday in 3D and HFR. First of all, I have to mention that I adjusted to the HFR much faster than I did while watching AUJ. I couldn't have gotten used to it, since the last time i saw a movie in HFR was 13 months ago. So the projectionist must have perfected the settings and it looked far better than it did during the first film. I still think HFR looks unfilmlike, and it certainly doesn't look "more natural", nor does it improve the CGI. But it does make the cinema experience unique again. I wouldn't want it to become the new standard though. Nothing beats the look of 24fps. >>
I actually read in an article that they gimped the HFR this time around due to complaints about the first film. I found it disappointing because it lessened the amazing visual improvement, but I guess that's just me.

<<the Legolas in this movie feels different to the Legolas we've come to know. He looks older, not only because Bloom himself is older, but it looks as if Bloom plays him that way as well. Legolas in the LOTR films seemed young and playful but at the same time wise and old. In DoS he seemed to have lost his youthful exhuberance which I find odd, since he is supposed to be younger. >>
That's because these movies are the story of how Legolas went from being his father's son, an isolationist asshole, into being inspired to be a kinder interventionist like Tauriel.

And they actually built the Laketown sets, so I don't get saying it doesn't look like a real place...? :shrugs: