The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Grading & Discussion (Spoilers)

[Wereghost]

Unfortunately, it's looking very Novemberish. Double-dipping and advertising for part two, I suppose.

[mswood]

To the Surprise of no one who has watched any of the behind the scenes material of the making of the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit, Hobbit: There and Back Again has been pushed back from Summer 2014 to December 17th 2014.


Considering that each of the above mentioned films have taken nearly the full year of post production to complete (and the last two done literally just two to three days before the World Premiere), there was no legitimate way the third film would be able to complete its post production in 6 months period of time.

Also as of Friday, the World Wide Total of The Hobbit stands at 993 million. Between Sunday and tuesday the film should officially pass a billion dollars.

[CaptainWacky]

mswood wrote:

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Considering that each of the above mentioned films have taken nearly the full year of post production to complete (and the last two done literally just two to three days before the World Premiere), there was no legitimate way the third film would be able to complete its post production in 6 months period of time.

So why did they announce it was coming out in Summer 2014 then? Just for a laugh?

[Set Harth]

To PJ: are you having a laugh?

[Gaith]

Listen up, y'all! The G-Man's got something to say...

The Hobbit: The Musical

[mos6507]

I'm surprised this got rated as highly as it did here, or maybe I shouldn't, because this is where genre fans congregate.

As a Tolkien fan, I should have loved this movie, but I didn't. It simply didn't have the gravitas of LOTR. Even when Bilbo put on the ring I was waiting for that tingle up my spine that I felt right in the prologue of Fellowship, and I never did.

The magic I felt when LOTR was unspooling one movie at a time feels gone and in its place this thing feels kind of like an obligatory piece of commerce, not a tale that had to be told.

This is because the overriding theme is weak. The quest of a dispossed people trying to win back their homeland just doesn't move me that much, and Bilbo going on an adventure because he's basically bored, doesn't feel very Joseph Campbell.

Certainly the stakes grow by the time Smaug torches Laketown and the battle of the five armies happens, but in this movie, it just felt like nothing happens and they invented a subplot with an old grudge with an orc just to give Thorin a bad guy to conquer before the lights came up again.

The humor was not funny. Radagast with layers of caked-on bird-shit on his face because he keeps birds in his hat was a serious miscue. Someone with some serious balls should have told Peter Jackson NO to stuff like that. Nobody wants to drop major cash to see a bird-shit in 48FPS and 3D.

[Mike Farley]

Apparently it was worth $1 billion dollars worldwide to see some HD birdshit.

I wouldn't know because I now have to admit to myself and the world that the movie put me to sleep. I don't even remember that guy.

[Alidar Jarok]

mos6507 wrote:

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and Bilbo going on an adventure because he's basically bored, doesn't feel very Joseph Campbell.

If that were the storyline that the movie went with, I would agree. However, it really isn't. While, just like the book, Bilbo seems to initially choose to go on a whim (I wouldn't quite say boredom, it looks more like a guilt trip), the movie expands his motivation show that he really identifies with the Dwarves quest (although, logically, if this is their quest, they don't need a burglar). Your criticism is indeed a valid one for the book, though, which never really does give him much motivation. As a children's book, I certainly never thought about it as a kid, though. The movie does give him a stronger motivation than that and hammers you with it so I'm surprised you missed it. They literally ask Bilbo at one point and he says specifically why he is helping them on their quest.

[Starbreaker]

I can't double dip on these. I waited for the EEs for LOTR, so I will have to hold my cash. I do hope the EEs for the Hobbit films are available in 3D too... Hell, I might even wait until 2020 so I can get the box set.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Extended edition? For f*ck's sake, what did PJ leave out of this bladder buster?

[Gaith]

^ I could easily see the fireside song lasting twice as long as it does...

[Worf2DS9]

Turtletrekker wrote:

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An extended cut? Really? My biggest complaint about the movie was that it was a theatrical release that already felt like an extended cut. I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

This is my opinion as well. I felt there were a lot of scenes in the theatrical cut that seemed like they should have been left for the extended cut, such as the pointless rock giants scene. I even debated whether to even get the upcoming blu-ray at all. I did pre-order it, but I definitely won't be double-dipping for the EE. If this is what we can expect from the next two, it's no wonder PJ was able to pad this story out to 3 movies.

I can't believe I actually voted B+ for this movie. Of course, that was a result of the just-watched-it high, but retrospect certainly hasn't been kind to the movie, IMO.

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Gaith wrote:

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^ I could easily see the fireside song lasting twice as long as it does...

Sound like an excuse for more scrotum beards...

[Gaith]

Here's an interesting video essay for those who disbelieve Gandalf and say the movie was too long... (Though I do still think the chase to Rivendell could have been heavily cut/trimmed.)

[Set Harth]

mos6507 wrote:

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The humor was not funny.

Some of it was, like the "I'm not infected" bit and Balin calling Sting a letter opener.

mos6507 wrote:

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Someone with some serious balls should have told Peter Jackson NO to stuff like that.

Yeah, people always said that about George Lucas. What they don't seem to understand is that saying NO to the boss doesn't tend to do wonders for one's job security.

mos6507 wrote:

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Nobody wants to drop major cash to see a bird-shit in 48FPS and 3D.

And yet they did. I'm talking about people who saw it in 2D first and then went back to see it again in HFR 3D. I suppose they don't really know what they want.

Worf2DS9 wrote:

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I did pre-order it, but I definitely won't be double-dipping for the EE.

Why should people double-dip at all? Just get the version you prefer.