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The One Ring Forums:
Tolkien Topics: Movie Discussion: The Hobbit:
And I agree with you here, also to an extent. Lmao. :
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AinurOlorin
Half-elven
Mar 6 2013, 2:48am
Views: 679
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And I agree with you here, also to an extent. Lmao.
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I especially agree with the lines which I bolded.
I have never said there were not flaws in this film. I agree with you on many points. I could add, and have added before, that I found the changes to things like the history of the Dwarf versus Orc/Goblin war deplorable. It worked for the movie, HOWEVER, it would have been so much better with the truth: the great war for vengeance, the hunting of Azog, the utter routing of The Goblins/Orcs and seeming victory over Moria . . . and the dawning awareness of the presence of Durin's Bane within the darkness behind the gate, and the knowledge that no power of the dwarves would be suffiicient to overcome him and reclaim Khazad-Dum. I found the pinecone magic underwhelming, even though I was very glad it was included. Rankin & Bass managed the excecution of the pinecone magic better. I didn't like the irrequisite changes to the history of Arnor and its allies, and I didn't like how subordinate to Galadriel the movie sometimes made Gandalf seem, even though I greatly enjoyed the intimacy and affection of their interaction. I also could have done without the exaggerated stone giants. I had been pleased at their addition. . . and then I saw that they were enormous litho-transformers. . . TOO rocky and too big. They diminish the likes of Smaug and The Balrog. Smaug is supposed to be the most massive creature we ever encounter in these films, end of story. How does that happen after we have been subjected to Fox's "When Mountains Attack"?
And like you, I really could have done without some of Peter's excesses. The initial jokes were okay. . . but, as is often the case, he went too far. Too much mucus. Too much bird poopy compounded by it never seeming to be cleaned away, etc. Some of the LOTR nods and pieces of music worked, and it is a series after all. . . but some of them did indeed feel forced and trite. Thorin's final scene with Bilbo also felt forced. It could have been done much more effectively and emotionally without the poor attempt at an audience head fake that served only to make the moment feel fake, and didn't fool anybody.
I disagree about the saturation. It should be brightly coloured and lit. If it had been as drably coloured as The Two Towers was at points, I might have wept. I wish a certain Wizard hat had been MORE saturated! At points it looked as much grey as Blue, and Tolkien is very clear about it's colour, and it is iconic. Fellowship largely did a better (though not perfect) job of keeping the distinction. I also didn't think the make up looked bad, for the most part.
In the whole, I still found more that was great than was poor about this movie. AND, I will add that had I not known the actual tale and its related lore as well as I do, I would have loved the movie even more, and considerably so. To my thought, the good to great scenes and moments outweigh the poor ones by around 3 to 1, possibly more. That leaves a great film to my mind. And there were no deal breakers. There were things I really didn't like, as mentioned above. But nothing that I could not reconcile to the point that the rest of the film could not be salvaged. The Witch-King versus Gandalf in Extended Return did that to me, and I have been unwilling to watch that version since, and I thank God it was NOT in the theatrical, as it would have forever marred the experience for me. I HATE that scene SO MUCH, that I cannot enjoy the rest of the movie properly when vieiwng it, and I really LOVE that movie otherwise.
What is more, many moments in this film filled me with joy and simple, childlike wonder. And that IS Great. So with no deal breakers, more good than bad, and a fair at least a few really great moments, to options lie before me. . . to nit pick and compare it into ruin, or to acknowledge all the things I really enjoyed about it, and give it it's due. I am sticking with the later. The movie made me happy, and had all the granduer and wonder required to be worthy of the title and mantle of greatness. It also had flaws, and I have NO problem ranting and raving about them six ways from Sunday. But they were not enough to make it a less than a good movie experience. to an extent, lol.
I agree that i had way too high expectations on this film. I was so excited and so i do have a feeling that it could have been anything and i would not have loved it. I think it's biggest problem was being released after LOTR - with that being hailed as truly great movies it had a lot to live up to.
But then i do also just genuinely think in parts it isn't very good. I find it annoying when people say i must have been comparing it to lotr and that is why i don't like it. For me i didn't want it to be like the lotr i wanted it to be the hobbit but i didnt feel we got that, for me i felt they went for something between the hobbit and the lotr and it didn't quite work, fortunately for you, you think otherwise, i wish i did. Again this isn't for the whole movie. For me i felt there were parts that were excellent as good as anything from lotr so i am not saying the whole movie was pants, just parts could have been better.
There felt too many nods to the lotr, too much rehashed music, too much dodgy make up, general over saturation of the image. My main problem was with the little embelishments PJ likes to put in and his sense of humour. Neither work for me.
The best bits were the scenery when shot on location, costumes and the characterisation of Thorin, Bilbo and a few of the other dwarfs. I felt there could have been much more of it in space of the action filler scenes but what was there was great. I know though that you can't just have character building scenes for the entire movie. People who watched LOTR will have come into AUJ expecting big battles and adventure. For me i just felt things veered a bit too far into script writing and OTT - it will sound arrogant but some things i pictured for certain scenes i am positive would work well and it's just disappointing when the movie doesn't live up to your own imagination - though i think this happens a lot of the time if one has read a book before the movie adaptation.
"Hear me, hounds of Sauron, Gandalf is here! Fly if you value your foul skins, I will shrivel you from tail to snout if you step within this circle!"
"Do not be to eager to deal out death in judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends."
(This post was edited by Altaira on Jun 7 2013, 4:09am)
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Post edited by AinurOlorin
(Deleted) on Jun 7 2013, 4:09am
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