nobofthepony
Lorien
Dec 4 2012, 10:56am
Views: 612
|
|
to everyone hyperventilating over reviews...Relax...
|
|
|
If any film had bad reviews coming simply for existing, it's this one...there are a few reasons:
1. LOTR looms over it in every way. Many reviewers will expect the same emotional experience as LOTR, and The Hobbit is mostly a swashbuckling adventure. Not that there won't be emotionally poignant scenes in films 2 and 3 - but the way to build up to them is CHARACTER set up, which this film bears the weight of doing. It may be good to manage expectations on this front: AUJ is not ROTK. It isn't supposed to be. The same reviewers that are "bewuthered" over the lack of weepy moments are also annoyed by the slow build up in Bag End, in which PJ has used to set up the characters. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. The pay-off is not going to be in film 1, but the set-up has to happen in film 1. So it's an easy shot for critics to take.
2. The HFR format is inviting lukewarm responses. Whenever there is an innovation in technology, it will get mixed reviews. I will see it in 24 fps the first time. Whenever a reviewer spends a paragraph denouncing high frame rate, watch it in 24 fps and half of their review is rendered irrelevant. Furthermore, if they don't like the format, it will color the rest of their review. It may put them in an annoyed mood for the rest of the viewing.
3. The complaints that this film is not streamlined enough. I guarantee you, this is similar to the "too many endings" complaint for ROTK. It wasn't ending one film, it was ending a trilogy. PJ let it breathe and I'm glad he did. He is again taking his time, not just to set up one movie, but three. He is a rare bird: a director that can do whatever the hell he wants. I would rather spend more time in Bag End setting up the stakes and characters than get prematurely whisked out into a series of action sequences with no regard for the characters. Again, caring about the characters will pay off in the subsequent films. Films 2 and 3 can benefit from the slower pace of this film, but film 1 cannot benefit from them. Remember The Hobbit is ONE MOVIE in three parts. Imagine critics reviewing the first act of any movie; the reviews would be the same. Too much exposition, not enough pay-off. That is what is happening here.
4. Lashing out at PJ: his last two films were not that great. I enjoyed King Kong but I can understand people saying it was bloated. King Kong is not Tolkien, and the characters were not arguably the most beloved characters in children's literature. Sounds like the Hobbit is a slow grower. Expectations have to be adjusted, and for many reviewers, this is happening in real time, as the reviews are being written. It is easy to take shots at PJ because his track record, apart from LOTR leaves himself open. But I would rather watch an uninhibited director like PJ take his time than watch a studio-driven movie with cardboard characters. Mark my words, by film 3, you will be glad PJ set up everything the way he did.
Granted, I have not seen the film. But I anticipated these reviews and they are not shaking my confidence in the slightest. Once I heard it was ending with the eagles, I know it would be a slow burn and wouldn't be streamlined. My advice: enjoy it for what it is. Enjoy the whimsy, the characters, the return to a more innocent Middle Earth. Things will darken soon enough, and the plot will heat up. But this will be the film you look back to with fondness as the other films put these characters in bad situations. Those films won't work without this one doing the heavy lifting. These same reviewers will be giving 4 star reviews to TABA and ret-conning their tepid reception. In the meantime, let's soak it in and enjoy every minute. I've never had my life enhanced by a critic, but I have had my life enhanced by artists that take risks and do not enslave themselves to expectations, Time will tell, and there is still much more of the story to unfold.
(This post was edited by nobofthepony on Dec 4 2012, 11:01am)
|
