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gamjuven
Registered User
Dec 13 2013, 7:48pm
Post #1 of 13
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SPOILER full (and lengthy) review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
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SPOILERS!!!!!
Don't read if you have not watched the movie!
Last chance!
Okay, you asked for it:
I just got back from the midnight showing of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I have many mixed feelings. I enjoyed the movie but kept feeling it could have been much more. I wasn't really blown away with anything. Let me go through the movie with my thoughts.
This movie had probably the weakest prologue of any Tolkien based movie. It didn't really give us anything new in terms of information except reinforce the notion that the whole plan is manufactured by Gandalf. No action, just talking. However, it's nice to see Bree again and that Peter Jackson's character still enjoys his carrots. Though in retrospect I don't think it really makes sense as the character from LotR would have to be like over 100 years old. Maybe he was a son?
After that the movie kicks into gear and doesn't really stop for the rest of the movie. The company goes to Beorn's house. I was very underwhelmed. Beorn looked cool, and his human form was well done, but the whole sequence was so short. We spent like 5 minutes there and although it would be silly to spend too much time, it felt rushed and almost unnecessary when compared to the rest of the movie. We did get to set up some interesting background information on Beorn and give him some motivation for the 3rd movie.
We then get to go in Mirkwood. I think this was very well done. The darkness of the forest and the creeping sickness and dilirium that causes the company to start to lose there way was cool. The spiders were awesome and the action was great. It lasted the perfect amount of time in my opinion. It could have gone on longer like in the book with various things happening but I was entertained. I liked how the ring allowed Bilbo to hear the spiders talk, although I did not like how angry he got when he lost the ring momentarily. I was thinking of the ring as being more slow in its corruption, especally considering Sauron isn't back to full power, but the movie made it seem much worse than the book, which basically was just a magic ring that got Bilbo out of problems.
We then get introduced to the Sylvan Mirkwood Elves including Legolas and the new Tauriel. I had no problem at all with either of them. Book purists love to cry foul but it makes sense that Legolas was around, and I'm sure there were some female elves as well. I enjoy the little love issues regarding Legolas and Tauriel, and I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go in the 3rd movie. Tauriel better die though, as I will be troubled at her lack of mention in the LotR trilogy if she doesn't.
Thranduil is awesome. He does a great job of portraying the character. He is selfish, but still fairly wise and he makes a very agreeable pact with Thorin that gets turned down. I especially loved the little bit where Thranduil explains to Thorin that he knows how dangerous a dragon can be: He basically reveals his true fact that is ravaged by dragon breath from an encounter with northern dragons. It was very cool and shows the vanity of elvish beauty as well as a litte backstory for Thranduil.
We then get to the barrel riding. This actually might have been my favorite scene despite my initial abhorence of the scene upon seeing the trailers and thinking how dumb a river action scene would be. But really it was quite enjoyable. There was a ton of cool action and we really get to see the elves in combat like we've never seen them movie. Yes, we've seen Legolas do some stunts but the ones in this movie blow everything else away. There is also an awesome moment for Bombur as he shows he isn't just the bumbling butt of a joke but rather a deadly bumbling butt of a joke. I definitely laughed out loud at that moment.
We got introduced to Bard the smuggler and family man. I liked him. I enjoyed his character. His motivations made sense and I could easily see the struggle within him. Luke Evans does a great job and I look forward to seeing him more.
While in Lake Town we get to meet the Master of Lake town and his little cronie. I love the Master, he does a great job, and although the cronie does a good job too, he is way too similar to Wormtongue. There are exactly the same.
During the barrel riding adventure Kili gets shot in the leg with a poison arrow and as a result he, his brother, Oin and Bofur stay behind while the rest of the company goes to the mountain. I didin't really mind this. It is a departure from the book but a fine one. It will be interesting to see where it goes in the 3rd movie. There also needs to be a very specific reason why Bofur is there too, I hope that gets explained. Fili stays behind because he loves his brother, Oin stays behind because he is a healer, and Bofur stays behind because he slept in. That's lame. You mean to tell me that nobody noticed his absence and made an effort to get him before they left? You mean to tell me the adventure goes on and still nobody from the company that left notices his absence and worries a little? As I said, I hope there is a better reason for him to be stuck behind.
As the Dwarves go off to the mountain there has been a little side story with Gandalf and Radaghast going to Dol Guldur. I am fine with this little side story as it is mentioned in the book, and it serves as a good chance to tie in the LotR trilogy by explaining where Sauron has been. I'm sure book purists will be very angry at the amount of effort Gandlaf uses to thwart Sauron considering he isn't suppose to use his power against Sauron's power directly, but it's a minor thing, and I was always confused about that when it came to the White Council driving Sauron out of Dol Guldur anyway.
I will bunch this whole story line together because it makes more sense that way, rather than going back and forth as the movie did. Not that I complain about how it was done, it just would be silly to keep going back and forth during a review. Once again the trailer for the movie has scenes not shown during the movie. I was under the impression we would see Thrain. We have been teased about the corrupted Thrain attacking Gandalf for both movies in the form of trailers and information, and yet again there is a no show. I mean it's not really necessary. I thought they would explain a little further about how Gandalf got them ap and key from him, but they don't really have to. I just think it's false advertising. Perhaps it will go in the prologue in the extended edition.
Anyway we get to see Gandalf do some cool wizadry as he faces off against the Necromancer (ie Sauron). It was a cool sequence and shows how powerful Sauron is even without being at full power, or even most power as it seems that he's much weaker than he is during LotR. I didn't actually like Cumberbatch's voice work for Sauron, but it's a minor detail. I didn't like how the Nazgul are mentioned but never shown in this movie. We saw them briefly in the last movie and I was expecting to see them again, but no luck. Oh well. In the end Gandalf gets captured and is forced to watch as an army of Orcs goes marching off to war. This is a radical departure from the book as it seems like Sauron is preparing to reveal himself in this form. In the book Bolg was motivated to go to war because of the death of the Goblin King as well as want of the Dragon treasure and revenge for his father, Azog's, death. This one seems like it is the beginning stages of Sauron's domination over Middle Earth. But again we will see in the 3rd movie.
Again, while the dwarves are dealing with Smaug, we are treated to more action in Laketown as an orc pack led by Bolg attempts to kill some dwarves. Tauriel and Legolas join in again and do some fun orc slaying while everyone tries to heal Kili. Side note: They once again changed Bolg! Ugh, I was so angry at that in the first one. They originally had Bolg, who was an awesome looking orc who was played by a guy in a costume but then swapped him out for the CGI Azog. I then hear he will be in this one and was happy to finally see him in the movie (seriously, they made toys of Bolg for the first one, check them out), and they swap him out for yet another CGI orc! Dang it! He was still pretty cool in the movie but the original looked so awesome. I don't know why they changed it. Also, are Azog and Bolg from Moria or Gundabad, the movies seem to go back and forth on this one. But anyway we have a little grudge match going on between Legolas and Bolg that will be fun to explore in the 3rd movie. We are left with Legolas chasing after Bolg on a horse at the end of the movie with Tauriel sticking behind to heal Kili. Speaking of which, there is a love connection between Kili and Tauriel. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It is completely against Tolkien's writings in so many ways but I kind of like the love triangle with the two of them and Legolas. I think it will go far to explain Legolas' hatred of dwarves. But we will have to see.
Finally, after probably 2 full hours of movie we get to see Smaug. I thought he was pretty well done. He looks awesome and his voice is cool and creepy. I loved the conversations between he and Bilbo and wished there were more. They decided to have Smaug actually talk and move his lips. I thought for sure they would have him speak through his mind kinda like Galadriel can do. I thought that would be cooler but this was still well done. I have to go back and look at the first movie as I thought they originally portrayed Smaug as a 4 legged dragon but perhaps not. He is definitely only 2 legged in this movie so we'll see. My main gripe about this movie comes from the interaction with Smaug from the dwarves.
Crap, I'm also gonna backtrack a little and talk about the hidden door. The dwarves failed to find the door with the last light of the setting sun (they were supposed to wait for the moon apparently), and instead of desparately trying to find another way in, they give up! Seriously, after almost 2 movies of desperation and drive to get into the mountain you are faced with a locked door and you just completely give up?! That makes no sense! Also, when they finally get into the mountain Thorin mentions that there might be another way out! We then proceed to see them get to an exit that has been crushed. But still, what the heck?! Like the whole original idea that Thorin had about getting into the mountain was because he just found out there was a secret entrance. You mean to tell me that he knew of another exit this whole time but never thought to mention it?! Definitely an error in the movie, and one that was very pointless. Hated that part.
Going back to the hatred I had for the ending sequences of the dwarves vs Smaug. It is basically a pointless chase seqence through the halls that ends with the dwarves trying to light the forges and eventually cover Smaug in molten gold. Ugh. It serves no other purpose other than to have another action sequence. It is completely aganst the book (which I don't necessarily mind as long as there is a good reason), and it serves no purpose and only raises more questions. Smaug has been established that the only reason he is around is for the treasure. He did not go chasing after dwarves once they left, nor did he do any more damage to the town after he settled in. He just wanted the trasure. This movie shows that Smaug is perfectly willing to leave his treasure to all the dwarves to go down to punish the lake men. I don't think he would have left, especially while knowing exactly where the dwarves were. He explained how much he hates dwarves and hates Thorin and then he decides to just leave. I don't buy it. The action sequence also made Smaug look stupid. He fell for the whole "look over here" trick time and again and managed to not eat or cook any dwarves. That's dumb. Smaug is very powerful and intelligent and I don't buy that he would be fooled with such trickery.
Also, minor point, he calls Thorin "Oakenshield". I don't get that one. How did he know that Thorin was called Oakenshield? That happened after Smaug took over Erebor. Does Smaug get the local newspaper or something? Also, Smaug seems to know about the Necromancer. Again, how did he find that out? I'm sure there is an acceptable answer but I hope it gets answered in some way in the 3rd movie.
Ooh, again minor gripe: Bard knows of Smaug's weakness already. He uses it as an excuse for his poor ancestor Girion, who is blamed for not killing Smaug in the beginning because of his bad shooting. lol, seriously. The only part about Bard I didn't like was the little kid whining basically saying "My great daddy DID do something you guys. He chipped off some of Smaug's armor and left it vulnerable. Come on, lay off!". I didn't really like that. I wished Bilbo would have discovered the gap himself, told the thrush to tell Bard, etc. Just like in the book. That would have been better. Also, apparently the only way to do anything to Smaug is to use the super powerful ballista star of death thingy. I don't know. Instead of just using regular arrows we had to be introduced to a special ballista that apparently is the only thing that can bring Smaug down. It takes special black arrow ammunition that apparently nobody bothers to make anymore. There is still the one arrow that is left and we can all see where that will go in the 3rd movie. Oh well. Seems a little silly but maybe it will be pulled off in the 3rd movie.
The movie ends in a cliffhanger with Bilbo saying "what have we done?", as we see Smaug fly off to destroy Laketown. A fine ending, really makes you want to see the next one.
We have quite a lot to look forward to in the next one: We have the death of Smaug, the Battle of Five Armies, the climactic battle with the White Council driving out Sauron from Dol Guldur. We have little story lines of the love triangle involving Kili, Legloas, and Tauriel. We have grudge matches with Azog vs either Thorin or Beorn, and Bolg vs Legolas. We have the Bard smuggling/family story with the corruption of the Master of Laketown wanting to keep his power story. We have Thorin going crazy and his fight with Bilbo over the Arkenstone, we have Thranduil exiting his realm despite his wanting to close the gates and let everything pass by. We have the little group of dwarves in Laketown doing who knows what in the next one, with Bilbo and the rest of the dwarves in Erebor. We have Dain from the Iron Hills that will be involved somehow, and an army of orcs from Dol Guldur that is basically going out spreading word that Sauron is back. And Gandalf needs to get rescued. So yeah, lots of stuff going on and only one more movie to do it in.
Also, the music was very lackluster. The trailer for the movie had amazing music and I couldn't wait for it but I don't remember a single moment in the movie when I even noticed the music. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing. I was really hoping to hear a lot more of the music that I heard in the trailer. Maybe I'll pay more attention the second time around.
I still enjoyed the movie, and will definitely look forward to seeing an extended edition as I'm sure there's a lot that will make the movie better. I still liked the movie and really liked the action. Despite it being obviously CGI I didn't mind it as much as I thought it would, and the action sequences actually went down as some of my most favorite parts. Wow, this review was long, I wonder if anyone will actually read it. I'm sure I forgot something but I'm tired, lol. I hope someone enjoys it.
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Rickster
Rohan
Dec 13 2013, 8:03pm
Post #2 of 13
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Have been reading word by word.. all :D
I liked it.. your review. I read these to see if I missed things the first time I saw the movie.
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macfalk
Valinor
Dec 13 2013, 8:04pm
Post #3 of 13
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Well-written review, and I agree with many of your points
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Especially the part where the dwarves and Thorin just give up at the doorstep. Thorin would never, ever have done that, not even movie-Thorin. Very much out of character. Book - Thorin would have sat there for months before giving up... the company gave up in less than 5 minutes here! Not a big fan of that change...
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead.
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book Gandalf
Rohan
Dec 13 2013, 8:11pm
Post #4 of 13
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yeah that was like, oh well lets go home, very odd.
This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party.
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Shagrat
Gondor
Dec 13 2013, 8:16pm
Post #5 of 13
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The trailer music was manufactured generic rubbish, not by Howard Shore, and thankfully wasn't used in this film. The score was fantastic, thankfully used in much better fashion than in AUJ (comparing the soundtrack album to what we hear in the film). Sure there was some stuff missing, but it was mostly intact. That said, I did miss Thorin's theme during the barrels sequence.
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Pipe Dream
Gondor
Dec 13 2013, 8:20pm
Post #6 of 13
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That had to be done to show how Bilbo gets the map at the beginning of FOTR.
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That's how I see it. PJ is setting up the LOTR films for future viewers.
"There is a long road yet," said Gandalf. "But it is the last road," said Bilbo.
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Fili
Lorien
Dec 13 2013, 8:36pm
Post #7 of 13
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I agreed with most of your points. Somethings bother you more than me, and vice versa.
I'll throw in a couple of points:
The prologue explained why the arkenstone was important. As the arkenstone had baffled me up until then, I loved the prologue for that reason.
Also, the company DID notice Bofurs absence. Before they left, they said "Where's Bofur?" and Thorin said that if he didn't show up soon they'd leave without him. I personally like that Bofur missed the trip because he got wasted the night before. He IS the Irish dwarf after all...:)
“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
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gamjuven
Registered User
Dec 13 2013, 8:40pm
Post #8 of 13
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Ah ok, I must have forgotten that. Yeah and the Arkenstone bit I probably glossed over because I already knew that. It was good to say that it was needed to rule the other kingdoms. Still though, it seems like it was missing the bit with Thrain and I hope that gets added in the extended edition.
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Fili
Lorien
Dec 13 2013, 8:43pm
Post #9 of 13
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Yeah definitely EE or a prologue in TABA //
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“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
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patrickk
Rohan
Dec 13 2013, 9:10pm
Post #10 of 13
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Not sure about trailer scenes not in a movie being false advertising
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....are you suggesting there be no trailers until the final cut of the movie which is a few days before release. Not sure that idea is realistic!!!
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gamjuven
Registered User
Dec 13 2013, 9:14pm
Post #11 of 13
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No, I understand that things can change. And I'd rather have trailers than none. It's still annoying when you watch a trailer and a lot of it isn't in the movie though. The trailer is an advertisement for the movie, and if they are different, a part of you feels cheated.
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TheFlayedMan
Rivendell
Dec 13 2013, 9:49pm
Post #12 of 13
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He's the Northern Irish dwarf 
I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.
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Fili
Lorien
Dec 13 2013, 9:52pm
Post #13 of 13
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Sorry! Forgot to check his passports! :) //
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“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”
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