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DainPig
Gondor
Sep 17 2016, 1:15am
Post #1 of 31
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Comparing An Unexpected Journey and The Desolation of Smaug
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Let's do it? Well, I've done it and An Unexpected Journey is much better. Why?
Because An Unexpected Journey is a more family film, the story is focused on Bilbo, there's an arc, the company is at best and SON OF THE LONELY MOUTAIN.
Now The Desolation of Smaug... meh. I understand it is a darker film but do we need that? After the capture of the dwarves by the elves the story go downhill. We don't know anymore who is main character. There's no arc, the ending of the film means nothing to us. It is just a big "hey watch the next film!". There are some funny moments but it is still a dark film. NO SONG OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN.
And a important thing: the color grading (is it the right name?). It lacks of color. I don't know Auj is just better. What do you think?
"Se mais pessoas valorizassem o lar acima do ouro, o mundo seria muito mais feliz."
dainpigblog.blogspot.com
historiasderafaelrodriguesdarocha.blogspot.com
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MyWeeLadGimli
Lorien
Sep 17 2016, 6:13am
Post #2 of 31
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I think all of your points are good ones, and that's why AUJ is my favorite of the three (and actually of all six).
AUJ most closely resembles the tone of the book, and stands out as being the only Middle-Earth movie that feels like a whimsical fairy tale adventure.
It has a self-contained storyline centered on Bilbo's acceptance by the Company, strong focus on the Dwarves, and the use of characters not in the book is still largely in keeping with the story (in contrast to Alfrid and Legolas).
On your point about the color grading: AUJ does seem to have something different, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like the film has a golden glow which I'm fond of.
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Ormi
Registered User
Sep 17 2016, 6:15am
Post #3 of 31
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They had reasons for removing the song
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I listened to several interviews with Doug Adams (the author of the Music of the Lord of the Rings films books). He specifically talked about the fact that that theme goes away purposely moving into the 2nd film. I do love that theme, its grand, sweeping and yet melancholy at the same time. You can hear its yearning. Yet they are over the Misty Mountains in film 2. I think its more of a beginning journey theme than a theme for the dwarves. Thats why you have the Durin's Folk/Son's of Durin themes becoming important in films 2/3. They harken back to a very legendary ancestral line, as there is almost reverence written right into those themes.
I agree AUJ is brighter. I think its meant to be that way though. The story becomes more bleak in DOS, with Mirkwood, the greater power of Sauron rising out of Dol Goldur, Thorin is obviously beginning to spiral downward slowly, the closer they get to the mountain. The weight of the story is harsher, more real. The comforts of the Shire are now behind them, and there are consequences to their actions.
Bilbo remains the main character although I understand your point of the spotlight being off him for a bit. They had to introduce Bard and explain the story of him and the Master of Lake Town. They also had to bring in Legolas, Tauriel and Thranduil and give their characters some depth (although I realize plenty here will disagree about depth with it comes to these movies). Bilbo really gets the spotlight again with Smaug, as he did with Gollum in the first movie, and I think that brings it back to him. But even in the book, a lot of these events happened. Sure the Legolas and Tauriel things didn't, but the elves do capture the dwarves, although for much longer. The dwarves do escape, they do get to still get into Erebor (another moment where the spotlight shines on Bilbo's character) and that grand dialogue with Smaug. I think if any movie has Bilbo as out of the spotlight, BOTFA has those issues. I still enjoy it, but I think its got its issues, that being one of them.
By the way, the music really mirrors the color palette in DOS. You get darker themes, for instance the brooding, corrupt theme of the Master of Laketown, the somewhat "fallen-from-grace" theme of Laketown, Smaug's absolutely brilliant but mad, crazy, calculating and creepy themes. Things are moving in a different direction and with these movies, they are addressing them properly both visually and in an auditory sense as well.
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MyWeeLadGimli
Lorien
Sep 17 2016, 6:26am
Post #4 of 31
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But it's not actually about the Misty Mountains
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I listened to several interviews with Doug Adams (the author of the Music of the Lord of the Rings films books). He specifically talked about the fact that that theme goes away purposely moving into the 2nd film. I do love that theme, its grand, sweeping and yet melancholy at the same time. You can hear its yearning. Yet they are over the Misty Mountains in film 2.
The song is only referred to as the Misty Mountains song because that's in the first line, but it's actually about the loss of their home and the desire to return, so thematically it stays relevant, and should at least have had a cameo once they've arrived.
I think more likely it wasn't in the other films because of some sort of copyright issue, since it was composed by Plan 9.
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LittleHobbit
Lorien
Sep 17 2016, 8:04am
Post #5 of 31
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I listened to several interviews with Doug Adams (the author of the Music of the Lord of the Rings films books). He specifically talked about the fact that that theme goes away purposely moving into the 2nd film. I do love that theme, its grand, sweeping and yet melancholy at the same time. You can hear its yearning. Yet they are over the Misty Mountains in film 2. The song is only referred to as the Misty Mountains song because that's in the first line, but it's actually about the loss of their home and the desire to return, so thematically it stays relevant, and should at least have had a cameo once they've arrived. I think more likely it wasn't in the other films because of some sort of copyright issue, since it was composed by Plan 9.
The Misty Mountains THEME is totally instrumental with no lyrics... unless you're reffering to the Misty Mountains SONG that the Dwarves sang when they were in Bag End... either way, I am sleepy and it's 5:00 AM here...maybe I missed something. Hopefully you can clarify.
(This post was edited by LittleHobbit on Sep 17 2016, 8:04am)
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Ormi
Registered User
Sep 17 2016, 12:43pm
Post #6 of 31
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I myself was referring to the theme when responding. While the song, with lyrics, is "its own thing" I was still wrapping that one instance in Bag End up with all the different instrumental versions. That piece itself, yes by Plan 9, is quite a catchy tune, probably one of the most memorable pieces in the entire trilogy. I do remember listening to the Special Edition of the Hobbit AUJ score, and it is absent from both the Roast Mutton track (where the dwarves deal with the trolls) and also Out of the Frying Pan concerning Thorin fighting Azog. However in the movies, for these sequences, that song is added back in along with the Nazgul theme (not on the score) when thorin is approaching Azog and the Gondor Reborn theme when Thorin hugs Bilbo at the end of the movie. With all that being said it seems as if Howard Shore never really intended for these pieces to be in those places, the Misty Mountains theme included, but PJ or others requested to hear it more often.
The theme itself is grand and sweeping when played by the orchestra, is something that tends to swell the grandeur and majesty of the scene, adding a positive influence to it. I have a hard time finding good places for it in DOS because by the beginning of that movie, they are being hunted. Its more dark, ominous and foreboding. Maybe it would have been appropriate in the Barrels out of Bond scene, interwoven into the Tauriel/Elves fighting theme. The interview with Doug Adams that does discuss this happens here:
http://thesoundcast.blogspot.com/2013/12/ep-70-hobbit-desolation-of-smaug.html
I believe the BOFTA discussion also includes more discussion about the lack of the Misty Mountains theme here:
http://thesoundcast.blogspot.com/2015/01/episode-78-hobbit-battle-of-five-armies.html
(This post was edited by Ormi on Sep 17 2016, 12:45pm)
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Ingwion
Lorien
Sep 17 2016, 5:16pm
Post #7 of 31
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It's not that I dislike DOS, but I wanted screen-time for Bilbo, not Legolas and Tauriel. I feel that the trilogy would have been far better without them, and using the extra time for the dwarves and Bilbo - not going through them individually and showing them killing orcs in different ways or something, but proper character development.
AUJ, on the other hand, stayed fairly true to the book without any unnecessary screen-hogging characters, and was masterfully done.
DOS was good, but, as I stated above, I dislike a lot of the Tauriel/Legolas scenes, and the dwarves attempt to kill Smaug. I prefer them both infinitely over BOFA - but I won't start on that.
It was a foggy day in London, and the fog was heavy and dark. Animate London, with smarting eyes and irritated lungs, was blinking, wheezing, and choking; inanimate London was a sooty spectre, divided in purpose between being visible and invisible, and so being wholly neither. - Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens.
It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen. - The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien
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Avandel
Half-elven
Sep 17 2016, 6:15pm
Post #8 of 31
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I can understand what you are saying but....
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I guess for me the question would have to be better, in what way...?
But I can't make a judgement like that, really, for me. If I HAD too, I'd say DOS is my favorite, because I love the changing environments, the introduction of a wonderfully-realized character that I had imagined for years in my mind (Thranduil); Beorn and Beorn's house, Smaug, Laketown, Erebor and the forges.
Never mind the magnificent confrontation between Thorin and Thranduil . Those spiders. The entry to Erebor. As for the end, for me, *shrug* - like TTT, DOS is a "middle" film. There was never going to BE an end, until the end, and frankly I wish there had never been an end. 
I wish the Heirs of Durin were all alive and well and filming in New Zealand and I was looking forward to a spin-off film(s) where it's Thorin and Dain and co. taking on the fighting that went on in the North, that claimed Dain's life in the books.
*Sulks*. But I'm not. 
As for "not knowing who the main character was" - well, Thorin was a main character in AUJ - heck, I still find that Bag End speech jaw-dropping, and Bilbo saving Thorin is a BIG DEAL. I do think RA/Thorin really comes into his own in DOS, but that's not saying Bilbo doesn't, either.
Not a fan of the amount of screen time Legolas/Tauriel get, but even they have some IMO nice moments - the spiders, Kili/Tauriel, that IMO awesome fight at Bard's.
Re the color grading - well, yes, but IMO that's deliberate - moving from the fresh greens and color of the Shire to the cooler, more slanting light of the north and east and the bleakness of Mirkwood and Laketown. IMO the use of light and color in these films has been stellar, and very well thought out - as in, for instance, they thought enough to have shadows from clouds passing over in BOFA, and Ravenhill looks positively frigid.
Well, what I think is, I can't choose that way, between all three films, as they all have things I would not want to give up. And because of that, I can't say one is "better" than the next. Except re BOFA I will always wish that the pacing had been tempered, and IMO even in DOS there were moments that could have benefited from more seconds added, scene to scene, here and there.
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DainPig
Gondor
Sep 17 2016, 8:19pm
Post #9 of 31
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But only the extended edition. The TE sucks.
I mean, Beorn's role in the EE is so greatly improved. Extended Esgaroth is also very nice.
The main problem with Desolation is that the film doesn't not have a conclusion. The Fire and Water should be at the end of the movie, definitely. It would be the perfect end.
"Se mais pessoas valorizassem o lar acima do ouro, o mundo seria muito mais feliz."
dainpigblog.blogspot.com
historiasderafaelrodriguesdarocha.blogspot.com
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Noria
Gondor
Sep 17 2016, 10:06pm
Post #10 of 31
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DOS may just may be my favourite movie of the trilogy.
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Or at least is tied with AUJ. TBOTFA is just a little less beloved.
AUJ is the closest to the book and reflects the latter’s light-hearted adventure tone, except when people are being incinerated or decapitated. However the book takes a rather abrupt turn into darkness with the arrival at Erebor, the dragon’s attack on Esgaroth, the battle and the death of Thorin and his nephews. The ending of the novel is bittersweet. Peter Jackson made a deliberate choice to make DOS darker than AUJ and TBOTFA still grimmer, a gradual darkening to the end. At some point, in a videolog or commentary, he explicitly explained that approach and said it was meant to take us to a place at the close of TBOTFA from which we could segue into Fellowship.
I love AUJ partly for its relative fidelity to the book and I love DOS because, while it follows the book’s basic plot quite faithfully, also veers off book to explore newly introduced characters, locations and situations in a way that I find very satisfying and enjoyable.
The beginning of TBOTFA, the attack on Laketown, is one of my favourite sequences in all six movies and a perfect way to open that movie. I’ve said before that, in my opinion, the last part of DOS was about Smaug and the Dwarves (and Bilbo) and was over when the dragon left Erebor. At that point, Smaug became part of the story of Laketown and the characters there, and the destruction of Esgaroth pushed forward the stories of Bard and the Laketowners, Thranduil, Legolas and Tauriel. That ultimately led back to Bilbo and the Dwarves too.
Don’t you remember all the complaints about AUJ – the presence of Frodo, the Warg pursuit, the escape from Goblintown? As with the LotR movies, time and the two subsequent sequels have lent a rosy glow to AUJ. The purist/revisionist wars over the LotR movies were terrifying.
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Avandel
Half-elven
Sep 17 2016, 11:15pm
Post #11 of 31
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But only the extended edition. The TE sucks.
I mean, Beorn's role in the EE is so greatly improved. Extended Esgaroth is also very nice.
The main problem with Desolation is that the film doesn't not have a conclusion. The Fire and Water should be at the end of the movie, definitely. It would be the perfect end.
Well, I didn't thing the DOS TE sucked - out of all three films, that's the one I saw most in theaters. I couldn't get enough...that said, without fail, there would be laughs, groans, and outright fury and then the folks laughing at the other folks who were mad about the ending - I'd had warning, I guess (and I was so HAPPY as I got Bree, and so on... ) but while I didn't NEED to see Smaug torch Laketown, I think a lot of the audience did.
But agree about the EEs - all of them, but DOS and BOFA especially. I know it's been discussed before, but mind-boggling that those scenes were cut in the first place IMO.
(This post was edited by Avandel on Sep 17 2016, 11:21pm)
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Sep 18 2016, 7:45pm
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It's funny that you complain that DoS is darker, because the book itself takes a darker turn as it progresses. Some complain about the uneven tone of the movies, and I say well, so was the book, LOL! Sorry, but there's just too much good stuff in DoS for me to say "meh," and to me that includes the cliffhanger ending. I thought it was GREAT!!! They are very different movies and I like them for very different reasons, but I do like them both equally. DoS might slightly edge out AUJ for me, but only slightly. And I think Martin Freeman did the best acting in DoS, and considering how big a Thorin fan I am, that says ALOT!
Proud member of the BOFA Denial Association
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Dwarewien
Rohan
Sep 18 2016, 8:57pm
Post #14 of 31
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Well, I didn't thing the DOS TE sucked - out of all three films, that's the one I saw most in theaters.
since I saw DoS eleven times in theaters (all in 3D), and AUJ only ten (which is tied with Jurassic World) times (in all three formats). And sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not that into Thorin anymore (I don't hate him, I'm just not as into him as I used to be), so those pictures do nothing for me (perhaps now I can watch BoFA without crying my eyes out, but I still may not get around to watching the Extended Edition until around Christmas, with Resurgence getting released on Blu-ray next month, which will be my first Steelbook).
I still don't get why people don't like the ending. The only reaction I got in theaters in my neck of the woods was "That's it?" so it was more surprise that it ended there instead of disappointment (or at least that's my take on it). Things I still love about DoS: we finally get to see the inside of Erebor after all those years, the confrontations between Smaug, Bilbo, Thorin and Thranduil, the escape from Mirkwood (I love the look on Bilbo's face when he's trying to figure out how to work the lever that will release him into the river), but the one thing that still makes me cringe is when Smaug knocks over those columns in Erebor; if he were to survive, I would make him clean it up (you destroyed it, you help to restore it to its former glory). 
"The Lord of the Rings is one of those things. If you like it, you do. If you don't, then you boo." - J.R.R. Tolkien
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DainPig
Gondor
Sep 19 2016, 4:33pm
Post #15 of 31
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So you like to get disappointed?
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Because that's how I describe the ending of Dos: disappointment. We wait an entire year to watch the dragon destroy that town and ban! Black screen.
"Se mais pessoas valorizassem o lar acima do ouro, o mundo seria muito mais feliz."
dainpigblog.blogspot.com
historiasderafaelrodriguesdarocha.blogspot.com
(This post was edited by DainPig on Sep 19 2016, 4:34pm)
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LSF
Gondor
Sep 19 2016, 5:38pm
Post #16 of 31
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"NO SONG OF THE LONELY MOUNTAIN"
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If you mean "Song of the Lonely Mountain" during the AUJ credits, that has no place at the end of DOS. It's a triumphant rallying feel, which is the complete opposite feel of DOS ending.
If you mean "Misty Mountains Cold" that they sing in Bag End, where would you have them sing it in DOS? It also has a mythical quality to it. Yes, they know Erebor is real, but it still has that feel. They see Erebor at the end of AUJ. It doesn't need a mythical-feeling song anymore.
If you mean "Misty Mountains" the instrumental theme, they are over the Misty Mountains at the end of AUJ. Once again, they now see Erebor, and they even reach it at least 45-ish minutes from the end of DOS. The instrumental theme changes to one named "Erebor" to reflect this. Erebor is no longer this unseeable place far over a distant mountain range. It now has its own presence, and should have a theme to solidify it.
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Legomir
Rivendell
Sep 19 2016, 8:32pm
Post #17 of 31
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I agree that An Unexpected Journey is better
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My favorite of the three seems to change between An Unexpected Journey and Battle of the Five Armies all the time. The Desolation of Smaug is probably my least favorite of all six movies, though I still like it fine.
I like AUJ for all the reasons you do, DainPig. It's lighter, it's fun, it feels like a nice adventure, it gives Bilbo a nice character arc, is visually gorgeous, and (in my opinion) is perfectly paced.
I think I had a knee-jerk negative reaction to Desolation of Smaug because I was thrown off by the pacing, where it seemed really fast and then really slow and then really fast, and I just thought it was weird. The Extended Edition did wonders to fix that, in my opinon.
Despite this, I think there's a lot to love about it. Bilbo is still definitely the main character. We see just about everything through his eyes (other than the Master and the Dol Guldur stuff, I don't think anything is introduced in DOS without Bilbo being present) and he plays a huge important role.
Much like Two Towers, though, it makes the film more of an ensemble, which I liked even though it's different from the book. I think the reason it works is because it fits in with what I see to be "The Arc" of the film. I think if you break it all down, Desolation of Smaug is about the trials and tribulations of the Company finally getting into Erebor and getting Smaug out, though in the end as the credits roll and we wait for the third film, we have to wonder what the cost is. They build up Fili, Kili, Bofur, Bard, his children, Tauriel, and Legolas and then stick them in a city where a dragon is coming, and it's all the fault of the heroes. I like that.
It's weird how this has turned into me defending DOS. I still love AUJ much more!
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Noria
Gondor
Sep 20 2016, 12:17pm
Post #18 of 31
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It was disappointing for you, DainPig,
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And that’s sad. The ending of DOS didn't disappoint me - I loved it.
Though we already knew that the destruction of Laketown would not conclude DOS before the movie was released, that’s not the reason I was fine with it. For me, the departure of the dragon was the end of the story being told in DOS and the conclusion of the movie was entirely satisfactory to me. I loved the images of Smaug flying through the night towards Laketown and Bilbo looking after him in despair.
In TBOTFA, not only did I love the Laketown attack for itself, I liked how Smaug’s attack and death were used to open the movie and to propel most of what happened after. Also, DOS is not as dark a movies as TBOTFA and maybe something as horrifying as the mass destruction and death in Esgaroth more properly belonged in the latter.
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TheOnlyOneAroundWithAnySense
Rohan
Sep 20 2016, 3:03pm
Post #19 of 31
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I was disappointed in the "DoS'" ending in the theater
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Due to the erratic pacing of the theatrical, but specifically due to a certain oomph! factor that I feel simply wasn't there at the cliffhanger close. Looking back on all of the films in all of their editions, DoS is the weakest to me mostly for these reasons. Still a fun adventure (earning a B from the film critic in me).
It is truly amazing what one edit and one line of dialogue can do. In the EE, when Bilbo states: "Now I have travelled far and wide with these dwarves through great danger, and if Thorin Oakenshield gives his word, then he will keep it," the missing oomph! factor fell perfectly into place for the ending. Bilbo is now directly complicit in the oncoming destruction of Laketown and the cliffhanger has the power it should have had in the cinema.
Totally agreed with the rest of your assessment. DoS is about Thorin recovering Erebor with the help of the burglar Bilbo and Smaug's exit concluding the picture makes sense (now leaving the guilt for what may follow squarely on the two aforementioned characters). Smaug's attack on Laketown and subsequent takedown of the dragon is the catalyst that spurs the Battle of the Five Armies into motion and is the perfect way to set up the conflict to come.
If a director is to split a novel into three films, each with their own arc (themselves within a much larger arc) - this is the way to do it. But... you need the EE's to get ya there.
(This post was edited by TheOnlyOneAroundWithAnySense on Sep 20 2016, 3:04pm)
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Sep 21 2016, 2:12am
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Like I said, I thought that cliffhanger ending was PERFECT!
Proud member of the BOFA Denial Association
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dormouse
Half-elven
Sep 21 2016, 11:41am
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I think both films are equally good....
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..with the changing tone being entirely appropriate, reflecting the changing mood and tone of the book and the story it tells.
I find all these 'which is the best' questions hard to answer because for me the films add up to one story - same as the first tirology. For me each of the six films has sections which are 'the best', and other sections which just take the story forward. And I'd say it's pretty much the same whether you're talking about book or film. The beginning has to be interesting enough to draw me in, then the early part will include a lot of scene-setting and introduction. By the middle I want to be gripped by it to the extent that I'm not looking for things to criticise, I'm just lost in the story. The end needs to build up to a conclusion, then round off all the threads.
Taking that idea, I'd say that each of the films is right for what it's meant to be. I love the gentleness and warmth of AUJ and it draws me in and feels familiar. The warm, bright colours play into that. The scenes in Bag End and the early part of the journey have the humour and lightness Tolkien gave them - so that even when Bilbo and friends are in danger of being killed and eaten the fear is tempered by the overall mood.
DOS is different because it's meant to be. Once we're beyond the Mountains we've left the domesticity of the Shire and the warmth of the last Homely House far behind. We're in the Wild, and the Wild has many more ways of killing you and doesn't care if you live or die. It is dark and scary, even without the particular enemy chasing the dwarves and the dark presence of Dol Guldur. So the change in colour and tone is appropriate to the story - but notice that when we arrive at the one really domestic place on the journey - Beorn's house - we're back to the warm, bright colours - lupins instead of dark forest, the woodwork of Beorn's house. As for the ending, I didn't expect it: I really thought it would end with the burning of Laketown. But once I saw the film and realised what they'd done I think it was perfect - they got it just right. The death of Smaug is the catalyst for everything that happens in the final film.
Both films include scenes I love - far too many to list. As for the Song of the Lonely Mountain, I love it where it is but don't miss it later. The dwarven themes are so strong and beautiful. If they had used it again anywhere then for me it wouldn't have been DoS. I might have had one or more dwarves humming or singing it inside the Mountain in BotFA, but it doesn't bother me that they don't.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood and every spring
there is a different green. . .
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DainPig
Gondor
Sep 21 2016, 7:28pm
Post #22 of 31
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Please?
"Se mais pessoas valorizassem o lar acima do ouro, o mundo seria muito mais feliz."
dainpigblog.blogspot.com
historiasderafaelrodriguesdarocha.blogspot.com
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2ndBreffest
Lorien
Sep 21 2016, 10:58pm
Post #23 of 31
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Each one is really good in its own way! Peter Jackson has done it again!
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DainPig
Gondor
Sep 22 2016, 12:16am
Post #24 of 31
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"It is dark and scary, even without the particular enemy chasing the dwarves and the dark presence of Dol Guldur. So the change in colour and tone is appropriate to the story - but notice that when we arrive at the one really domestic place on the journey - Beorn's house - we're back to the warm, bright colours - lupins instead of dark forest, the woodwork of Beorn's house."
No, the scenes at Beorn's house, excluding the introduction, are still pretty dark. We have that big guy telling us about a evil forest and a Necromancer. The dwarves are still being haunted. And where's all the happy music we had in AUJ? All gone.
"As for the Song of the Lonely Mountain, I love it where it is but don't miss it later. The dwarven themes are so strong and beautiful. If they had used it again anywhere then for me it wouldn't have been DoS."
They could have used the Misty Moutains in Dos.
1) Dwarves vs spiders, waste of a nice action scene like the fight in the Goblin tunnels (or tunguels as Gandalf would pronounce).
2) During the barrel chase.
3) Perhaps when the company looks up to the Moutain on Bard's boat. I don't know, I think this would be the last time, they'd be to close to the Mountain.
I don't really know if it would've fit in the film, but if the theme was present in Dos we'd hear it on these points. The soundtrack of Dos is much more mature compared to AUJ.
Interesting to remember that the original concept was to have AUJ ending on the meet with Bard. Would the film get darker as it would progress?
"Se mais pessoas valorizassem o lar acima do ouro, o mundo seria muito mais feliz."
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Sep 22 2016, 1:07am
Post #25 of 31
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Well like you I've read the book, so I knew what to expect. And that scene of Smaug flying off toward Laketown, with Bilbo asking "What have we done?" And then BOOM, cut to black - I just thought the timing worked. Obviously not everyone did. Sometimes the answer to "why" is, "it just did!"
Now, the first 10 minutes of BOT5A, with the destruction of Laketown and the death of Smaug was probably worth the cost of admission. Yes, as much as I am a certified Thorinista, I'd say that opening sequence was probably the best visual in BOT5A. The 3rd movie had the least amount of story, and honestly if we'd cut that first 10 minutes & slapped it on the end of DOS, there wouldn't have been as strong of a reason to see the last one - that's just a fact. Besides, in the original two-movie plan (assuming I've got this right) you would have had a similar cliffhanger, with the Dwarves climbing out of the barrels and Bard threatening them with an arrow - "Do that again, and you're DEAD!" I'm guessing you would have liked that better, and I'm not saying that wouldn't have been an excellent cliffhanger, but it would still be the same thing, IMO.
Proud member of the BOFA Denial Association
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