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The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Movie Discussion: The Hobbit:
How early/far into TABA will Smaug's attack on Laketown be?

TheImaginator
Rivendell

Apr 18 2014, 6:29pm

Post #1 of 8 (650 views)
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How early/far into TABA will Smaug's attack on Laketown be? Can't Post

I am personally imagining the film starting with a prologue of course. Possibly and hopefully something to do with Bard as a child and something to do with backstory involving Smaug. Then after the prologue I can imagine the film will tease us for about twenty minutes. Maybe first we will see where Bolg has ridden off to, maybe him confronting Azog about his failure to get Thorin. Then where Legolas is. Then we will see Gandalf again. Then maybe 25 mins into the film we will finally see Smaug flying towards Laketown again.

What do you all think?


FrogmortonJustice65
Lorien


Apr 18 2014, 7:00pm

Post #2 of 8 (449 views)
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I've posted about this before... [In reply to] Can't Post

But I think Smaug's attack will happen very early on.

I don't anticipate that there will be a prologue-proper, in the style of the first two Hobbit films and LOTR. I think audiences will be expecting the movie to cut right to the chase after the massive cliff-hanger from DoS.

How much backstory is there honestly left to set up? I don't know if casual audiences will have the patience for more backstory/build-up, nor do I really think it is necessary at this point for there to be any more exposition about Bard. They already had a flash-back scene about Bard's family and Girion.

Some folks have suggested that there be a prologue about Dain, but he seems too tangential to the main plot arcs of the films (Bilbo's personal development, Thorin's descent, the White Council & Sauron, Kili & Tauriel, etc) to be worth spending screentime on. Now, Dain is a significant figure in historical terms as far as the appendices go, but I just can't see PJ dwelling on him.

If I were PJ, I'd be sensitive to the criticisms the first two films have received about unnecessary plot lines/back-story, but who knows how he actually thinks, I could be wrong.

I think the film might start in Dol Guldor, then cut to Laketown --- that seems natural. There are essentially 4 cliff-hangers (maybe more, who knows, I could be missing something) at the end of DoS:

--- Legolas chasing Bolg
--- Fili, Kili, Tauriel, Oin, Bofur, Bard about to get torched in Laketown
--- Gandalf trapped
--- Bilbo, Thorin, and co. at the Lonely mountain

I think it would be too jarring to pick up TABA *exactly* where it ended --- i.e., it would be too jarring for the movie to start up with the destruction of Laketown. I think PJ has to walk a fine line; I don't know if the audience has the patience to sit through more backstory/prologue material, after two films of build-up for the climax in TABA. But it also seems jarring to pick up exactly where DoS left off ("I am fire, I am death!" & "What have we done?"). That's why I think Dol Guldor might be a good place for TABA to start. There could be some Gandalf/White Council/Azog/Sauron action; potentially involving Legolas, if he is indeed following Bolg to Dol Guldor. That would, in my mind, allow a more organic transition to the Laketown events we know are coming.

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Avandel
Half-elven

Apr 18 2014, 7:03pm

Post #3 of 8 (405 views)
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Think it will happen fast [In reply to] Can't Post

Some kind of prologue, but (my guess) PJ is going to jump fairly fast into the Laketown attack, considering where DOS ended. There's all the shots of the Laketowners and Tauriel and the children and Bard at the end of DOS, they know trouble is coming already and so did the audience. Maybe Legolas leaves off chasing Bolg as he sees what is happening behind him, and goes back for Tauriel.

Besides, at the end of DOS, Smaug is almost to Laketown already. I'm most curious as to how Thranduil gets involved and how soon - assuming I am right and Legolas goes back for Tauriel, will Thranduil head towards Laketown/Dale when he realizes the dragon is awake and his son is missing? Or am I wrong, and somehow it's Legolas that alerts his father to what is going on?

But I think it may happen faster than twenty minutes in, right after the prologue. I'm figuring Bard gets out of prison as a result of the attack, maybe when the building is destroyed, or his son goes to get him.
Since EL has said people shouldn't expect battle after battle, I'm guessing they have to get the Laketown stuff tied up to make room for all these character dynamics she was referring to - e.g., a movie with 3 large action set pieces (Laketown, DG, and TABA) and all the interactions w. the characters.

"Richard Armitage’s performance has been one of the best things about the new trilogy, making you believe that a hairy dwarf, so often the comedy element of the LOTR films, can be a heroic, tortured, and dangerous badass." - Den of Geek, The Hobbit: There & Back Again, 7 Apr 2014 - 07:07


Ham_Sammy
Tol Eressea

Apr 18 2014, 8:28pm

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Within the first five minutes [In reply to] Can't Post

That's my opinion anyway.

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MouthofSauron
Tol Eressea


Apr 19 2014, 1:30am

Post #5 of 8 (265 views)
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I think will get some kind of flashback scene like we did in DOS [In reply to] Can't Post

perhaps a Bard flashback and than after that it will just be Laketown for probably around 20 to 30 minutes than we go to Thorin and company inside erebor.

The flames of war are upon you.


tsmith675
Gondor


Apr 19 2014, 2:31am

Post #6 of 8 (256 views)
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My guess: [In reply to] Can't Post

Prologue of something
Open in Dol Guldur
The Dwarves in Erebor
Then Smaug in Laketown

I have a feeling they'll show Dol Guldur before Laketown. I hope it doesn't just open with Smaug attacking Laketown. I agree that that would be a little jarring. It needs some kind of opening, in my opinion, that gets me back into Middle Earth.

Our destiny lies above us.


deskp
Lorien


Apr 19 2014, 4:23am

Post #7 of 8 (234 views)
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hm [In reply to] Can't Post

The Prologue gotta be with Dain.


They could do Lothlorien or rivendell as the intro after the prologue. Radagast alerting Galadriel.

The NAME OF THE MOVIE usualy is shown during some calm uneventful place in the openings.



Due to the very specific ending of DOS they can not linger much before they get it on

Dol guldur battle is several steps behind. smaug is happening seconds after DOS ends.


Arandir
Gondor


Apr 19 2014, 7:38pm

Post #8 of 8 (188 views)
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Before DoS was released I always thought ... [In reply to] Can't Post

the second film would end with the attack on Lake-town (that would have been the climax of the second film).

If that had been the case, it would have avoided a tricky situation in how Film 3 is going to start.

Considering the crucial cliffhanger in DoS (and how imminent the attack was to become), it's very difficult to "delay" showing the scene unfold in the very first few minutes of the film.

Yes, a prologue could occur (and I fully agree with its inclusion). I'm against the attack on Lake-town occurring during the first half hour of Film 3.

There needs to be the necessary build-up to that climax - and whilst there was at the end of DoS, the cliffhanger might "destroy" that build-up when people show up to see the last film.

However, as I said, considering how close Smaug was to Lake-town, it wouldn't make sense if we had to start with the Dol Guldur storyline or the dwarves in Erebor, considering the attack will be happening in real-time.

So, I guess after a prologue (either Dain or Lake-town related - in order to re-instate that storline's tension), we'll get the attack on Lake-town perhaps around 10 minutes into the film.

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(This post was edited by Arandir on Apr 19 2014, 7:39pm)

 
 

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