I just watched it in IMAX 3D at 24 FPS... and loved it

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kbdiggity

Rivendell
I just got back from IMAX 3D in 24 FPS. It was frickin fantastic. I was definitely going to hold Peter Jackson to a high standard for a movie based on the first book I ever read on my own. He didn't let me down. I think I may have liked this movie better than Fellowship of the Ring.



Spoiler Alert





-Martin Freeman was perfect as Bilbo. I think he was a better casting fit than any previous Hobbit actor in the other films. His mannerisms, his stammering, and just the overall feel he brought to his character were perfect. Only Ian McKellan as Gandalf can rival the perfect fit they found for this character.

-Peter Jackson did a great job adjusting the tone of this movie. There was no way the whimsical children's book would translate literally to a successful movie. Jackson adjusted the overall tone to be more like LoTR, while still keeping many of the lighthearted moments I loved from the books.

-The Professors poems, songs, and words were used perfectly in many places. Having Ian Holm back start the Red Book and narrate was fantastic. "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit..."

-As expected, they heavily used the appendices from RoTK to flesh out the story. This was very well done. The backstory about Thorin's folk was key to the audience connecting with who the Dwarves are and why this quest is necessary. The tidbits we got about Dul Guldur and Gandalf's side quest were enticing.

-The Shire... perfect

-Riddles in the Dark.... perfect

-Goblintown... insane (this one lengthy part may be the one place the clarity of 48 FPS would have been welcomed during fight scenes)

-The stone trolls Tom, Bert, and Bill.... perfect

-The little things that were thrown in for the Tolkien geeks were a nice touch. The Bullroarer inventing golf in battle, Thorin earning his surname, the stone giants, Gloin looking so much like his son who we came to love in the previous trilogy

-I really loved Radagast and his nature loving ways, and the power he seems to have inside him. I hope we see more of him.

-The scenes with the White Council were fantastic. The scene with Gandalf and Galadriel alone were even better. I doubt I anticipate anything more in the coming films than to see Galadriel unleash her power on Dol Guldur. The elven ring bearers are coming for you Necromancer!

-There weren't any real earthshaking changes that PJ made. He didn't cut out a Bombadil or eliminate a Scouring of the Shire level event. That is probably the greatest joy in seeing this story fill 3 movies. There was a slight change in the Dwarven backstory. In the appendices it says that Dain Ironfoot killed Azog the goblin the battle before the gates of Moria, and it is Azog's son who the Dwarves must deal with at this time. But that is such a minor change in the grand scheme of things. I guess I wish I could have seen Gandalf chat with the king of the eagles... but aside from that I can't think of a complaint.


All in all, this was just a really good job by Peter Jackson. It definitely didn't feel like a nearly 3 hour movie. The 3D was very well done too. I got pulled into Middle Earth and it was pretty sweet. I can't believe I'm only a 3rd of the way through this tale.




Oh, and the Star Trek clip in 3D was great too.
 
I saw it in 24 fps 3D as well. It blew me away. I went in expecting a lot less because of the Ted Sandyman worthy critic reviews, but was very happily surprised.

The only thing that confused me a bit was the deal about the Necromancer "raising" the dead (i.e. the Ringwraiths). According to Appendix B, the Ringwraiths appeared around 2251 of the Second Age. Wouldn't Gandalf and the rest of the Council have already known about them?

The Ringwraith attacking Radagast was pretty darn sweet, regardless!
 
agree with everything you said ......definitely worth watching in 48fps ...stunning! it went so quick faster than the three lord of the rings films...the person i went with thought we were just halfway through when it ended.....if i didnt have a watch i wouldve complained to the Manager and asked where did an hour go out of it!........
 
The side quest that Gandalf undertakes was never touched upon in The Hobbit. We only have the appendices for that. It is likely that if there is one area in which Peter Jackson will get creative, it is with Gandalf's side story. I think I can live with that. I accepted far bigger cuts and changes to the direct story in LoTR.

I can't help but imagine the White Council assailing Dol Guldur in one of the next two films. The power of the three elven rings matched against whatever Peter Jackson can conjur up in his version of Dol Guldur.


BTW, all the negative reviews were the main reason I chose not to see the movie in 48 FPS. It was showing in that format in the cinema I went to. I just didn't want to have my first viewing ruined. I think I made the right decision. Though the battle in Goblintown would have likely been easier to follow with the 48 FPS clarity.
 
The more of these accounts I hear, the more likely I am to choose 48 FPS for my 2nd viewing... and there will definitely be a 2nd viewing with some buddies in the coming days.


I heard more than a few people in the theater who were shocked that the movie was over so quickly. Obviously it wasn't really that quick, but to be so engrossed and lose track of time says a lot about the film.
 
i dont go to the cinema much at all so the 48fps wasnt jarring to me in the least but if your used to something else i can understand how people might feel about it....but i would say give it a chance if you get to see it again!....really loved it.,...
 
I agree that the few changes PJ made were well worth it. We've dealt with much bigger before.

It's just that the whole Dol Guldur storyline seems completely shifted in the time line. If you look at the appendices (where they got their info for the side story in the film) it says that the White Council knew Sauron was the "Necromancer" in 2850, 90 years before The Hobbit takes place.

I think what they're trying to do is fit in Tolkien's back story as accurately as possible without having to make constant "90 years ago" statements on the screen. In this regard, I think they're doing it fairly well. The story's still there, it's just been shifted up a century.
 
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