What do you like best?

R

Roheryn

Tol Eressea
We've had a couple of months now to reflect on AUJ. Many of us have fallen in love with it (or with Thorin, but I digress), some of us like it a lot, and some of us...well, maybe not so much. Regardless, PJ and co put a tremendous amount of effort into making the movie. So here's a question for you to ponder: what do you like best about the movie? What do you think was particularly well done? Where do you think PJ really got it right? Share your thoughts!

Here's some of mine:

I really, really appreciate the use of the material outside the actual book itself (e.g., the LOTR appendices and the story of The Quest of Erebor -- the latter of which is published as an appendix to the second edition of The Annotated Hobbit). The material in these sources is weightier and much more in keeping with the tone of LOTR, and I think the tone that PJ and co have struck with AUJ is a nice balance between the light-heartedness of the book itself and the more weighty, epic tone of the supplementary material. One bit from The Quest of Erebor particularly struck me when I re-read it after seeing AUJ: "The embers in the heart of Thorin grew hot again, as he brooded on the wrongs of his House and of the vengeance upon the dragon that was bequeathed to him. He thought of weapons and armies and alliances, as his great hammer rang in his forge; but the armies were dispersed and the alliances broken and the axes of his people were few; and a great anger without hope burned him, as he smote the red iron on the anvil." Does not the brief scene at the end of the prologue, where Thorin works at the anvil, capture that perfectly? Goosebumps!

Another interesting bit from the LOTR appendices: Thrain lost an eye in the Battle of Azanulbizar. Yes, we see him missing an eye in the movie *before* the battle, but it's still a nice (and accurate) touch, even if the chronology is off.

And I've said this before, but I love it: after the Unexpected Party, Bilbo falls asleep is his bed listening to Thorin humming the exact first verse of the Misty Mountains song that the dwarves sing in the movie. I'm just sure that reference to humming must have inspired the way the song is performed in the movie.

As for bigger things I think were well done: well, the biggest has to be the characterization of the dwarves, and of course Thorin in particular. Showing us Thorin's backstory, making us sympathetic to his cause and allowing us to understand his motivations, makes us so much more engaged with him and this quest. I'm so glad the dwarven side of the tale is not a simple one about dwarves reclaiming lost treasure. And again, the characterization of Thorin, at least, is very much in keeping with what we see of him in The Quest of Erebor.

There's heaps more I could add, but I'll leave it here for now, with the addition of this: I would, naturally, be completely remiss if I didn't mention that I think one of the very most well-done things in the movie is Thorin's hair. [;)]
 
The morning after the Dwarves and Gandalf have left the meeting at Bag End, and for a moment Bilbo is pleased that they are gone and is all alone in Bag End. Then alone, he stands in the hall, everything is silent. You can see just by how its played that there something on Bilbos mind, hes thinking about something, the music sweeps in and he looks at the contract. Next scene hes running across Hobbiton to go on his adventure.

That little scene i adore, its so subtle, but so wonderfully played.
 
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The dwarves. The way they are all shown as very different individuals. They each have their special quirks, and I am sure that there is a story behind each and every one of them, even if we haven't seen all of thos yet. And I just love their costumes and their weaponry. There are so many tiny details that I can find on closer inspection, which makes every viewing of the movie interesting. And yes, well, the hair, I love that too, especially Thorin's, although I'm also quite partial to Fili's locks.

Another thing that I love - or rather, another person - is Bilbo. MF does such a great job. He looks so very hobbity, and he is just the perfect Bilbo to me.

There is a lot to be said for the way the movie uses some of the lines directly from the book or slightly modified. One of my favourite scenes is when Gandalf tells Bilbo about Bullroarer Took and how golf was invented. That makes me chuckle every time. I also like the whole 'Good morning' scene. These are such lovely interpretations of what is written in the book.

There are a lot more things, I'm sure, but that's all I can think of for now.

Oh, and I came across this recently. There are a lot of things that I agree with in this... [tongue]
http://youtu.be/ccM5lrjdM-0
 
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I too am very thankful to PJ and co for using material from the Appendices/Quest of Erebor, even if not all of it was entirely canon-accurate.

A lot of the new characters (particularly the debated ones) were very interesting. Azog grew on me with a second viewing as I realized that the first part of the story (or the film's version of the story at least) benefited with the presence of a major antagonist to keep the tension alive (the Great Goblin didn't have enough screen time to fill this role.)

The Goblin-Town and Riddles in the Dark sections stood out for me the most in terms of individual scenes, with the tension perfectly balanced between a frantic escape and a threatening exchange. Riddles in the Dark was especially good as it was mostly taken from the book's pages.

Though I know many people didn't enjoy Radagast and The Great Goblin, I liked both. The fact that the Great Goblin lacked any sense of being a threat seemed to work and in terms of creating a lighter, witty tone for the piece the characterization (and the casting of Barry Humphries) was to (imo) a clever idea. His scenes were one of the highlights to my mind.

While Radagast wasn't perfect (i.e. guano, stick insect etc), I felt that he was a believable and likeable character: the fact that he was absent-minded and socially awkward matched my image of him and made his moments of wisdom and power stand out (e.g. when he used magic to scare away the spiders).

Aside from that I enjoyed pretty much all of it, apart from the stone-giant section and the over-dramatic fall from the Goblin-Town platforms, neither of which were believable.
 
Everything from "Good Morning" through Bilbo joining the expedition. I particularly like the songs, the golf reference, Bilbo's amazing technicolor coat (seriously [:P]), Gandalf & Bilbo's conversations, and Bilbo running through the Shire.
 
Bilbo,Thorin and Gandalf. I liked any scene involving them.
The main characters make the movie roll and since they worked so well, the movie in general worked well too.
 
... You know what they are already!

On thing that stuck out for me about the characterisation of Thorin was the way he instinctively takes responsibility for the others and tries to protect them at need. As when Bilbo falls over the edge in the stone giant sequence, it's Thorin who climbs down to rescue him; the same idea runs right through the film.

The elves: there were some lovely scenes/ shots in Rivendell which stick in my mind. The eagle flight too - that was breathtaking. The thrush and Smaug's eye. The troll scene was written and played to perfection. And when you look at the art book and see the incredible design work and craftsmanship that informed every last detail of every costume and scene, far, far beyond anything that actually shows up in the film - I love all that.
 
I think you made a great point about giving added motivation and context to the dwarves´quest, since this motivation, and how it differed among the dwarves, were shown throughout the film in many different ways.

Apart from that there were two points about the film that struck me. One was how wonderfully they differentiated most of the dwarves and were able to create interest in characters that actually had little screentime and give plenty of impact to those of the dwarves they chose to focus on. A great achievement from the scriptwriters as well as the actors.

The second was the beauty and detail in the landscape, which was more varied than I ever dreamed of. I found that the different effects and techniques blended exceptionally well with the location shots. Almost every part of outdoor scenery they showed was full of small, believable details and at the same time combined it with a greater and more expansive environment.

And Bilbo pitying Gollum: that was beautifully done. If they had shown just a little more restraint, it would have been absolutely perfect.
 
I liked it from the dark screen at the beginning of the movie to the dark screen at the end of the movie. That said, there were things I really appreciated!

One was the escape from Goblin Town. Maybe its because I love dancing, but I loved the choreography of the fighting. I had such fun watching the timing of every goblin *take-down*. Going around corners was especially fun.

I also thank PJ & Co. every time I think about The Hobbit.

OhioHobbit just commented that he especially loved any scene in Bagend.
 
There are so many things I love about this film.

1. The casting and acting is perfect as far as I am concerned (better than for the LOTR films, in which a few of the characters were somewhat iffy in my view). I particularly love Bilbo, Thorin and (as is to be expected) Gandalf. Each character is very different, yet they all work so well together and complement each other.

The other Dwarves are brilliant – their accents and deep voices, varying looks and different fighting styles. The best for me so far are Balin (Ken Stott is a great actor), Dwalin (hard nut) and Bofur, but they are all great.

2. The visuals, particularly the Erebor sequence with Sir Ian Holm's voiceover. This must be one of the most imaginative and beautiful things I have ever seen in any film (those mines and the Dwarves working in them; the unearthly look of Thandruil, etc). Other favourites are the battle outside the Mines of Moria, the eagles sequence, the waterfalls in moonlight in Rivendell, Riddles in the Dark and the Stone Giants.

3. The humour, which is better than the humour in LOTR in my view (I always thought the humour between Legolas and Gimli, for example, was quite forced). I adore all of the Bag End sequence, and Thorin's song of course, although it isn't long enough for me.

4. The soaring music over the company while it is travelling over the mountains – in fact all of the music for the film is absolutely brilliant.

5. The emotional moments, for instance the one between Thorin and Bilbo at the end, and also Gandalf's words to Galadriel when she asks him, 'Why the hafling?'

Really, I love the whole thing. I'm pleased PJ expanded the book and fleshed out the characters. I did not want to see a cartoon-like copy of the book...

New poster here, but have been hovering a while.

Incidentally, I went to see the film in 3D 48 HFR today for the eighth or ninth time. There were more than 30 people in the audience, all enjoying it, including some teenagers who were laughing out loud at the antics in Bag End, the Troll scenes and Riddles in the Dark. [:)]
 
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I liked it from the dark screen at the beginning of the movie to the dark screen at the end of the movie.
Click to expand...

At the risk of not sounding objective enough I completely agree.
The Dwarves are....are....wonderful! Bilbo....amazing. Gandalf...perfect. Scenery - sigh. I too love the fight scenes which get better with each viewing because you can widen your focus and watch what everyone is doing. And little details like Bilbo's pinecone and rock collection from his many walks in the woods. Elrond smiling (Not really dressed for dinner - You never are). The intensity and magnetic complexity of Thorin. Finally hearing Dwarven songs! (heaven!)
I think it has the soul of the work at its center. We can enjoy (and we do!) debating the details of adaptation but film is a form of expression which by definition must be interpreted because it is a different medium. No one wants to sit in a theater watching printed words scroll by. Alan Lee and John Howe don't paint paragraphs. I think PJ and Co.have done it justice and for that I am thankful.
I didn't expect or look forward to loving it this much. But there is no going back.
 
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1. Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo. To me best hobbit ever!
2. RA as Thorin. Love his performance and of course " the hair"
3. Love the Good morning scene with Gandalf at Bag End
4, Dwarves singing The Misty Mountain
5.Unexpected Party
6. Elrond and the Elves in battle gear- so cool
7.Riddles in the Dark
8. Dwalin and Balin
9. Fili and Kili
10. Bofur
11. The fact that I can now tell all the Dwarves apart

I must add that I did not like the way Radagast was portrayed, but as a whole I love the movie!
 
totally loved the my dear Frodo section at the beginning of the movie. I was so glad to see Bilbo use the "in a whole in the ground there lived a hobbit line. This scene sets a beautiful tone for the rest of the movie!
[:)]
 
One was the escape from Goblin Town. Maybe its because I love dancing, but I loved the choreography of the fighting. I had such fun watching the timing of every goblin *take-down*. Going around corners was especially fun.
Click to expand...

I normally don't like fight scenes at all (dragging, boring, brutal) but I also find that the choreography of these fighting scenes are fascinating to watch.

Have you seen this slow-mo video of Goblin town and fight training scenes set to music? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvETHvUruxU&feature=youtube_gdata_player
 
The individualization of the Dwarves - very well done, and repeated viewings reveal new insights
Getting to see more of Bag End and Rivendell
The music! Especially the songs
I just couldn't picture the stone giants' fight, and was surprised by how well it worked
'Good morning' scene, Gandalf's response to 'Why the Halfling?', Riddles in the Dark
 
I really enjoyed going back to Middle-earth. It's one of the best detailed realms from a book that there's ever going to be. I give PJ, his creative team, and all the craftsmen and even the technology specialists that created it. It's a great adventure.
 
Here goes :P

6) Riddles
Ah the riddles! Great, great, great stuff. Way better than I had expected. Bilbo was perfect. Gollum/Smeagol was perfectly switching between cute and creepy.

5) The Trolls
For some reason I love the scene. It captures the adventure/comedy feel very well. Great scene that showed the dwarves' collective personality: quick to laughter, quick to offense, not so bright but full of passion. Lovely.

4) The Eagles
I still want to cheer every time when they arrive. Beautiful and utterly breath-taking.

3) The Misty Mountain Song
I can listen to it (and the theme) forever. If I ever have kids I'll be singing this to them (expanded version with lyrics from the book)

2) The Cast
I'm cheating on this one. But I thought the cast did a great job and were entirely believable.

1) The balance
Between kid and adult, between fan-pandering and non-fan awareness, between old and new, between faithfulness and liberties. It's a difficult line to walk, and I applaud them for pulling it off.
 
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