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Hatter · 12-31-2012, 12:16 AM

My brief thoughts on the film, after seeing it in 2D 24FPS:

Spoiler!

The Good:
- The acting was excellent, as I've come to expect from Jackson's interpretations of Tolkien's works. Martin Freeman was awesome as Bilbo. He really nails the squirelly "Baggins" side of Bilbo, while planting the seeds for his eventual transformation into the brave, outgoing, and rogueish "Took" side of the character. Richard Armitage also was a great choice for Thorin. I liked how Jackson made him reminiscient of Aragorn, as it helps draw fans of the LotR series into the new cast. Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel delivered fine follow-up performances.

- The world of middle earth looked great again, as we've come to expect. There were a few of Jackson's usual panoramic shots that seemed forced into the film to show off for 3D, but this is a minor gripe, as the world once again looked marvellous.

- The riddles in the dark scene was well executed, and blended Bilbo's nervous attempts at levity seamlessly into a scene that was actually quite tense and dark. You can really feel how important the scene is, without it being totally thrown in your face.

- With a couple exceptions I'll outline below, the chase through the goblin city was tons of fun to watch. I enjoyed it much more than the chase through Moria in the Fellowship of the Ring.

- Enjoyed the Trolls scene. Gandalf breaking the rock to expose them to the sun looked awesome.

The Bad:

- The stone giant fight felt like it was obviously included to show off the technology changes. It felt forced into the film, and seemed to serve no real purpose, other than to make the pass through the misty mountains more dangerous. I think Jackson would have been better off leaving out this scene in the theatrical cut, saving time and perhaps alleviate some of the pacing issues.

- The demise of the Goblin King was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen. A two second fight, and a lame set of final words.

- I forget which Dwarf it was, but whoever blocked the arrows Jedi-like with a sword and ladder was totally unneccesary. Reminded me of Legolas riding the shield, which was stupid as hell.

- I didn;t like the hacky-sack dishes bit. I can understand why it was included, but thought that that time could have been better used in some other way. I really have no solid argument, but I feel this way regardless.

Overall I really enjoyed the film. It did what was required to set the stage for the next two films, without being a total drag fest. It looked great in standard 2D, sounded great, and was generally 3 hours well spent. It remains to be seen if I like this trilogy as much as LotR, but The Hobbit is certainly a worthy adaptation of a book I love.

12-31-2012, 12:16 AM	#547
Hatter Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Calgary Exp:	My brief thoughts on the film, after seeing it in 2D 24FPS: Spoiler! The Good: - The acting was excellent, as I've come to expect from Jackson's interpretations of Tolkien's works. Martin Freeman was awesome as Bilbo. He really nails the squirelly "Baggins" side of Bilbo, while planting the seeds for his eventual transformation into the brave, outgoing, and rogueish "Took" side of the character. Richard Armitage also was a great choice for Thorin. I liked how Jackson made him reminiscient of Aragorn, as it helps draw fans of the LotR series into the new cast. Gandalf, Elrond, Saruman, and Galadriel delivered fine follow-up performances. - The world of middle earth looked great again, as we've come to expect. There were a few of Jackson's usual panoramic shots that seemed forced into the film to show off for 3D, but this is a minor gripe, as the world once again looked marvellous. - The riddles in the dark scene was well executed, and blended Bilbo's nervous attempts at levity seamlessly into a scene that was actually quite tense and dark. You can really feel how important the scene is, without it being totally thrown in your face. - With a couple exceptions I'll outline below, the chase through the goblin city was tons of fun to watch. I enjoyed it much more than the chase through Moria in the Fellowship of the Ring. - Enjoyed the Trolls scene. Gandalf breaking the rock to expose them to the sun looked awesome. The Bad: - The stone giant fight felt like it was obviously included to show off the technology changes. It felt forced into the film, and seemed to serve no real purpose, other than to make the pass through the misty mountains more dangerous. I think Jackson would have been better off leaving out this scene in the theatrical cut, saving time and perhaps alleviate some of the pacing issues. - The demise of the Goblin King was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen. A two second fight, and a lame set of final words. - I forget which Dwarf it was, but whoever blocked the arrows Jedi-like with a sword and ladder was totally unneccesary. Reminded me of Legolas riding the shield, which was stupid as hell. - I didn;t like the hacky-sack dishes bit. I can understand why it was included, but thought that that time could have been better used in some other way. I really have no solid argument, but I feel this way regardless. Overall I really enjoyed the film. It did what was required to set the stage for the next two films, without being a total drag fest. It looked great in standard 2D, sounded great, and was generally 3 hours well spent. It remains to be seen if I like this trilogy as much as LotR, but The Hobbit is certainly a worthy adaptation of a book I love.