Hobbit lives up to expectations

[Inglorious_Hero]

I finally saw "The Hobbit" last night and I must say, it was pretty good. It did trudge along at some parts, as though Jackson was trying to lengthen it, but my inner-nerd loved the trudging. Seeing the White Council was pretty awesome, as well as the seen with the Storm Giants. I though it did the best he could have with the story. Trimming some fat would have made more people enjoy it, but in this case, I'm glad he kept it the way it was. He was pleasing those of us who like some Middle-Earth Lore.

5/5 Stars Peter Jackson.

 

[JohnKPatterson]

Went to the movie as a reward for finishing the primary edits on my own fantasy novel. I'm still taking in the joy and delight and the flourishes of imagination that this movie caused. Sure a couple of parts could have been trimmed, but it was still an excellent experience, and I'd rather spend too much time in Middle Earth than too little. Was it as good as the original film trilogy? Almost. To be certain, it is a worthy successor (predecessor?) to Jackson's earlier films, and I can't wait to see the next two.

Actually, at the risk of sounding self-aggrandizing, I did already post some detailed thoughts on it, if anyone was interested in looking: My Return to Middle Earth « John K. Patterson

 

[Reaver]

I saw The Hobbit on Friday and I loved it! I think it's great!!

 

[Black Dragon]

Actually, at the risk of sounding self-aggrandizing, I did already post some detailed thoughts on it, if anyone was interested in looking: My Return to Middle Earth « John K. Patterson

Wonderful review, John! You summarized my thoughts exactly.

 

[Ireth]

I just got back from the movie, and HOLY CRAP. It was almost everything I hoped for. Would have liked to hear some more of the songs, but it's a small loss, and the rest definitely made up for it. The CGI looked a bit weird with the 48fps, but it wasn't too terribly distracting. And the music was excellent, with some nice callbacks (or call-forwards?) to the LOTR trilogy. Five out of five stars, would definitely watch again.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Today I have watched The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey celebrating my birthday with my sister, and we really, really loved the entire movie =)

I have not read the book yet, and from my point of view, The Hobbit is a truly fantastical movie of dazzling quality, great entertainment value and powerful imagination... We were entertained and loving it every minute, and we did not want it to end!!

Gandalf is so great in The Hobbit, Radagast was wonderful, Bilbo, everyone...

I cannot wait to watch the next installment of the trilogy =)

 

[SeverinR]

Saw it saturday morning, loved it.

 

[Aidan of the tavern]

Today I have watched The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey celebrating my birthday with my sister, and we really, really loved the entire movie =)

I have not read the book yet, and from my point of view, The Hobbit is a truly fantastical movie of dazzling quality, great entertainment value and powerful imagination... We were entertained and loving it every minute, and we did not want it to end!!

Gandalf is so great in The Hobbit, Radagast was wonderful, Bilbo, everyone...

I cannot wait to watch the next installment of the trilogy =)

Very Happy Birthday by the way!

 

[Sheilawisz]

Thank you, Aidan!!

It was a fantastic day, and what can be better than watching The Hobbit: An unexpected Journey in your birthday?

Now I want to watch it again while it lasts in the theatres, at least two more times =)

 

[Sheriff Woody]

Great movie! Perhaps a step down from The Lord of the Rings films, but only a small one. It's still the best film of the year by orders of magnitude.

And this is amazing:

The Hobbit: Song Of The Lonely Mountain (Heavy Metal Version)

 

[lawrence]

I saw the movie in 3D standard frame speed. I am with Ireth and Sheila...utterly loved it! What a beautiful, stunning film. It didn't feel at all slow or stretched out to me, I could have stayed riveted to my seat for another hour I am so glad they are drawing in other storylines, and it's all tied together excellently. The Hobbit (book) has a context that is always making its presence felt, and the movie uses that wider picture skilfully and the results were so good, in my opinion.

Standout elements for me were; Gandalf, wonderfully played, especially loved him at Bag-end and in the White Council scene; Erebor, Goblin Town, Rivendel and the woodlands looked incredible in 3D, such gorgeous, vast scenes; Thorin when he confronts Azog on the white warg, wow that look in his eyes, more intense than the flames burning all around; The Eagles flight into the mountains. All terrific moments.

Mild irritations imo; a few bits of dialogue that were too deliberately reminiscent of lines from the LOTR trilogy, I wasn't keen on this self conscious linking via exact phrases spoken by characters; Radagast was a little too kooky and could have done without the bird droppings! He is one of the mighty spirits from the Undying Lands, would have liked some sense of veiled glory, but I guess then he would be too similar to Gandalf.

Can't wait to watch The Hobbit again, and so looking forward to the next two parts.

 

[Ireth]

I really had only one irritation with the movie, and even then it's a small one. When Thorin confronts Azog, a snippet of the theme music from the Mordor orcs in LOTR plays as background music -- which, while it sounds dramatic, really makes zero sense for the context. It was a rather jarring moment in an otherwise beautiful score.

 

[Sheilawisz]

I have already watched The Hobbit again, and liked it even more than the first time =)

Radagast rules, he should have been a part of The Lord of the Rings... I heard that he will play a very important role in this new trilogy, and can't wait to watch more of him.

And Smaug... I can't wait to see the entire Smaug in action!!

 

[Black Dragon]

We wish that we could see the Hobbit again in the cinema. Unfortunately, it's so hard for us to arrange for babysitting, that it becomes a Herculean effort. We have a really nice home theater setup, though, so watching movies on blu-ray is just as good. But it's going to be a long wait until the Hobbit comes to home video.

When Thorin confronts Azog, a snippet of the theme music from the Mordor orcs in LOTR plays as background music -- which, while it sounds dramatic, really makes zero sense for the context.

My guess is that this Mordor theme was included intentionally, as every thematic cue was used very deliberately. At first it may not make any sense, unless you consider the over-arching backstory...

As Tolkien explains in other writings, when the Necromancer moved into Greenwood Forest, his presence began to draw all sorts of evil into the greater region. The reason that orcs were freely roaming in the open was because the dark power was strengthening their resolve and summoning all manner of wicked creatures - without the creatures themselves being aware of it.

As the Necromancer's power grew, his psychic control over all monsters grew exponentially. That's why Gandalf was set on destroying the dragon: if the Necromancer became powerful enough, he would gain control over Smaug, and have a great dragon at his command. Gandalf could not risk this happening.

So getting back to Azog and the Mordor theme... whether or not Azog realized it, he and his orcs were summoned by the power of the Necromancer, who was influencing their actions. And as you may guess:

Spoiler: What's really going on

The Necromancer is Sauron, who is rebuilding his army by drawing these creatures towards him. Azog and his followers are Mordor orcs in the making. With Sauron's power growing, the freedom of the orcs is vanishing. Soon they will be completely enslaved to the will of the Dark Lord by a cruel psychic bondage.

When this is considered, the Mordor Orc musical theme was perfect for that moment. It's deliberate foreshadowing, and Howard Shore knew exactly what he was doing when he used it there.

Does that make sense?

 

[Ireth]

That does make sense, Dragon, but it still seems odd to me since the orcs weren't even on-screen when the theme played -- it was all Thorin walking down the burning tree. *shrug*

 

[lawrence]

Very nice bit of analysis, Black Dragon. From what I remember, the music at the point Thorin advanced down the fallen tree at Azog was the motif for the Witch King/Black Riders, in particular it reminded me of the Weathertop scene from fellowship but I may be remembering wrong.

I did find it a little out of step, in that the music at that point called to mind the approach of an evil power, rather than the raw courage and valour of Thorin rising up. But after a bit of reflection I found it brilliant, because I think what was going on there was that Thorin was being swept up into the schemes of the Necromancer, and he was being pushed into recklessness, the evil power at work, turning Thgorin's own inner bitterness and vengeful heart to its advantage. The satisfied look on Azog's face when he sees Thorin taking the challenge says as much too. In light of this the music seems totally right.

 

[Phietadix]

I was a bit disapointed at the movie, sort of like Voage of the Dawn Treader. I can't stand new plotlines.

 

[Black Dragon]

I can't stand new plotlines.

What plot lines are you referring to?

With the exception of the orcs pursuing Thorin from the start (which isn't much of a stretch), to the best of my knowledge every plot line in the film came from Tolkien himself

Most of it came directly from The Hobbit. The rest came from the LOTR appendices, and Tolkien's The Quest of Erebor, which tells the events of The Hobbit from Gandalf's vantage point, as opposed to Bilbo's.

 

[Phietadix]

The Pale Orc, I don't remember him in the book. Anyway I started rereading the Hobbit, I'm happy with the number of direct references to the book. Though I didn't like them messing up the troll scence.

 

[Ireth]

The Pale Orc, I don't remember him in the book.

That's because canonically he died in the battle with Thror. The movies for some reason kept him alive, even though there was the perfectly viable option of having his son Bolg go after Thorin for revenge-by-proxy. But oh well.