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RE: " E P I C " - 13/12/2012 3:21:40 PM   
Wild about Wilder


Posts: 1484
Joined: 9/4/2010
From: Hertfordshire
 Saw it in 2D enjoyed it a lot especially Bilbo & Gollum (both superbly portraied by Freeman & Serkis) although a little bit slow for the 1st 3rd of the film the later action scenes more than made up for that.
Will be seeing this again but undecided weather to see it in IMAX or the 48 frame 3d?
Anyway agree 4/5

(in reply to abegley95488)
Post #: 61
An Epic Journey - 13/12/2012 4:45:33 PM   
kittybinks


Posts: 63
Joined: 9/11/2005
The opening of this movie gave me an emotional buzz like the thrill of seeing a friend long lost! Although the set up was a little slow it was, I felt, necessary to enable us to invest time on the diverse characters in front of us on the screen. I elected to see the 3d version but not the High Frame rate version as I had heard less than glowing reviews on the impact and I didn't want it jarring on my experience (perhaps I will go back on my own to check that one out). Christmas has a special meaning again as I now have next Christmas to wait with baited breath to see what happens next.

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Post #: 62
RE: An Epic Journey - 13/12/2012 6:54:46 PM   
Beno


Posts: 8078
Joined: 15/2/2007
From: Sheffield
 Saw this today - in IMAX 3D 48 FPS - and i dont know if it was the dissapointment of not having the first 9 minute Star Trek preview with the trailers - which were a paltry Les Mis. and the Man Of Steel teaser, so one and a half trailers - but for the first 2 hours i was partly underwhelmed. For me its only when they encounter the Goblin King and Bilbo 'stumbles' into Gollum that im truly impressed.

Lets deal with the 48 FPS debate first. Put simply it does look weird! Its a clearer picture but when a lot of stuff is flying around on the screen it almost seems strangely blurry .... no! blurry is wrong! ..... it looks weird! To be honest its hard to describe whats wrong with the way it looks but its noticably different to the point of distraction.
Perhaps this type of frame size is better for a movie not so 'fast paced'?

Unlike the LOTR Trilogy this first Hobbit movie lacks an emotional impact of any kind until it flirts with it in the final third. Based on this observation its also hard to 'care' about any of the characters too much until - again - the last 40 minutes or so.

Its a real shame i feel this way. This movie is a 3 out of 5 in my opinion. My fav. movie of all time is Fellowship which this new flick is a pale comparison of.

_____________________________

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Post #: 63
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 13/12/2012 7:31:04 PM   
R W

 

Posts: 268
Joined: 23/6/2006
It has been eleven years since splatter maestro Peter Jackson filmed the unfilmable which was J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Jackson’s Rings was to a generation what Star Wars was to a previous one and like Lucas’ space opera, LOTR changed the face of cinema. Following his remake of King Kong and failed adaptation of Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones, Jackson returns to Middle-earth with the long-awaited prequel (once two… now three) to his mightily successful trilogy.

After a sudden encounter with Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), the initially reluctant hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) embarks on an unexpected journey to accompany thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon.

For those who knew about the long hiatus over the development of The Hobbit, will remember that Pan’s Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro was going to be at the helm, with the project initially realised as a two-parter. With the sad departure of del Toro who would’ve been perfect for the fairy tale element of Tolkien’s book, fortunately Jackson reclaims Middle-earth while the Mexican auteur retains his credit of co-screenwriter. The biggest question towards this new trilogy is that will it be a masterful return-to-form, or will it be Jackson’s own Phantom Menace?

While the book of The Hobbit which was simply Bilbo’s adventure with the dwarves, being published seventeen years before The Lord of the Rings, Jackson and his co-writers approached this more as a prequel to that series as it coincides with the possible yet obvious return of Sauron as discussed by the long-bearded wizards (like Sylvester McCoy’s nature-loving Radagast the Brown) and the pale-skinned elves (like Cate Blanchett’s reprised angelic Galadriel). This level of expedition is perhaps the main reason why the film feels incredibly long and despite this being the shortest trip across Middle-earth with its running time of 169 minutes, the storytelling at times has a lack of fluidity was never a problem before.

However, the quest to the Lonely Mountain with our hero being a hobbit who prefers the comfort of his home in Bag End going off on a grand adventure is the heart of the piece. From the very start, you question why Bilbo would participate on a quest that could lead him to his fate. While this question lies throughout the film, you are truly engaged by Martin Freeman’s performance as Bilbo Baggins who is nothing like his nephew. His initial appearance is one for laughs as his utter reluctance and annoyance from the dwarves is buckets (or dishes in this case) of fun. The finest sequence adapts the ‘Riddles in the Dark’ chapter which involves the young hobbit playing a game of riddles with Andy Serkis’ always scene-stealing Gollum; this scene alone is a good reason to see the film as both hilarious and chilling.

It is clear that due to the more child-friendliness of the book, Jackson cranks the humour, such as the slapstick interactions of the dwarves who sing a few songs during the course, as well as the encounter of three talking trolls who provide a level of toilet humour; you might think the New Zealander has gone Disney. However being a Peter Jackson film, you are going to expect spectacle as action sequences like the chase through the Goblin City featuring Barry Humphries as the Goblin King are spectacular. There has been much coverage over Jackson’s use of the 48 frames-per-second frame rate and now having seen it in IMAX 3D, my reaction is mixed. On the one hand, it looked bright and beautiful as the image resolution looks crystal-clear, and yet lacking the natural texture of Middle-earth which previously shown in the standard 24fps looked so much better. It takes a while to adjust to this new frame rate, but you’ll be a less concerned towards its presentation and more engaged by the adventure that’s ahead.

As the start of something new, An Unexpected Journey is no Fellowship, but fortunately it is no Phantom Menace. Peter Jackson’s return to this fantasy world is a funny and thrilling spectacle with a great performance by Martin Freeman at the centre. We now have to wait another year for The Desolation of Smaug.

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Post #: 64
48FPS - WTF????? - 13/12/2012 7:42:45 PM   
dazmurphy

 

Posts: 8
Joined: 22/9/2006
The whole 48 FPS is visually stunning at times, but also looks like a BBC miniseries or a computer game cut scene...it completely took me out of the experience and took away the cinematic gravitas a film like this should have...Going to check out the 24 2D version later, which I reckon I should have seen first unfortunately...

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Post #: 65
48FPS - WTF????? - 13/12/2012 7:42:47 PM   
dazmurphy

 

Posts: 8
Joined: 22/9/2006
The whole 48 FPS is visually stunning at times, but also looks like a BBC miniseries or a computer game cut scene...it completely took me out of the experience and took away the cinematic gravitas a film like this should have...Going to check out the 24 2D version later, which I reckon I should have seen first unfortunately...

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Post #: 66
Thats your opinion. - 13/12/2012 7:43:24 PM   
simpwalker

 

Posts: 7
Joined: 16/3/2008
All of the reviews I have read are well off the mark. Film 2012 said it was long winded and slow burning, what crap. Engrosed til the end and wanting more. Superb.

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Post #: 67
Thats your opinion cont. - 13/12/2012 7:46:57 PM   
simpwalker

 

Posts: 7
Joined: 16/3/2008
Plus all this tosh about the picture being poor, I don't get the issue. People just like to moan about change, get over it and enjoy the exellent film on display.

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Post #: 68
Seen it twice - 13/12/2012 11:36:00 PM   
J_BUltimatum

 

Posts: 109
Joined: 20/1/2007
From: Edinburgh
 Seen it twice now. Both in IMAX 3D and the awful HFR 3D. Lets get the HFR moan out the way. It basically makes the whole film seem like something out of Benny Hill. Yes the scenery is stunning but for the actual scenes which require more than lovely waterfalls it looks awful. As for the film itself it's just far too long and nothing actually happens. There is no character development and you don't care what happens to any of the dwarves. In part 2 I wud be glad if a character worth giving a damn makes an appearance... lets say Aragorn or Boromir... then I may think about going to see it!

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Post #: 69
RE: Seen it twice - 13/12/2012 11:59:35 PM   
adambatman82

 

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield
 I thought HFR looked great. Film was alright too. I'm not a massive fan of the LOTR movies, but really enjoyed it.

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Post #: 70
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 12:32:25 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
 I'm delighted to say I loved it, but the jury was out for a bit. The HFR added crystal, unbelievable clarity, but you know what? It's too much clarity, it looked like television, it's an incredible advancement to do a special effects strewn movie and have it look so photo-real it almost looks like documentary but there's a lush portraiture feel to old fashioned snail-celluloid that just isn't here with this and I felt a lot of the atmosphere was bled away with this presentation.

I guess I spent the first hour thinking "this does look amazingly defined but it just looks odd". The film itself also has an awkward gait in that first hour. Scenes never bordered on bad, there was no eye-roll factor, it was never unsightly, just a tad prosaic, and a tad awkward. I've always had immense love for Fellowship because it unfurls like a carpet, pacey, portentous and lyrical to boot. There's a noted absence of such fluidity here, it's actually all very prosaic in the first reel, but you know, it was probably just that awkward "getting to know you stage" all along. Bilbo has to get to know the dwarves and I found myself having to be (re-)acquainted with this world. A great scene with the trolls was the first time I was abandoned to sheer entertainment and I believe the film got (relatively) progressively better. Excellent scenes with Radagast and The White Council pulled all those seemingly unnecessary plot indulgences into order, making sense of them and consolidating a proper narrative that you can get to grips with. So yeah, I became quite taken with it by the mid-way and was actually loving it by the end.

An Unexpected Journey isn't perfect, it's far from it and it will probably alienate more casual LOTR fans than it will recruit them, it's tonally and structurally uneven, but it's also lovely, fun, thrilling, extremely winning, and in The Riddles in the Dark sequence you have 10+ minutes that would sit deservedly at the top of a critics list of scenes of the year.

4/5

< Message edited by demoncleaner -- 14/12/2012 1:28:45 AM >

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Post #: 71
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 12:57:22 AM   
Qwerty Norris


Posts: 3150
Joined: 26/10/2005
From: Edinburgh
 Seen it tonight as well. SPOILERS (although one would question why on middle earth would you be reading this thread if you haven't seen it yet)

Takes an absolute age to get going. The first hour & a half is a real drag - reducing itself to constant exposition-heavy dialogue, lazy montage sequences & set-pieces which left a lot to be desired in an editing sense. If you're coming to the source material cold, the dwarfs as characters are almost indistinguishable (you'll remember them as Jimmy Nesbitt & Ken Stott rather than their actual names) & Bilbo for the most part disappointingly takes a back seat. It's through the gentle whimsy of Gandalf that things don't fall apart. Then the rock giants appear and things finally begin to click into gear.

And when Smeagol is introduced to the stage, the film truly comes to life. Serkis is exemplary once again, reinstating why his character is the most fascinating, compelling, funny, dangerous & tragic creation of the whole middle earth universe depicted on screen.

Overall though, it's a film which reminds you how strong the LOTR trilogy was, rather than achieves anything definitive of its own.

Gimli though (and other hardcore middle earth devotees) will love it.

3/5

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1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. No
3. In The Fog
4. Good Vibrations
5. McCullin
6. Beyond the Hills
7. The Place Beyond the Pines
8. Wreck-it Ralph
9. Shell
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Post #: 72
RE: An Epic Journey - 14/12/2012 1:02:17 AM   
Qwerty Norris


Posts: 3150
Joined: 26/10/2005
From: Edinburgh
quote:

ORIGINAL: Beno

Saw this today - in IMAX 3D 48 FPS - and i dont know if it was the dissapointment of not having the first 9 minute Star Trek preview with the trailers - which were a paltry Les Mis. and the Man Of Steel teaser,



At least you got that, I had to contend with a 'Gerald Butler being a former Celtic player in a generic soccer mom American romcom' one.

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Qwerty's Top 10 of 2013 (so far)

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. No
3. In The Fog
4. Good Vibrations
5. McCullin
6. Beyond the Hills
7. The Place Beyond the Pines
8. Wreck-it Ralph
9. Shell
10. In The House



(in reply to Beno)
Post #: 73
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 1:25:44 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: Qwerty Norris

Overall though, it's a film which reminds you how strong the LOTR trilogy was, rather than achieves anything definitive of its own.




This is quite true but that realisation is also perfectly true of The Hobbit as a book next to the LOTR books. It's obviously more cartoonish, and in the grand scheme of the series it will have to take a very firm back-seat to it's younger, more accomplished (self-important) brother. But ultimately I think the film makes a great fist of taking up it's place in that scheme. On the strength of this, it was entirely worth making, definitely worth seeing to put it mildly and it does give a legitimacy to the prospect of making 3 films out of the quaint paltry source. The thing I'm perhaps most glad of is trying to read The Hobbit again a couple of weeks ago and failing miserably because, for all it's simplistic accessibility it was just a bastard to get absorbed by. That experience, and seeing this result, does make me feel like it was the best possible film they could have made with what was given. It's a given that it doesn't equal the three prior films made but I found it extremely worthwhile in its own right. I can't wait to see it again in 2D.

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Post #: 74
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 1:37:00 AM   
Qwerty Norris


Posts: 3150
Joined: 26/10/2005
From: Edinburgh
quote:

ORIGINAL: demoncleaner


quote:

ORIGINAL: Qwerty Norris

Overall though, it's a film which reminds you how strong the LOTR trilogy was, rather than achieves anything definitive of its own.




This is quite true but that realisation is also perfectly true of The Hobbit as a book next to the LOTR books. It's obviously more cartoonish, and in the grand scheme of the series it will have to take a very firm back-seat to it's younger, more accomplished (self-important) brother. But ultimately I think the film makes a great fist of taking up it's place in that scheme. On the strength of this, it was entirely worth making, definitely worth seeing to put it mildly and it does give a legitimacy to the prospect of making 3 films out of the quaint paltry source. The thing I'm perhaps most glad of is trying to read The Hobbit again a couple of weeks ago and failing miserably because, for all it's simplistic accessibility it was just a bastard to get absorbed by. That experience, and seeing this result, does make me feel like it was the best possible film they could have made with what was given. It's a given that it doesn't equal the three prior films made but I found it extremely worthwhile in its own right. I can't wait to see it again in 2D.


It's definitely more on a softer footing, there's no doubt about that. But as I mentioned, I had a lot of problems with the first 90 minutes. You know something's wrong when the sequences involving arguably the worst Doctor Who were at that point the most intriguing.

If there's any triumph to it. It does make me want to read the book - certainly in time for next years installment.

Did you see it in 48fps? If so, specific thoughts?


_____________________________

Qwerty's Top 10 of 2013 (so far)

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. No
3. In The Fog
4. Good Vibrations
5. McCullin
6. Beyond the Hills
7. The Place Beyond the Pines
8. Wreck-it Ralph
9. Shell
10. In The House



(in reply to demoncleaner)
Post #: 75
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 2:02:26 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: Qwerty Norris

It's definitely more on a softer footing, there's no doubt about that. But as I mentioned, I had a lot of problems with the first 90 minutes. You know something's wrong when the sequences involving arguably the worst Doctor Who were at that point the most intriguing.


Very arguable!

But to be serious about Radagast (if such a thing were possible) I do think his scenes were really good, because it's the first time the outer plot comes in and portend to bigger things. The glimpse of Shelob's in-laws..aww man, great stuff as was "the other" scene with him. I had such relief that he was not the "Jar-Jar Binks of the piece", I loved those scenes.

quote:


If there's any triumph to it. It does make me want to read the book - certainly in time for next years installment.


It's not fair to say it in front of people who love the book but I would recommend that you do give it a go, just to appreciate how good was the effort made by Jackson et al. I have started to think of The Hobbit in terms of Watchmen. Great adaptation does not necessarily make for a great film and the problem has to lie with the filmabilty of the source material. Watchmen was a fantastic adaptation, it made for one cold fish movie. What I like about The Hobbit is that while this principle is still most likely true it has a side-effect symptom of warmth and likeability which invites it back into my good books.

quote:


Did you see it in 48fps? If so, specific thoughts?


I did, my specific thoughts are above. I have never been one to moan about 3D or other formatting, but this was extremely noticeable. The realism of imagery was amazing, but it was too much, like a home movie, or TV or something overly-exposed like that. It's a strange combination of being wowed by the technology and feeling at the same time that it was hamstringing this story.




< Message edited by demoncleaner -- 14/12/2012 2:04:37 AM >

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Post #: 76
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 2:12:59 AM   
MASH4077

 

Posts: 132
Joined: 18/7/2011
From: Maidstone
 Saw it in HFR 3D, I don't think the HFR worked for close up stuff like the riddles scene, it felt to me like it was just a set.  Not to take anything away from Andy Serkis, because Gollum stole the show.

Don't have a problem with the length, it seemed fine to me.  If it was shorter and/or only going to be 2 parts I'm sure people would be moaning about stuff being left out instead!

Cast was great, but I agree about not tying names to the dwarfs (except Thorin and Bombur).  Music great as expected, and great to hear some of the LOTR themes popping up as required.  The new main dwarf theme is good!

Overall: great. Go see it in HFR if you're intrigued, but I don't think you'll miss anything in the other formats.

SPOLERISH STUFF...

I liked the prologue idea because it would have to have been done somewhere, as it's setting up the quest I don't have a problem with it being moved out of the party.  The framing sequence worked well nice to see Old Bilbo starting the book with that line!

I don't remember the story of the Oakenshield name in the book (was it explained in the LOTR appendices I never read them properly?). But it made sense, and we got the golf joke.  I liked Radaghast, and the rabbits.  Hook them up to a few trains and that'll sort out HS2!

Overall the extra stuff was fine by me, it works as fitting it into what we know's coming in LOTR.  I thought the troll changes (eliminating the purse) worked well.

A final mention for three bits that just stuck in my mind as brilliant little moments: having Gandalf fall victim to the same candle holder, Sting flickering out when Gollum killed the goblin, and lastly Gandalf using the moth.

Off to see it in 2D tomorrow!

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Post #: 77
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 2:33:34 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: MASH4077

Cast was great, but I agree about not tying names to the dwarfs (except Thorin and Bombur).



I would make a woeful afficionado and perhaps it was Empire's feature with the gallery interviews of all the dwarves but I had a good grasp of (in order of familiarity) Thorin, Bofur, Balin, Killi, Filli, Dwalin, Dori, Bombur, the youngest one (Ori?), Bifur is the one with the axe in his head, that means Oin, Gloin and Nori are strangers to me


*****VERY SMALL SPOILER******
quote:


I don't remember the story of the Oakenshield name in the book (was it explained in the LOTR appendices I never read them properly?)


I wondered about that as well. I haven't read the books since I was a nipper, but I imagined it was a kind of deserving macguffin to show that the dwarves were after something more noble than loot (but then home is a major theme that would mean this isn't entirely necessary).



< Message edited by demoncleaner -- 14/12/2012 2:35:30 AM >

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Post #: 78
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 3:42:01 AM   
Pigeon Army


Posts: 14611
Joined: 29/1/2006
From: Pixar HQ, George Lucas' Office.
quote:

ORIGINAL: demoncleaner
Gloin


I remembered him because he was the ginger.

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ORIGINAL: Rinc
She's supposed to be 13! I'd want her to be very attractive though


quote:

ORIGINAL: MonsterCat
quote:

ORIGINAL: Pigeon Army
Stop being mean to Deviation

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Post #: 79
RE: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - 14/12/2012 4:03:02 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: Pigeon Army


quote:

ORIGINAL: demoncleaner
Gloin


I remembered him because he was the ginger.


...and I forgot about the big lanky one...I forget his name...oh yeah, Gandalf!

But yes, how could we forget Gloin...he is Gimli's da after all. PA didn't forget the ginger. Maybe we're getting an insight into PA's soul. I'll come right out and say it, PA, are you ginger? 'Cause there's rules against that. (There should be). I reckon we'll hear a coherent sentence from Bifur in the last film. Kinda like Vinnie Jones in Gone in Sixty Seconds (that wonderful documentary) the last line of the trilogy will come from Bifur, I'm betting my mortgage on 'er! Nobody tosses a dwarf off, or something like that.

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Post #: 80
very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 8:17:28 AM   
bretty

 

Posts: 143
Joined: 6/10/2005
Empire produces a very intelligent and accurate review here. I enjoyed this,for a three hour film it seemed to fly by when LOTR 'felt' long. Maybe because this is much lighter in touch with the audience laughing anumber of times and being far less complex as a story allowed you to relax and just enjoy the journey

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Post #: 81
very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 8:17:32 AM   
bretty

 

Posts: 143
Joined: 6/10/2005
Empire produces a very intelligent and accurate review here. I enjoyed this,for a three hour film it seemed to fly by when LOTR 'felt' long. Maybe because this is much lighter in touch with the audience laughing anumber of times and being far less complex as a story allowed you to relax and just enjoy the journey

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Post #: 82
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 9:47:15 AM   
losthighway


Posts: 3166
Joined: 25/1/2006
From: Manchesterford
 I saw it yesterday in 2D and 24fps and it looked just fine to me. To get the main problems out of the way first... the story felt too weak to sustain the running time, let alone a trilogy, it suffers from the same narrative problem that ROTK does at the end and mostly you do feel like you've seen it all before with a band of hobbits instead of dwarves!

HOWEVER...

The film is tonally different to the original trilogy and it plays much more like a childrens film, incorporating the songs from Tolkien's book which LOTR didn't so much as I recall and on more than one occasion I was reminded of The NeverEnding Story in its fantasy elements... I thought Radagast was brilliant and wished there was more of him! The tone does shift aound the halfway point to something more akin to The Two Towers but still the film remains more childlike than the adult tone of the original trilogy. Oh and despite the issue with that ending, I think the final scenes are worth the admission price alone. I thought it looked beautiful. Ignore the critics and go and see it, I think once you get past the fact it's a different story set in the same universe, you'll have a great time.

Overall: 4/5

< Message edited by losthighway -- 14/12/2012 9:49:29 AM >

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Post #: 83
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 10:12:05 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: losthighway

I saw it yesterday in 2D and 24fps and it looked just fine to me. To get the main problems out of the way first... the story felt too weak to sustain the running time, let alone a trilogy, it suffers from the same narrative problem that ROTK does at the end and mostly you do feel like you've seen it all before with a band of hobbits instead of dwarves!

HOWEVER...

The film is tonally different to the original trilogy and it plays much more like a childrens film, incorporating the songs from Tolkien's book which LOTR didn't so much as I recall and on more than one occasion I was reminded of The NeverEnding Story in its fantasy elements...I thought Radagast was brilliant and wished there was more of him! The tone does shift aound the halfway point to something more akin to The Two Towers but still the film remains more childlike than the adult tone of the original trilogy. Oh and despite the issue with that ending, I think the final scenes are worth the admission price alone. I thought it looked beautiful. Ignore the critics and go and see it, I think once you get past the fact it's a different story set in the same universe, you'll have a great time.

Overall: 4/5





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Post #: 84
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 11:41:02 AM   
sharkboy


Posts: 6031
Joined: 26/9/2005
From: Belfast
 My first two thoughts after leaving the viewing last night were exactly the same as when I came out of my first viewing of FOTR -  "Aw crap, another 12 month wait until we're back in Middle-Earth" and "I really want to visit New Zealand".  After those, I got round to considering what I'd just seen unfold over the last 3 hours.

First of all, the technical side of the movie.  HFR seems to have become quite the marmite subject.  Me, I thought it was brilliant.  "Too real"?  What exactly is this concept, and, more to the point, what function does it have when applied to a medium where you are asked to suspend your disbeliefThe stunning clarity of the image onscreen took my breath away, especially once we got our first view of Erebor and its surrounding area.  The 3D was used very well indeed to add depth to the already brilliant images.  If I have one conern about HFR it is that it didn't work as well in the darker, more action-packed scenes, but I don't know if that was just the higher frame rate making the shortcomings of total CG scenes all the more evident.  If HFR is the future of cinema (and I think it very well may be), then CGI has a bit of catching up to do.

Now onto the movie.  I am a huge LOTR fan and can quite happily sit through back-to-back viewings of the extended trilogy without being bored for a second.  Having said that, I think there was some justification in the accusation of  "3 hours of walking around" that was famously levelled at it.  Not so here.  Set piece leads to set piece, and even when the party of adventurers does seem to be entering one of those "walking around" phases we are often entertained with tales or spectacles that have no difficulty maintaining our interest.  So, they make camp and we are treated to the tale of Thorin Oakenshield.  They follow narrow mountain passes and we witness the clash of giants. Or, instead of witnessing their trek east, we visit Radagast the Brown and his bunny-powered sleigh (how long until Duracell twig onto that advertising opportunity? ).  This is a movie which flys by at such a rate that it even the anticipated extended edition will seem too short!

Martin Freeman is a revelation here, and his portrayal of Bilbo as the Everyhobbit is pretty much pitch perfect.  Richard Armitage provides just the right amount of gravitas to the role as the dwarf who would be king, and the rest of the dwarves (well, those that play a significant role this movie), often remind us that this is just a rag-tag bunch of craftsmen and traders who have come together in answer to a higher calling; not battle-hardened warriors but rather smiths and tailors who can handle themselves in a scrap.

Highlights for me were the Riddles in the Dark sequence (a fantastic piece of cinema), Thorin's battle at the entrance to Moria, and The White Council.  There were plenty of touches that made me smile, from Gandalf showing us that he never got used to the size of hobbit-holes to the 9 notes of Shore's ring theme playing when we witness the one ring for the first time in the movie.  And I swear to god, I got major shivers down my spine when I heard "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit"

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Post #: 85
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 1:34:51 PM   
rick_7


Posts: 5709
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet
 I had 10 minutes to write this on my lunch break (good to get in there while it's very new, thus giving my thoughts the only shot at authority they're ever going to have) so please excuse... well, all of it, really.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Peter Jackson, 2012) – Bilbo, Bilbo, Bilbo Baggins (the bravest little Hobbit of them all), gets a third of the way towards facing a big dragon, in Peter Jackson’s return to the Lord of the Rings universe. The first thing to say is that it’s lovely to be back there, and that this isn’t the misfire various posturing critics would have you believe. The second is that Freeman is as perfect a Bilbo as you’d imagine: his impeccable comic timing and understated rendering of heavy emotion filling the film with charm and Hobbidity (or whatever the Hobbit equivalent of humanity is) whenever he’s on screen. And the third is that it all looks a bit weird. The 48fps innovation does rectify some of the problems that 3D has with fast-moving action, but it also gives the film a weirdly low-budget look, more like a prime-time Saturday night ITV serial than a film which might well be troubling box-office records in the coming weeks.

There’s also a feeling that this is LotR-lite, more episodic, with somewhat less memorable supporting characters (a legion of dwarfs doing some nice work under excessive prosthetics) and a greater accent on broad comedy and gross-out humour. But it’s also very entertaining, with a cracking final 45 that includes the welcome, perfectly-placed and marvellously executed appearance of Gollum. The scenes in which his pluralising, pointy-toothed little scamp – sporting a Bobby Charlton-ish combover – tangles with Bilbo through a series of complex riddles are just a joy to watch, effortlessly reclaiming Serkis’s creation from a decade of spoofery, and unleashing him into the action with barely disguised glee. I also greatly enjoyed McKellen’s twinkling performance as Gandalf the Grey, especially his line about drawing courage from Bilbo. And Jackson knows his way around an action set-piece, as evidenced by the very neat use of a ladder.

I’m not convinced the film will attain the classic status of the LotR trilogy, but last night’s rapturously-received screening (which included a queue out the door as people jostled for the best seats, and a lovely reaction to the film’s most obviously moving moment: awws, then applawws) suggests that Jackson hasn’t ballsed it up after all. Apparently we’re seeing it again next week, so I can report back further then. (3)

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Post #: 86
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 1:37:08 PM   
rick_7


Posts: 5709
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The internet
quote:

ORIGINAL: sharkboy

Highlights for me were the Riddles in the Dark sequence (a fantastic piece of cinema)

YES, absolutely. I thought that was genuinely brilliant. I loved Freeman too - not sure if it was revelatory, though, as he was so extraordinary in Sherlock. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Mrs_7 is the LotR buff in our house (she used to loiter around in that part of the boards back in the day) and she thought it was brilliant.

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Post #: 87
RE: very enjoyable - 14/12/2012 2:33:03 PM   
Gimli The Dwarf


Posts: 73471
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Central Park Zoo
quote:

ORIGINAL: rick_7

YES, absolutely. I thought that was genuinely brilliant. I loved Freeman too - not sure if it was revelatory, though, as he was so extraordinary in Sherlock. Glad you enjoyed it so much. Mrs_7 is the LotR buff in our house (she used to loiter around in that part of the boards back in the day) and she thought it was brilliant.


She should start posting again!

Sharky, that's a great review, really sums u[p what I felt about it too.

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Much more better!

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Post #: 88
Disappointing - 14/12/2012 3:25:53 PM   
intelandroid

 

Posts: 9
Joined: 2/10/2005
Overlong, overblown, and overly reliant on CGI. And *****SPOILER ALERT****** every single one of the fight scenes ends with a deus ex machina. While the Gollum bits are genius (and earn the piece an extra star), this movie is just okay when it could have been great. I miss the creative and hungry Peter Jackson of The Fellowship of the Ring. This is the self-indulgent Peter Jackson, the guy who directed King Kong and The Lovely Bones.

< Message edited by intelandroid -- 14/12/2012 3:28:22 PM >

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Post #: 89
RE: Disappointing - 14/12/2012 4:29:08 PM   
homersimpson_esq


Posts: 19969
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Springfield
 Those bloody eagles.

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Post #: 90
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