The Hobbit
Dec. 30th, 2012 04:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustI feel that making three movies is rather milking it, but I'm going to watch them all anyway.
* I had huge expectations for the Lord of the Rings movies, but with The Hobbit, I'm just along for the ride. And it was an enjoyable ride, although a long one. If the whole trilogy is going to end up nine hours total, it might have worked better as a miniseries.
* I loved that it opened with the Lonely Mountain and the coming of the dragon. Totally epic, and it reminded me once again how lucky I am to get to see Tolkien's world come to life on screen. I loved that Smaug was terrifying and unstoppable, the reason why dragons are the ultimate in fantasy monsters. When blasts of dragonfire were coming from under the Front Gate, and the dwarves were waiting there with their swords and shields, all I could think was, "Seriously? You poor bastards."
* Martin Freeman was a fantastic Bilbo. And it was a joy to see all those familiar faces again: Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, and even Figwit, plus the bonus cameos by old Bilbo and young Frodo. The dwarves were fun to meet, and felt like individuals, rather than 'Thorin and twelve others'.
* It was haunting and magnificent to hear the dwarves singing "Far over the misty mountains cold" in unison. (When I was a kid, I sang it too, though with my own melody.) And it was an unexpected delight that they also sang "Chip the glasses and crack the plates!" There's no need for an extended edition of these movies - you can fit absolutely everything in already.
* Rivendell was as beautiful as ever.
* I'm very glad they got up to "Riddles in the Dark" in this instalment. Pretty much the most important scene in this movie - and in the whole story, really - and exactly how I would have imagined it.
* I could have done without Orcslayer!Bilbo at the end. (I could have done with fewer fight scenes in general, but anyway.) I think it was enough for Bilbo to tell Thorin he had decided to continue the quest because he had a home but the dwarves didn't, and for that to be the big moment of change and respect, rather than Bilbo having to jump in front of an orc for Thorin. I mean, one of the things I loved about Bilbo in the book was that he wasn't a warrior, but he used his wits and stealth and courage and common sense to be just as much of a hero.
* Yay, the eagles!
I'm still amazed to think it's been ten years since the Lord of the Rings.
* I had huge expectations for the Lord of the Rings movies, but with The Hobbit, I'm just along for the ride. And it was an enjoyable ride, although a long one. If the whole trilogy is going to end up nine hours total, it might have worked better as a miniseries.
* I loved that it opened with the Lonely Mountain and the coming of the dragon. Totally epic, and it reminded me once again how lucky I am to get to see Tolkien's world come to life on screen. I loved that Smaug was terrifying and unstoppable, the reason why dragons are the ultimate in fantasy monsters. When blasts of dragonfire were coming from under the Front Gate, and the dwarves were waiting there with their swords and shields, all I could think was, "Seriously? You poor bastards."
* Martin Freeman was a fantastic Bilbo. And it was a joy to see all those familiar faces again: Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, and even Figwit, plus the bonus cameos by old Bilbo and young Frodo. The dwarves were fun to meet, and felt like individuals, rather than 'Thorin and twelve others'.
* It was haunting and magnificent to hear the dwarves singing "Far over the misty mountains cold" in unison. (When I was a kid, I sang it too, though with my own melody.) And it was an unexpected delight that they also sang "Chip the glasses and crack the plates!" There's no need for an extended edition of these movies - you can fit absolutely everything in already.
* Rivendell was as beautiful as ever.
* I'm very glad they got up to "Riddles in the Dark" in this instalment. Pretty much the most important scene in this movie - and in the whole story, really - and exactly how I would have imagined it.
* I could have done without Orcslayer!Bilbo at the end. (I could have done with fewer fight scenes in general, but anyway.) I think it was enough for Bilbo to tell Thorin he had decided to continue the quest because he had a home but the dwarves didn't, and for that to be the big moment of change and respect, rather than Bilbo having to jump in front of an orc for Thorin. I mean, one of the things I loved about Bilbo in the book was that he wasn't a warrior, but he used his wits and stealth and courage and common sense to be just as much of a hero.
* Yay, the eagles!
I'm still amazed to think it's been ten years since the Lord of the Rings.
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Date: 2013-05-29 06:57 am (UTC)So I was excited to watch The Hobbit with him on the big screen. And as usual he totally went bonkers over Azog and the wargs. After watching The Hobbit, he asked to watch the LOTR movies again :)
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Date: 2013-05-30 02:51 pm (UTC)I remember George Takei posted about seeing a car on the road with the numberplate "GANDALF". He added, "Needless to say, he did not let me pass." XD