The Hobbit movies discussion

[Mr Breden]

I can't stop humming the Lake-Town theme. If nothing else, I watch these movies for Howard Shore.

I was just humming it myself , the Laketown theme felt a lot more medevial which makes it stand out from the rest, especially the beginning.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Mr Breden

[Deathleech]

I have mixed feelings on the Desolation of Smaug. On the one hand, I understand why Peter Jackson added so much of his own material. The book is very light on details and lacks reasoning for a lot of the events that take place. That's understandable considering it was written as a children's book. On the other hand, I feel like PJ goes a little over board with some of the stuff he adds and it seems like he changes stuff just for the sake of changing it. I also feel like most of the combat action sequences are just too cartoony. I blame the rampant use of CGI which doesn't even look that good most of the time (bring back orcs in prosthetic please!)

Spoilers ahead...

I find it odd PJ decided to drop entire parts of the book, yet he expands on others. For instance the way the elves capture the dwarves. In the book the dwarves see camp fires and the elves celebrating and try to talk to them because they are sorely in need of provisions (they have been in Mirkwood for a long time). In the movie though, they totally cut this part out. You don't get a sense of how long the dwarves were really in Mirkwood like you do in the book. Mirkwood was also confusing because it was pitch black inside due to the sun being blotted out by the trees in the book, NOT because of an illusion cast over the forest. The Beorn's house scene was also changed a lot. PJ totally cut the feast and other events that happen, including the introduction of the dwarves to Beorn which I was really looking forward to seeing. You are made to think Thorin and company are only at Beorn's a day or two when in fact it's several days. Then you have the whole Bard smuggling the dwarves into Lake-town, about 20 minutes of footage... only to eventually get to the part in the book where Bard is warning all the villages about the prophecy of Smaug burning down LT if the dwarves enter Erebor, but no one listens because they are enthralled with the the gold to be had. And then of course we have the barrel scene where PJ added all the cartoony surfing and running by Legolas, and extended the scene well beyond what it needed to be. Anything with Legolas seemed too comical really with his movement. Like I said, it seems PJ cut or changed things only to make room for his own self created sillyness. I am sure the EE will have a lot of the stuff from the book put back in, it's just a shame it was ever cut in the first place.

Now with that said there were several additions I DID like in the film. First off I liked how Bilbo seems much more reluctant to wear the ring than he was in the book. In the book he was slipping it on left and right, but now he seems very hesitant and can feel Sauron's draw when he uses it. That makes sense considering he is in and near Mirkwood and Dol Guldur/Sauron, even if Sauron hasn't regained complete power he is in very close proximity to the ring. I also really liked how the Arkenstone was given more importance. In the book it's a huge gem everyone wants, but that's it. In the film we are told it is the key to uniting the dwarf clans and it actually makes sense why Thorin is going to Erebor. He is going to steal the Arkenstone and unite the dwarves. In the book what was his plan.. go there and kill Smaug himself with 13 dwarves and a hobbit? I also REALLY liked how the black arrow used to kill Smaug was explained. I talked about this in the Lego LotR thread with Fives, I was hoping PJ would actually change this part. Either make the black arrow have magical properties, make it a huge bolt fired from a bolt thrower, or BOTH. It looks like PJ did in fact make it both. I always thought it was silly in the book a regular arrow with no magical properties and just a black color was able to bring down a beast as grand as Smaug. It would of been like Pippin killing a cave troll with a frying pan, or an Oliphant dying to a single sword cut to it's leg. It just didn't make any sense.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Deathleech

[greeny]

Thanks for your thoughts Deathleech. They are pretty much exactly like mine.

SPOILER WARNING

What I loved about the film:

The barrel scene- I didn't think it was that goofy. Bombur rolling down the hill was hilarious!

Smaug- Everything about him was perfect! Definitely the best film dragon I've ever seen.

What I liked about the film:

Bard- In the book he was just a bowman who shot the dragon, but here his character is expanded a lot more.

Laketown- It was exactly how I imagined it looked like in the book. The Lego set based on it is quite accurate to the scene where Bard smuggles in the Dwarves.

Stephen Fry as the Master- Even though is role was quite short he did a really good job. I hope we get to see more of him in the next film!

Tauriel and Legolas- Tauriel was better than I expected and Legolas was his usual badass self.

What I disliked about the film:

Tauriel/Fili- Why did this love triangle need to be in the film? It was pointless

Mirkwood- As Deathleech said, the film missed out on a lot of Mirkwood scenes.

Lack of Beron- Seriously, he's only in the film for one scene!

[Scorpiox]

I would have liked to see more Beorn as he was vastly underused to the point it wouldn't have made a difference if he weren't there. I can but hope for more of him in the third film.

[Mr Man]

I finally saw it yesterday. I hate the CGI orcs and goblins that one this above all else makes these films seem 'wrong'. I loved all the massive attention to physical props and locations in LOTR and the work that went into making the orcs, goblins, Urk-Hi and Urks of Mordor distinct right down to their armour styles. In the Hobbit films all that is gone I can't tell the necromancers orcs from the warg riding orcs from the misty mountains orcs. Azog and Balg just lack any presence especially the kind that Lurtz or Gothmog had in LOTR.

Smaug was pitch perfect and I didn't mind him not dying at the end.

[Ultron]

I finally saw it yesterday. I hate the CGI orcs and goblins that one this above all else makes these films seem 'wrong'. I loved all the massive attention to physical props and locations in LOTR and the work that went into making the orcs, goblins, Urk-Hi and Urks of Mordor distinct right down to their armour styles. In the Hobbit films all that is gone I can't tell the necromancers orcs from the warg riding orcs from the misty mountains orcs. Azog and Balg just lack any presence especially the kind that Lurtz or Gothmog had in LOTR.

Smaug was pitch perfect and I didn't mind him not dying at the end.

I'm pretty sure they just dropped the misty mountain goblins all together in favor of the gundabad orcs lead by azog which is really disappointing because they are the ones actually fighting in the battle of five armies. Not this magical army of orcs sauron somehow mustered together. I say that they dropped them because the misty mountain ones were peach colored and these guys are brown.

[BrickBob Studpants]

@Luna Lovegood: the Goblins were not necessarily dropped, we don't know yet how the 5 factions in the B05A arranged. As others in this thread have pointed out, the Wargs don't seem to be a stand-alone faction in the films (they're just mounts for the Orcs), so the two evil factions could be Orcs (Gundabad + Dol Guldur, even though I'm not sure whether the latter hail from the first) and Goblins

[Faefrost]

@Luna Lovegood: the Goblins were not necessarily dropped, we don't know yet how the 5 factions in the B05A arranged. As others in this thread have pointed out, the Wargs don't seem to be a stand-alone faction in the films (they're just mounts for the Orcs), so the two evil factions could be Orcs (Gundabad + Dol Guldur, even though I'm not sure whether the latter hail from the first) and Goblins

I thought we have seen some teaser and production art? Based on that the breakdown is Dul Guldur Orc's/forces, iron Hills Dwarves, Mirkwood Elves, Laketown Men and the Eagles.

[BrickG]

I understand why they made the forest enchanted. I mean, you can't freakin' show pitch black very easily in a movie or TV. It always ends up being bright enough to see stuff so the viewers can actually SEE, which means the characters should be able to logically see, but yet they don't. I've never seen pitch black stuff portrayed well in a TV show or movie without it being actual pitch black. It always ends up just looking bright enough to see making everyone wonder why their night vision sucks so much. And going literal pitch black for Mirkwood would require having tons of minutes of pitch black, not ideal for a form of media you're supposed to see.

I did like Bilbo apparently being affected by the ring. The original book was written before LotR. In fact Tolkein had always intended to go back and rewrite the hobbit with LotR in mind, but died before he did. So I really don't mind linking the two more than before.

I did NOT like the love story. It seemed forced and random and that elf like fell in love with the dwarf after he said something about what's in his pants...

And Legolas, why the crap are his eyes suddenly so light? And why the ridiculous fighting? Ug.

[Deathleech]

I understand why they made the forest enchanted. I mean, you can't freakin' show pitch black very easily in a movie or TV. It always ends up being bright enough to see stuff so the viewers can actually SEE, which means the characters should be able to logically see, but yet they don't. I've never seen pitch black stuff portrayed well in a TV show or movie without it being actual pitch black. It always ends up just looking bright enough to see making everyone wonder why their night vision sucks so much. And going literal pitch black for Mirkwood would require having tons of minutes of pitch black, not ideal for a form of media you're supposed to see.

I was expecting it to be done more like Mines of Moria, not like some whacky fun house the dwarves were trapped in. When i was reading about Mirkwood in the book i imagined a very dark, black forest not something that just looked like it had muted gray coloring. PJ could of still given the dwarves and Bilbo torches to light the way a little. There wasn't even that much time spent in Mirkwood compared to the book so I don't see the problem with keeping it dark.

[Dragonfire]

I'm going to watch it today... hope it's good!

[Dragonfire]

It was epic!

[BrickG]

Orcs and Goblins are are the same thing in LotRs.

[The Legonater]

Almost. Goblins are orcs from the Misty Mountains and similar areas.

[Scorpiox]

Almost. Goblins are orcs from the Misty Mountains and similar areas.

No, BrickG is right. Tolkein clarified in many of his later works that Orc is the 'correct' name for goblins in his universe, and that he began using that word to differentiate from traditional goblins of folklore. He continued to use the word goblin as a corruption, however. Think of it as similar to how the Middle-Earth human race is known only as 'Men'.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Scorpiox

[Brickdoctor]

I saw Desolation of Smaug a couple days ago. Not much to say about it, actually — it was entirely what I was expecting based on what I'd seen from An Unexpected Journey, what I'd read about in online comments, and what I knew from the book.

On another note, maybe it's old news since it's apparently been around since May, but I just found this

that's pretty awesome.

[Mr Man]

Orcs and Goblins are are the same thing in LotRs.

In the universe of the films however it seems as though they are likely different species.

On another note, maybe it's old news since it's apparently been around since May, but I just found this

that's pretty awesome.

I downloaded that a month ago. The tramp of doom .

[Leo604]

In the universe of the films however it seems as though they are likely different species.

This; BrickG is right about the interchange of the books, but PJ seems to create a distinction between those (i.e. Misty Mountain goblins in AUJ; the 'goblins' that Saruman employs when he's industrializing Isengard as opposed to Sauron's armies).

[Leo604]

So uh, apparently Stephen Colbert made a camoe as that spy in Lake-town who flips his eye patch down.

Source: http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/12/31/stephen-colbert-reveals-his-cameo-in-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug?utm_campaign=ign+main+twitter&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[Floundie]

So uh, apparently Stephen Colbert made a camoe as that spy in Lake-town who flips his eye patch down.

Wow, didn't notice that one.

[Scorpiox]

Wow, didn't notice that one.

I absolutely loved the reprisal of Peter Jackson's carrot-eating man as the first thing we see in the film.

[The_Chosen_1]

I absolutely loved the reprisal of Peter Jackson's carrot-eating man as the first thing we see in the film.

I wasn't much of a fan of that, to be honest. It was a little too blatant and in-your-face to me. "Hey look! Remember this cameo from Lord of the Rings? Here it is again!"

The Colbert cameo, on the other hand, is very cool. I didn't even notice it was him after two viewings; that whole sequence was quite clever and well executed.

[SheepEater]

So what do you guys think of Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman?

I thought he was fantastic, and his role being largely expanded from the book was one thing I was quite pleased Peter Jackson did.

His minifigure is pretty sweet, too.

Edited January 4, 2014 by SheepEater

[Spider-Man]

He was by far one of my favorite characters in the movie! Luke Evans did a great job, and I can't wait to see him in the final installment

[jodawill]

And Legolas, why the crap are his eyes suddenly so light? And why the ridiculous fighting? Ug.

He looked very strange in this movie. It wasn't just his eyes. I think he's gained some weight since LotR. But his makeup seems wrong somehow, even besides his eyes.

I'm not sure what I thought of the elves in general. A lot of the fighting stuff was cool, but I think some stuff was too over the top, like Legolas walking on people's heads. I think it might have been better to be a little more realistic.