Hobbit, what's your review?

[Rene Ritchie]

I'm seeing The Hobbit tomorrow night, but if you've seen it already I'd love to hear your take on it.

I'm worried that it's going to be dramatically indulgent (3 movies, really?!) and technically turbulent (I dislike 3D and don't know what to make of 48fps yet).

LotR is charming enough to overcome the repetitive closeups and awkward cuts. Does Hobbit hold up?

 

[DaHui623]

I went opening night to a local IMAX 3D, but not the HFR version. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Itdid seem that Jackson and Co. are taking a lot more liberties with the script this time. I went back and read the appendices, since I had never read them before, and some of the additions make a lot more sense now. So, a recommendation, read those appendices. Oh, and take it as an entertaining film, not a book adaptation.

 

[anon(1157152)]

It was fantastic. My kids, who are the real fans, also loved it.


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[SockRolid]

Saw it in 3D at 12:01AM Friday morning. Not a LOTR / Jackson fan but I'm a fan of the theater. New management, vastly more personal experience than the typical mall mega-plex.

NO SPOILERS here.

Some critiques on technique and style:

1. I didn't like the 3D. Looked like forced perspective with 3 or 4 flat layers sometimes. Characters occasionally looked like talking cardboard cutouts in the early Shire scenes. Gets better later in the film. (Compare with Life of Pi with spectacular use of 3D.). Also, I didn't notice much improvement from the 48 FPS projection.

2. Jackson uses the same overhead angle way too often. Looking down on characters walking over bridges, down castle facades, etc. over and over. Two or three times is OK. Nine times is not OK. Think of something else to do.

3. Pacing feels padded, stretched. Could have easily cut 15 or 20 minutes (down to maybe about 2 h 30 min) which would have made it crisper, given it more energy, losing none of the adventure and fun. Same problem as Jackson's King Kong.

4. Production design, costumes, make-up are fantastic. Acting excellent. FX awesome, particularly the flying creatures.

5. Wilhelm Scream! See if you can hear it in the sound track.

 

[pererau]

I don't have time for a full review, but I'll just say that I was majorly disappointed. We just finished re watching the full 12 hours of LotR to get back into Middle Earth, and now after watching the Hobbit last night, I'm infinitely glad that it didn't come first, because otherwise I may not have had interest in going back to see LotR.

The plot is plodding, wandering, with a stated purpose that is never really explored, and motivation that is upheld by e weakest threads. The special effects are no better - and maybe worse - than from 10 years ago, and the scenes that are meant to be light-hearted are just silly without being funny, while the scenes that are meant to be epic are so over-wrought so as to stretch beyond the reasonable borders of suspension of disbelief. I can't count the number of times I thought (and by the end of the movie, said aloud) "yeah, right, whatever" when some other implausible battle scene occurs in which they escape from inescapable places just because the movie feels like they should. Gandolf seems to have no power, but then, at the moment where the script decides that maybe he should do something helpful, he can suddenly do whatever is required, only to be powerless again except to yell "run!" Or "this way!" How many times in one movie can one character strike a hero pose? I didn't count, because my fingers and toes don't go up that high, but maybe you can let me know when you watch Thorin throughout the movie. Also, Martin Freeman is supposed to be Bilbo, but all he does is take Arthur Dent to Middle Earth. I could go on.

It isn't all bad - the music is spectacular, and fortunately is nearly omnipresent for the entire 600 hour running time of the film, and some of the panoramas and other sweeping cinematography is brilliant. Also, I genuinely belly-laughed a few times at some pretty good lines (hint: none of them came from the Dwarves, whose lines were written by a six year old). Also, at one point Galadrial and Gandolf are talking by themselves. When you watch the film, imagine Galadrial giving Gandolf a shove. Given the nature of what they are saying this made me laugh out loud. The scene between Bilbo and Gollum is the best scene in the film, but unfortunately the sound is a little off, making it hard to hear Gollum's riddles.

I have much more I could say given the time, but I just don't have the time, so this will have to suffice. Any true fan of Middle Earth needs to see this film, but not because its a marvelous piece of filmmaking; rather, you should see it simply to feel immersed in Middle Earth once again: in other words to get your high.

A passable and overlong movie that progresses at a plodding pace and repeatedly fails to deliver. It breaks my Middle Earth-loving heart, but this film only is worth 5/10, and most of that for the fantastic score.

 

[SockRolid]

... the scenes that are meant to be light-hearted are just silly without being funny, while the scenes that are meant to be epic are so over-wrought so as to stretch beyond the reasonable borders of suspension of disbelief. ...

Yup. Weird mixture of wacky slapstick comedy and over-the-top (and very lengthy) action set pieces. Some of which could have been cut out to improve the film overall, because they don't advance the story at all. I actually twirled my finger in the air once or twice in an "OK, let's wrap up this scene and move on" gesture, but no. They just kept on going.

 

[black.rhino]

MILD SPOILERS
I watched it Thursday night and Sunday night. Here are my thoughts (as a self-proclaimed LotR fanatic)

Great references and lines from the book, as well as a few bones thrown to those who have read the Silmarillion or other works of Tolkien, looking forward to more of this in the next films
Filmography was entirely un-cinematic. Ranged from the incredible looking battle sequences to cold "documentary-like" footage. The 48 FPS made things so real they looked like sets rather than actual locations. Extra detail comes at the cost of the warm, middle earth feel with beautiful cinematic footage.
The target audience was difficult to pinpoint, and as a result there were some scenes I really did not care for. A certain character riding a certain type of chariot seemed to be rushing out of Narnia rather than the grim and raw middle earth of the lotr trilogy.The scenes inside the mountain with the goblin king was really corny, and went the book route, but more than was necessary for the darker tone the movie had over all. The indiana jones 4 type escape from the goblins was also impossible to suspend disbelief for.

Overall, I really enjoyed the main characters (Freeman was spot on), but couldn't lose myself in the story because of the soap opera filming, and odd sequences that didn't quite fit.

 

[rosejasmin]

Have seen the hobbit movie last weekend with my friends group...Full movie story is too awesome also have read the story in book but I like movie most because the graphic wise movie is too cool...

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[anon(4698833)]

It was like a goofy version of LoTR...light hearted and a bit dopey (imo). I did not enjoy it anywhere near as much as the LoTR series, but it was still a beautiful movie and i will see the next couple to complete the story. I really think they could have made this one film honestly...stretching it out to 3 seems almost purely a financial choice.

 

[freespirittime]

I saw the trailer and thought it was going to be very average, but I enjoyed it as much as the others. Next one out in December, can't wait! I watched the making of it on YouTube the other day which was quite interesting.

 

[Hail Caesar]

I gave this film an 8/10, it was very fun to watch, but got a little bit long with saying much!