The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Review Thread (Spoilers)

[bluearth]

Well, this is exactly what I expected.

I didnt like the ending though, it was painfully obvious they're just dragging the story on to make it stretch 3 movies.

Still though, Peter Jackson is a wonderful story teller. I do not like the impossible stunts in his movies though, like

[Show spoiler]when they fell down the canyon away from the goblins on those wood bridges and the goblin king fell on top of them

. Its moments like that where I really hate CGI because it makes garbage like that possible.

I know it was long, but only one scene

[Show spoiler]Baggins and Gollum in a rediculous 15 minute long game

felt too long.

Not as good as the other 3 movies, but really who expected it to be.

5/5 for me because its just a beautiful movie dares to take its time in a McDonalds Hollywood.

[Hemooo]

I loved it & dont understand the negative criticism! Well maybe I didnt read the books & wasn't expecting it to be LOTR level, which for me came very close

[Mirko76]

Watched minutes ago and in my opinion it´s a great film and an excellent beginnig of a trilogy ...................

[Velmeran]

5/5 for me.

There were a couple places where I thought pacing was a little bit of an issue, but then again I could step back and look for the big picture and realize how necessary some of the setup would be come the next two films.

The biggest difference from Tolkien's works to this I was actually OK with. My wife, who just recently read the book on the other hand.. not so much.

[Show spoiler]When I first heard Azog was still going to be alive and play a more central role in the story I was pretty upset and had the 'here PJ goes again' thought; however it makes sense if you take a step back and look at things in the larger story. The orcs need a face when it comes time for The Battle of the Five armies, what better face to give them than Azog?

Were parts of the story silly? You bet but considering the source material I would have been disappointed if they weren't (but I can see how people unfamiliar with The Hobbit, and whose only journey into Middle-Earth is from PJ's LotR trilogy would have issues with this film).

I will say, my biggest annoyance/regret is the fact that of all the songs that made from the book into the film, that Fifteen Birds didn't make it :\

Edit: Only saw it in 2D tonight, hoping to get to a HFR 3D showing in the very near future.

[spanky87]

Saw it in 2D. I enjoyed it a lot for the first hour or so and liked the deliberate pace and how it took it's time at Bilbo's house. I was wondering why people could trash it and call it boring, but then we got to Rivendell, and that totally sucked the life out of the film for awhile. It picked up again right after, but the whole Rivendell sequence was boring. The audience I saw it with, that part became a washroom break. Never seen so many people go to the washroom at a particular time in a theater like that.

I overall liked it. I was skeptical to see what PJ was going to do with adding new material from the appendices. I felt like it brought the film down some, because this is supposed to be Bilbo's story, going on this great adventure with an unlikely hero. I felt like he took a backseat to the story half way through, until after the Rivendell portion.

Regarding Radagast, it's a perfect example of the internet influence. In no way was he as bad or even comparable to Jar Jar Binks. One or two internet geeks make the comparison before even seeing the film, then people start repeating it, and now...Radagast = Jar Jar Binks.

[TheCollector]

I saw it last night at the 2d midnight show. As someone who generally agrees with the critics, I am SHOCKED at the negative reviews for this film. I found it to easily be on par with FOTR. I'm not without my complaints. I felt the Great Goblins severely missed the mark, and I thought at times it became a little bit too slapstick, but overall I thought it was amazing. Will be seeing it again this weekend in 48 frames. One of the best of 2012 as far as I'm concerned. 5/5.

[rikraq]

I didn't mind Radagast, but I was a bit distracted by all the bird shit (I assume) that was in his hair.

Is the scene of Gandalf with a bear from one of the other movies?

[Buddy Ackerman]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Regarding Radagast, it's a perfect example of the internet influence. In no way was he as bad or even comparable to Jar Jar Binks. One or two internet geeks make the comparison before even seeing the film, then people start repeating it, and now...Radagast = Jar Jar Binks.

This. Very much this. It's been seen time and time again, the internet catching on to a phrase or POV and snowballing it into a 'fact'.

[Darth Marcus]

I saw it last night and thought it was a good film, not great. I felt it had moments of greatness, but in the end the film as a whole just didn't take it there for me. I don't see the comparison to the Star Wars prequels, as to me this is a far better film (I loathe Episodes I and II, while I can stand to watch Episode III). I wasn't particularly fond of the Radagast sequence, but I never found him to be an annoyance. To me it was ultimately a sequence that just doesn't fit and should've been left on the cutting room floor.
My absolute favorite sequence was the sequence with Gollum. Andy Serkis once again delivers a masterful performance and steals the show. Once again he will probably be denied an Oscar nomination, but he truly has delivered one of the best, if not the best supporting performance I've seen this year. It was also nice to see Christopher Lee again along with Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, if only for a short while.
My main problem with this film is that it ultimately feels like nothing more than a set up film. With The Lord of the Rings films, every film brings a sense of closure even though you know the story is going to continue on into the next film. I didn't find it here, and to me it's the film's biggest downfall. He (Peter Jackson) pulled a Matrix Reloaded here at the end with

[Show spoiler]Smaug awakening in the gold and then rolling the credits

.
In the end I thought it was good, not great. But I am very excited about this new trilogy, and I can't wait for the final two films! 7/10

[spanky87]

Based on the 70th anniversary edition of the Hobbit book, the film ends at page 104 of 276.

[Gilmourfan]

I've said this many times and will repeat - The Hobbit won't reach the 1-billion mark.

[Ernest Rister]

"I felt the Great Goblins severely missed the mark."

As usual, and as they themselves admitted adapting LOTR, when they deviate from Tolkien, they get themselves into trouble. The Great Goblin re-thought as a snide comic character - who even cracks a joke at the most unbelievable time - is this film's "dwarf-tossing" moment, only it doesn't stop with one line. It IS severely misjudged. As I said, I felt like I was watching a foreign comedy, and the jokes don't work in my culture but they go over like gangbusters somewhere else.

When the film is standing on Tolkien's shoulders, it's a winning and even beautiful thing. When the film is relying on invented dialog for invented scenes, it's problematic.

[Show spoiler]The Dwarfs abandon Gandalf? Really?

[Beast]

Originally Posted by spanky87

I overall liked it. I was skeptical to see what PJ was going to do with adding new material from the appendices. I felt like it brought the film down some, because this is supposed to be Bilbo's story, going on this great adventure with an unlikely hero. I felt like he took a backseat to the story half way through, until after the Rivendell portion.

To be fair, Thorin Oakenshield is pretty much the main character for a lot of the book as well.

With Bilbo playing a supporting character role to Thorin's character until the later chapters.

Splitting the movie like this makes that aspect of the story even more obvious.

Regarding Radagast, it's a perfect example of the internet influence. In no way was he as bad or even comparable to Jar Jar Binks. One or two internet geeks make the comparison before even seeing the film, then people start repeating it, and now...Radagast = Jar Jar Binks.

As someone who loves JJB, I can absolutely see the comparison. They fall into the same classic character archetypes.

[mrpink134]

Originally Posted by Beast

To be fair, Thorin Oakenshield is pretty much the main character for a lot of the book as well.

With Bilbo playing a supporting character role to Thorin's character until the later chapters.

Splitting the movie like this makes that aspect of the story even more obvious.

As someone who loves JJB, I can absolutely see the comparison. They fall into the same classic character archetypes.

I don't see any comparison between those 2.

[Beast]

Originally Posted by mrpink134

I don't see any comparison between those 2.

Not everyone is going to see or interpret the same things in films. But some absolutely do see the similar qualities.

[Mahatma]

Quick question to those who've seen it:

[Show spoiler]Is Beorn in the first part?

[Velmeran]

Originally Posted by Mahatma

Quick question to those who've seen it:

[Show spoiler]Is Beorn in the first part?

Nope (I believe he was supposed to be before the decision was made to make 3 films)

[Mahatma]

Originally Posted by Velmeran

Nope (I believe he was supposed to be before the decision was made to make 3 films)

Thanks.Mixed blessing this waiting game.On the one hand you get feedback from reviewers and fans alike,but its not very nice not to be able to get good seats for weeks Think PJ has a strong fan base here in oslo

[The Dragon]

I saw this last night.

Frodo
Gollum
Gandolf

Elves
Dwarfs
Orges

and..

The... Precious!

[Jack Burton]

Really enjoyed it but it had it problems. Got say though Martin Freemen could not keep up with the performances of Ian Mckellen and Richard Armitage. Especially Richard Armitage who was just amazing, his emotions in his eyes and voice was just breathtaking.

[Show spoiler]Just looking at him when we were told they had no home to go too, brought a tear to my eye.

. Looking forward to him and his story in number two more than Bilbo's in all honesty.