The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey (2012) 2D/3D - March 19, 2013 Reviews

[Todd Smith]

Originally Posted by Lindele

I firmly believe that if you did not know that The Hobbit was one book...if you weren't aware that one novel had been split into three films, you would feel totally different about it. We are used to the one book=one film mindset, and so we immediately have issues with something different. I'd like to see a legit example of The Hobbit: AUJ being 'padded.'
The action is non-stop, the story movies very quickly (aside from the first 30 minutes, which is perfect), the balance between character developement and plot is good...it's all just a mindset...IMHO

That is definitely not the case either, but good thought. I certainly did not go into the film with any preconceived notion that the film needed to be one film due to The Hobbit being a single book, but rather went in open, excited and curious to see what PJ would do with the material which I had HIGH expectations for (definitely a big part of why I feel let down to some degree no doubt). If anything, I felt the opposite of your theory and that if PJ felt the material justified 2 or 3 movies then I trusted his judgement going off how amazing the LOTR movies are. The more the better going off how quickly the LOTR movies went by for me and it all sounded great. After experiencing it though, it just did not translate well in reality for me and definitely did not live up to my lofty expectations. Honestly, I think I was just expecting too much going off my love for the LOTR films which I consider masterpieces and among my all time favorite films and The Hobbit falls WAY short of this overall for a variety of reasons (I think it is mostly due to the story which is much simpler, less deep and much less emotionally engaging vs LOTR.

The other thing is I went on a media black out with The Hobbit as it was my most anticipated film last year and I did not want any preconceived notions so I could go into it as open as possible and judge it for what it truly was good or bad. I had NOT read any reviews prior to seeing it opening day and the ONLY impression I read was from a technical standpoint PMing with Filmmixer over on AVS as I knew he had seen an advanced screening in HFR and I was curious about that experience in particular. After taking with him, I decided to bypass seeing it that way, but that was really all the exposure I had to the film before going in.

On a related note, did you see the SNL skit making fun of what we are talking about? Obviously they blew it way out of proportion, but this skit is funny because there is some truth to it. The movie just feels long and aimless to some degree in general.

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I still think the first film is burdened with having to establish a whole lot of exposition, which really won't pay off until the next two films. There is no link, for instance, between the Necromancer/Radagast subplot with the main quest, we won't get to any of that or why it's even included until later.

Good point, and I am certainly still looking forward to part 2 which could very well effect part one to some degree when considered as a whole which it is obviously.

[Taikero]

Originally Posted by Todd Smith

I had NOT read any reviews prior to seeing it opening day and the ONLY impression I read was from a technical standpoint PMing with Filmmixer over on AVS as I knew he had seen an advanced screening in HFR and I was curious about that experience in particular. After taking with him, I decided to bypass seeing it that way, but that was really all the exposure I had to the film before going in.

Just to comment on the HFR 3D experience, I watched the film twice in standard 2D and once in HFR 3D after watching it twice in 2D, and I vastly preferred HFR 3D. It's the best 3D experience I've had to date (even better than Avatar and The Avengers), specifically because of the higher framerate.

That said, the only qualm I had with the experience was in slower scenes where characters walked around. The movements seemed odd, primarily at the beginning of the film (my eyes adjusting, most likely). Beyond that, however, movement was much more alive, fluid, and expressive than other 24 FPS showings, particularly in action scenes. I was particularly impressed with the goblin cave chase/fight sequence. After watching that twice in 2D, the amount of extra detail in the action and choreography I was able to pick up on was amazing.

Another note, my fianceé despises 3D (headaches, eye strain), but loved the HFR 3D Hobbit showing. The first twenty minutes of the film she kept whispering to me how amazed she was at it.

[Todd Smith]

Thanks for the report Taikero. The range of opinion on HFR as I am sure you know runs the gamut from "hate it" to "love it" and everything between those two extremes. I did not want to deal with it for my first watch since many describe the experience as very similar to what you get when you engage CFI/CMD/FI, etc.....on your home display (which I am not a fan of for live action 2d and have mixed feelings about it for live action 3d), but was planning on checking it out if I went back to the theater to see The Hobbit again which I am not going to do now as I just dont want to spend any more $$$ seeing this until it hits blu ray and even then, I might just rent due to my obvious mixed feelings on the film.

[jkh206]

Anyone else having issues trying to preorder this? The link to Amazon isn't working and it isn't even list as available to preorder on Amazons site.

[bam777]

Special features for both 2D and 3D Theatrical Cut releases:



- New Zealand: Home of Middle Earth

- Video Blogs
Start of Production
Location Scouting
Shooting Block One
Filming in 3D
Locations Part 1
Locations Part 2
Stone St. Studios Tour
Wrap of Principal Photography
Post-production Overview
Wellington World Premiere

- Theatrical Trailers
Dwarves
Letter Opener
Bilbo Contract
Gandalf Wagers
Gollum Paths

- Game Trailers
The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-Earth
Guardians of Middle-Earth
Lego The Lord of the Rings



Standard DVD copy of An Unexpected Journey (2D)
UltraViolet digital copy An Unexpected Journey (2D) (expires 3/19/15)

[MifuneFan]

8 trailers, woooooo

[rickah88]

The 3D(and to a lesser extent the 2D) coverart is horrible. A close up of Iam McKellen...why? There is so much more they could've done with this.
Just reinforces my decision to wait for the extended versions!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by rickah88

The 3D(and to a lesser extent the 2D) coverart is horrible. A close up of Iam McKellen...why? There is so much more they could've done with this.
Just reinforces my decision to wait for the extended versions!

I have a feeling that's not the final artwork.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I have a feeling that's not the final artwork.

The blu-ray.com posting said it was final.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by rickah88

The blu-ray.com posting said it was final.

So it does. That really is too bad then. I like Gandalf as much as the next LOTR fan, but having his face front and center with leaves floating around him is not representative of the movie at all.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

So it does. That really is too bad then. I like Gandalf as much as the next LOTR fan, but having his face front and center with leaves floating around him is not representative of the movie at all.

I agree with you, and let's be honest...the character Gandalf is iconic, but not very photogenic!
I guess I've always been such a huge fan of the the dvd EE's packaging. I thought they were among the best disc packages I've ever seen. Which is why I kept them for my BDs.
Perhaps the studio will go that route with the EE's for these 3 films, although I won't be holding my breath.

[Adam_WM]

Well, it's official. I'm passing on the theatrical.

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by Adam_WM

Well, it's official. I'm passing on the theatrical.

why would you even consider?!

[chris_sc77]

How long are those video blogs? 5 mins each? 10 mins?

[MifuneFan]

I won't be buying it either. If anything, I'll try and get a UV copy for it from another member here.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

I'm going with 2D anyway, and I like that artwork perfectly well. The extras are rather disappointing, but then again so were the extras for the LotR theatrical editions.

[mzupeman]

Originally Posted by Snicket

How do you know this? Do you have a machine that allows for cross dimension transport so you have actually seen the Hobbit as 1 film?

To this day I have never seen a film justify breaking a book into parts, even Harry Potter, a series I very much enjoy, did not justify the cut. It gets a lot of the blame for setting the precedent.

At the end of the day it's all just commerce driving art, sure you can try and convince yourself otherwise, but its just for the almighty dollar.

Regardless of the reason, a LOT happens in The Hobbit despite the fact it is the shortest book. Shortest, yes, but it also has the fastest pace. A single film would have been a mess.

[JohnDoe NY]

Originally Posted by ccg1978

why would you even consider?!

Why not? Extended doesn't necessarily mean better. You fanboys

[PuppyJonathan]

Hey stupid question, when the extended edition comes out later will the announced bonus features be on both releases or just the standard?

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

I just realized that the trailers they're including are merely all the alternate versions of the final theatrical trailer. Does that mean no teaser trailer? That's very disappointing, as it was vastly superior to the final one.