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2013/12/15 00:17:11
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
I am going to post spoilers in my review, if you don't want to see them then scroll past without reading. (This is a review thread so I figure spoilers are to be expected.)
Well, that was...something.
Spoiler:
It starts reasonably well, though I felt the Beorn bit was a bit rushed I still enjoyed it. The Mirkwood sequence was alright too, and the set design there is excellent. The spider fight had me really thinking "Wow, this is going to be great!" because I thought it was really well put together.
The elves arriving was to be expected, but Orlando Bloom surfing on a spider is something I could have lived without. He surfs on an orc later, too, bloody hell. (There is a lot of Legolas fighting CGI orcs in this movie, the fights are pretty unrealistic and lack any feeling of threat or drama. Compare them to the Aragorn/Lurtz fight from Fellowship and you'll see what I mean).
Then we had the Elf/Dwarf romance sub plot. I was, to put it lightly, highly sceptical about this. They escape and have a ridiculous, computer gamey, drama free fight with orcs in the barrels (my girlfriend said the plot of this movie could be summed up by "*Something happening* and then Orcs attack!"). I was really annoyed by the barrel fight but hoped it might be the low point of the film. Unfortunately, I was really, really wrong.
After this we find out that Kili has been shot by a "morgul arrow". Wait. What? Poison arrow, I would have been fine with. But apparently now the terrifying artefact wielded only by the Witch King of Angmar? Nah. It's a pretty common piece of kit actually. Doesn't even have to be a dagger. We put it in arrowheads that we then give to random orcs to shoot at random Dwarves.
Really terrible, and so needless too. The same plot could have been managed easily with poison. Don't come at me with "making links" with the other films/books, horribly mangling the source material is what it is, and it also breaks the sense of the world.
So they get to Laketown, which was pretty well realised, and I liked what they had done with Bard too, made sense and made for some interesting potential later. Also liked the foreshadowing with the ice in the lake. Dwarves in the toilet was...okay, yeah, ...right. No. No more poop humour Jackson.
The departure from Laketown was also not that bad apart from leaving people behind just to manufacture drama.
Then the actual mountain sequences. Throughout this the sets and visuals were stunning, but the plotting really falls short. One problem in this film is that Bilbo doesn't use his ring half enough. He uses it far more in the books! The scene where the dwarves all give up and then Bilbo opens the door was really pretty bad, to be honest. Took me out of the movie completely. Then Bilbo goes down to the treasure horde. It really bugged me that he didn't wear the ring for this, and how long it took him to put it on. Then the fact that he took it off again! Argh. That was poor. I felt from that point that either Bilbo should have died for sure or they were going to have to make Smaug less of a threat than he deserved. The voicing for Smaug was well done and the visual effects for him were great, but the "chase" sequences that followed, with both bilbo and the Dwarves, really diminished him as a threat. It felt computer gamey and like an episode of Benny Hill at times, and I felt it was completely un-needed. Far better to follow the events in the book in my view.
While this is going on, the plot with Gandalf and Radagast investigating what's happening in Dol Guldur progresses. This is mostly alright, though it could have been better too I suppose. It deserved a bit more time actually. I also would have liked to have seen more ghosts and spirits and fewer Orcs in that sequence.
Anyway, the last sequences, the giant fight between the Dwarves and Smaug with their completely stupid plan to defeat him, argh. Argh argh argh. Awful. But not as bad as what was going on in Laketown, replaying the "kingsfoil" drama from Fellowship but with characters I completely don't care about and comedy pigs. Who thought that was a good idea? The "romance" bit at the end, jesus, totally OTT and cringey. Also, way to make what Arwen/Aragorn did in not special at all. That sequence, along with the completely unbelievable fight sequence with Smaug, really ruined what could have been a passable-but-flawed movie for me.
And they wrote themselves into a corner too, because at the end I can't see that Smaug would have left them alive in his treasure hoard and flown off the Laketown. That was needless too, and could have been impressive and visually spectacular if it had been as it was in the book. The way it was in the movie made no sense to me at all.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/12/15 00:25:53
Medium of Death wrote:One think about the pronunciation of "Smaug"... I pronounce that as "Smog", but I've heard it said as "Smowg"...
Sm - all
Aug -ust
How do they say it in the film? What do you say dakka?
I say Smawg, but in the film it's smowg.
Da Boss wrote:I am going to post spoilers in my review, if you don't want to see them then scroll past without reading. (This is a review thread so I figure spoilers are to be expected.)
Well, that was...something.
Spoiler:
It starts reasonably well, though I felt the Beorn bit was a bit rushed I still enjoyed it. The Mirkwood sequence was alright too, and the set design there is excellent. The spider fight had me really thinking "Wow, this is going to be great!" because I thought it was really well put together.
The elves arriving was to be expected, but Orlando Bloom surfing on a spider is something I could have lived without. He surfs on an orc later, too, bloody hell. (There is a lot of Legolas fighting CGI orcs in this movie, the fights are pretty unrealistic and lack any feeling of threat or drama. Compare them to the Aragorn/Lurtz fight from Fellowship and you'll see what I mean).
I agree with everything said here.
Then we had the Elf/Dwarf romance sub plot. I was, to put it lightly, highly sceptical about this. They escape and have a ridiculous, computer gamey, drama free fight with orcs in the barrels (my girlfriend said the plot of this movie could be summed up by "*Something happening* and then Orcs attack!"). I was really annoyed by the barrel fight but hoped it might be the low point of the film. Unfortunately, I was really, really wrong.
romance sub-plot was bad, but the barrel fight was just the same as the escape from goblin town- a completely unrealistic, almost theme-park-ridey scene, but also great fun to watch, especially for kids.
After this we find out that Kili has been shot by a "morgul arrow". Wait. What? Poison arrow, I would have been fine with. But apparently now the terrifying artefact wielded only by the Witch King of Angmar? Nah. It's a pretty common piece of kit actually. Doesn't even have to be a dagger. We put it in arrowheads that we then give to random orcs to shoot at random Dwarves.
Really terrible, and so needless too. The same plot could have been managed easily with poison. Don't come at me with "making links" with the other films/books, horribly mangling the source material is what it is, and it also breaks the sense of the world.
huh, didn't notice it mention that it was a morgul arrow. Yeah, I agree. I get how they want to link it to the fellowship, and that the ringwraiths are back, but yeah, that's bad.
Though I wouldn't go as far to say it "breaks the sense of the world"- It's a throwaway reference which would work exactly the same as if it was regular poison, so you can easily just ignore it.
So they get to Laketown, which was pretty well realised, and I liked what they had done with Bard too, made sense and made for some interesting potential later. Also liked the foreshadowing with the ice in the lake. Dwarves in the toilet was...okay, yeah, ...right. No. No more poop humour Jackson.
Again, I agree with you here, and the toilet thing was bad, but the way Dwalin acts in it is, again fairly fun, especially for kids.
The departure from Laketown was also not that bad apart from leaving people behind just to manufacture drama.
again, agreed. Though Bofur sleeping in was pretty funny, especially seeing as he's irish Then the actual mountain sequences. Throughout this the sets and visuals were stunning, but the plotting really falls short. One problem in this film is that Bilbo doesn't use his ring half enough. He uses it far more in the books! The scene where the dwarves all give up and then Bilbo opens the door was really pretty bad, to be honest. Took me out of the movie completely. Then Bilbo goes down to the treasure horde. It really bugged me that he didn't wear the ring for this, and how long it took him to put it on. Then the fact that he took it off again! Argh. That was poor. I felt from that point that either Bilbo should have died for sure or they were going to have to make Smaug less of a threat than he deserved. The voicing for Smaug was well done and the visual effects for him were great, but the "chase" sequences that followed, with both bilbo and the Dwarves, really diminished him as a threat. It felt computer gamey and like an episode of Benny Hill at times, and I felt it was completely un-needed. Far better to follow the events in the book in my view.
agreed about how smaug didn't kill the dwarves/bilbo, but he didn't like to use the ring because it seemed to drain him and, with the whole dark whispering thing and such, probably scared him too. If I were him, I wouldn't use it unless I had to either. And he doesn't just take it off, the ring makes him, much like it did with getting frodo to put it on.
While this is going on, the plot with Gandalf and Radagast investigating what's happening in Dol Guldur progresses. This is mostly alright, though it could have been better too I suppose. It deserved a bit more time actually. I also would have liked to have seen more ghosts and spirits and fewer Orcs in that sequence.
again, agreed. I can't remember, but what happened with Gandalf's staff?
Anyway, the last sequences, the giant fight between the Dwarves and Smaug with their completely stupid plan to defeat him, argh. Argh argh argh. Awful. But not as bad as what was going on in Laketown, replaying the "kingsfoil" drama from Fellowship but with characters I completely don't care about and comedy pigs. Who thought that was a good idea? The "romance" bit at the end, jesus, totally OTT and cringey. Also, way to make what Arwen/Aragorn did in not special at all. That sequence, along with the completely unbelievable fight sequence with Smaug, really ruined what could have been a passable-but-flawed movie for me.
again, the whole romance thing was bad, and the rest of it was just an excuse to make Tauriel come to laketown, and the dwarve's plan was a bit convoluted and silly, but at least it kept the orcs in the film, which was a complaint in an unexpected journey, and the whole gold-thing did demonstrate how rich erebor once was and offered an amazing visual spectacle.
And they wrote themselves into a corner too, because at the end I can't see that Smaug would have left them alive in his treasure hoard and flown off the Laketown. That was needless too, and could have been impressive and visually spectacular if it had been as it was in the book. The way it was in the movie made no sense to me at all.
eh, for me that's just preference. It's not good to end such a film without a bit of action, and as it was in the book, the dwarves hadn't even entered the mountain when Smaug flew off.
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
2013/12/15 00:48:49
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
I agree with a lot of what has been posted. Stepping back from the LOTR fanboy for a minute and purely looking at this as a movie, i thought it was an absolutely fantastic movie. yes there were some real moments where I facepalmed...explained in my spoilers below.
Best parts of movie were:
1) Beorn, I was expecting total fail, but we got an endearing character, wish there were more of him.
2) Elf King...wow this guy was cool, and creepy, not the lovey-dovey, touchy-feely Rivendell elf. I want more
3) Bard & Lake town...Very well done I loved every character they introduced for Lake Town.
4) Smaug...enough said..Totally awesome
Overall it was a much better film than the first one, I give it an A-.
Spoiler:
OK so the biggest issues I had about this film were(these are kind of small gripes not enough to ruin the film but enough to make me scratch my head)
1) Boba Fet Legolas Legolas was so awesome in this, but they overdid it. as was pointed out by others, it just became filler and the whole "show down in lake town" was close to losing me..but I told myself they had to make 3 films and this was the price. If they needed filler, would rather have seen more Beorn..like him thrashing orcs instead of Boba Fet legolas.
2) Universal Studios barrel ride...again way over the top..way too much acrobatics from Boba Fet.
3)Jello Gold? So when did Dwarves invent the ability to have Gold go all Jello like, is it liquid or is it solid...I can't tell, it's jello Gold.
4) Smaug finding Bilbo too fast, it kind of ruined the fun. I wanted to see more of the witty banter..but its Like Smaug zooms right in on Bilbo and then poof he removes the ring..then Smaug doesn't fry him?
Jackson could have had an almost perfect movie without some of the stuff above. IMHO
GG
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/12/15 00:50:22
2013/12/15 00:55:28
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
did you see the car in the scene when there crossing the lake ? there are two rave fours or suv driving on the highway... and did you also get the reference too grimli as a baby when the wood evles take all there items
2013/12/15 01:16:06
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
generalgrog wrote:If they needed filler, would rather have seen more Beorn..like him thrashing orcs instead of Boba Fet legolas.
Spoiler:
in the next film, I am SO looking forward to that
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
2013/12/15 02:13:58
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Da Boss wrote: I am going to post spoilers in my review, if you don't want to see them then scroll past without reading. (This is a review thread so I figure spoilers are to be expected.)
Well, that was...something.
Spoiler:
It starts reasonably well, though I felt the Beorn bit was a bit rushed I still enjoyed it. The Mirkwood sequence was alright too, and the set design there is excellent. The spider fight had me really thinking "Wow, this is going to be great!" because I thought it was really well put together.
The elves arriving was to be expected, but Orlando Bloom surfing on a spider is something I could have lived without. He surfs on an orc later, too, bloody hell. (There is a lot of Legolas fighting CGI orcs in this movie, the fights are pretty unrealistic and lack any feeling of threat or drama. Compare them to the Aragorn/Lurtz fight from Fellowship and you'll see what I mean).
Then we had the Elf/Dwarf romance sub plot. I was, to put it lightly, highly sceptical about this. They escape and have a ridiculous, computer gamey, drama free fight with orcs in the barrels (my girlfriend said the plot of this movie could be summed up by "*Something happening* and then Orcs attack!"). I was really annoyed by the barrel fight but hoped it might be the low point of the film. Unfortunately, I was really, really wrong.
After this we find out that Kili has been shot by a "morgul arrow". Wait. What? Poison arrow, I would have been fine with. But apparently now the terrifying artefact wielded only by the Witch King of Angmar? Nah. It's a pretty common piece of kit actually. Doesn't even have to be a dagger. We put it in arrowheads that we then give to random orcs to shoot at random Dwarves.
Really terrible, and so needless too. The same plot could have been managed easily with poison. Don't come at me with "making links" with the other films/books, horribly mangling the source material is what it is, and it also breaks the sense of the world.
So they get to Laketown, which was pretty well realised, and I liked what they had done with Bard too, made sense and made for some interesting potential later. Also liked the foreshadowing with the ice in the lake. Dwarves in the toilet was...okay, yeah, ...right. No. No more poop humour Jackson.
The departure from Laketown was also not that bad apart from leaving people behind just to manufacture drama.
Then the actual mountain sequences. Throughout this the sets and visuals were stunning, but the plotting really falls short. One problem in this film is that Bilbo doesn't use his ring half enough. He uses it far more in the books! The scene where the dwarves all give up and then Bilbo opens the door was really pretty bad, to be honest. Took me out of the movie completely. Then Bilbo goes down to the treasure horde. It really bugged me that he didn't wear the ring for this, and how long it took him to put it on. Then the fact that he took it off again! Argh. That was poor. I felt from that point that either Bilbo should have died for sure or they were going to have to make Smaug less of a threat than he deserved. The voicing for Smaug was well done and the visual effects for him were great, but the "chase" sequences that followed, with both bilbo and the Dwarves, really diminished him as a threat. It felt computer gamey and like an episode of Benny Hill at times, and I felt it was completely un-needed. Far better to follow the events in the book in my view.
While this is going on, the plot with Gandalf and Radagast investigating what's happening in Dol Guldur progresses. This is mostly alright, though it could have been better too I suppose. It deserved a bit more time actually. I also would have liked to have seen more ghosts and spirits and fewer Orcs in that sequence.
Anyway, the last sequences, the giant fight between the Dwarves and Smaug with their completely stupid plan to defeat him, argh. Argh argh argh. Awful. But not as bad as what was going on in Laketown, replaying the "kingsfoil" drama from Fellowship but with characters I completely don't care about and comedy pigs. Who thought that was a good idea? The "romance" bit at the end, jesus, totally OTT and cringey. Also, way to make what Arwen/Aragorn did in not special at all. That sequence, along with the completely unbelievable fight sequence with Smaug, really ruined what could have been a passable-but-flawed movie for me.
And they wrote themselves into a corner too, because at the end I can't see that Smaug would have left them alive in his treasure hoard and flown off the Laketown. That was needless too, and could have been impressive and visually spectacular if it had been as it was in the book. The way it was in the movie made no sense to me at all.
Yeah, you're right Da Boss. I think the awesomeness that was Smaug helps make up for a lot of it. But I would have said all the same criticisms. For some reason they think replicating a scene from LOTR is more pleasing to the audience than a new plot, but it just feels rehashed. That said it has me rereading the book now . And again, Smaug (voice and visuals) was fething amazing!
2013/12/15 02:58:41
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Medium of Death wrote: One thing about the pronunciation of "Smaug"... I pronounce that as "Smog", but I've heard it said as "Smowg"...
Sm - all
Aug -ust
How do they say it in the film? What do you say dakka?
I say that we've all been around enough to see common words pronounced differently depending on where we are in a country or even state or province. It didn't bother me however Smaug was pronounced by the different characters. For myself, I pronounce it "Smog"
2013/12/15 03:11:12
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Medium of Death wrote: One thing about the pronunciation of "Smaug"... I pronounce that as "Smog", but I've heard it said as "Smowg"...
Sm - all
Aug -ust
How do they say it in the film? What do you say dakka?
I say that we've all been around enough to see common words pronounced differently depending on where we are in a country or even state or province. It didn't bother me however Smaug was pronounced by the different characters. For myself, I pronounce it "Smog"
yeah- I think it's just smowg because that's how the kiwis say it
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
2013/12/15 03:35:43
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
The way that I am justifying the differences between the trilogy and the book is that when we are reading the Hobbit, we are reading it as penned by Bilbo Baggins, who added lots of fluff to it to make it more of a "fairy tale". He left out the parts he wasn't there for, and added stuff to other portions, like the songs, a large part of meeting Beorn, etc.
Imagine as if he was thinking, "Hmm, yes. Young Frodo would really like this part if I embellished it a bit more."
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/12/15 03:37:18
"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."
2013/12/15 03:37:08
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
The way that I am justifying the differences between the trilogy and the book is that when we are reading the Hobbit, we are reading it as penned by Bilbo Baggins, who added lots of fluff to it to make it more of a "fairy tale". He left out the parts he wasn't there for, and added stuff to other portions, like the songs, a large part of meeting Beorn, etc.
More or less that is how a lot of people have discussed the book for quite some time; that it was Bilbo's recounting as he wrote it for his nephew Frodo.
2013/12/15 03:38:05
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Especially as Hobbits are the master of embellishment.
"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."
2013/12/15 06:31:58
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Saw it on opening day and thoroughly enjoyed it.....except for one thing.....
Spoiler:
At the end where Smaug was flying towards Laketown to rain death and destruction on the puny humans living there......then the screen goes black and the credits roll.
My reaction was
Solve a man's problem with violence and help him for a day. Teach a man how to solve his problems with violence, help him for a lifetime - Belkar Bitterleaf
2013/12/15 15:03:49
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
[DCM]
GW Public Relations Manager (Privateer Press Mole)
Not to be the contrarian here but..
The positives:
Smaug's CGI was spectacular
I warmed up to Bilbo a bit more this film, as it seemed less hamfist/you must like this character
Evageline Lilly shocked me--she actually did that role as well as I could imagine anyone could
The negatives:
CGI outside of Smaug looked very bad to me. The barrel scene in particular, as well as the scenes with the ponies--all looked very rough and video game cut scene quality smoothness. Really let down here and was jarring in the film
The barrel scene had a few moments of brilliance--before it turned into "How many Orcs can the Elves massacre in over the top ways". Obviously it's a fantasy film--but it really suspends any 'danger' when the Orcs appear to be dispatched at will
While Evageline Lilly did a terrific job with her character--the whole love triangle thing just seemed pointless and vacuous.
And...the goat of the film to me? Orlando Bloom. He just seemed wooden and appeared like he didn't want to be there.
Overall, I give it a B-/C+. Feels like a completely forgettable film--one of those buy it, watch it once more with the kids, then it grabs a shelf and some dust.
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2013/12/15 15:36:59
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Did you see the movie in HD? CGI has in general looked terrible in every movie I've ever watched on an HD theater screen. I'm not at all a fan of HD, to be honest. Everything just looks wrong in HD.
I've got the sneaking suspicion that the producers forced the love triangle on the filmmakers. Seems like the kinda thing they'd do. I mean, I'm cool with adding a named female character - as long as it's handled well and the character is well-acted. At least it looks like we got the latter...
I say it was an improvement on an unexpected journey by at least a thousandfold. I really disliked the first hobbit movie and it was one of the biggest letdowns I've ever had in film. However the second one, if not a whole lot like the book, was at least entertaining. Characters were fleshed out and all the acting was generally better. The romance part was kind of just shoved in there though, and was unneeded, as well as the whole sequence of trying to fight smaug/incase him in gold, etc. Some of the shots of smaug were great but others reminded me of Dragonheart, which is not a good thing seeing as that cgi is almost 18 years old. All in all though, it was a good effort towards making a Hobbit movie, and so much better than the first one. One last question, did anybody else think that the lighting in these hobbit movies was off? It reminded me of a made for tv movie, or a bbc show, rather than something LOTR-esque. The first LOTR movies must have had way more subdued color palletes and lighting, and I have to say I prefer the old look.
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2013/12/15 19:12:18
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Color Sgt. Kell wrote: One last question, did anybody else think that the lighting in these hobbit movies was off? It reminded me of a made for tv movie, or a bbc show, rather than something LOTR-esque. The first LOTR movies must have had way more subdued color palletes and lighting, and I have to say I prefer the old look.
I don't tend to notice that kind of stuff, but they did use more vibrant colours to make up for either the RED 3D cameras or the whole 5000p thing, not sure which, so maybe they erred on the side of better too much than too little. Plus, it is a kid's book, so maybe it was a more deliberate choice.
DS:90-S++G+++M++B++I+Plotr06#+D+++A++++/eWD251R+++T(Ot)DM+ JB: I like the concept of a free Shrike roaming through the treetops of the jungle. I'm not sure that I like the idea of a real Shrike sitting on my couch eating my Skittles. corpsesarefun: Thank god I missed be nice to shrike day. greenskin lynn: because of all the skittles and soda, you basically live off sugar water, like some sort of freakish human-hummingbird hybrid.
2013/12/15 20:07:02
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
StarGate wrote: did you see the car in the scene when there crossing the lake ? there are two rave fours or suv driving on the highway... and did you also get the reference too grimli as a baby when the wood evles take all there items
Really? Seems like that would be an obvious thing to pick up on... will wait until screencaps start to emerge of that upon DVD/Blu-Ray release.
Overall I thought the pacing was vastly improved over unexpected journey. Journey to me felt so much like the dull parts of LOTR with lots of walking and excessive scenery.
I loved the cgi on Smaug he was incredibly well done and the voice acting was also great so he felt incredibly lifelike, much like they did with Gollum. While it differed a bit from the book I found the verbal exchange to be a quite fitting display representing a dragon's intelligence and arrogance. While he's incredibly powerful he prefers to toy with his quarry rather than just being a mindless eating machine. Particuraly where he decides to go burn Lake Town because it'd pain Bilbo more than simply eating him, which he'd plan to do later after he's had his fill of hobbit tears.
The set for Lake Town was incredible and it'd be almost a wet dream to have something like that for a Mordheim table, especially how I envision what it'll look like after Smaug gets done with it.
I'm not sure I'm keen on Legolas being in the film, his appearance was ok but what I really disliked is his over the top action, surfing enemies and standing on heads, ugh. I know he's supposed to be uber in battle but that stuff was too comical IMO. If they'd used a few less shots of him in cgi action mode he would have been so much better IMO. I thought he was so much better in the Lake Town fighting than the barrel scenes. This may sound weird but his contacts drove me crazy. In some scenes they looked fine but in other scenes depending on the angle looked fake as hell and I found it distracting as it gave him a very dead look. It probably won't bother 99.9% of the audience but it drove me nuts.
Also, man do those dwarves have some massive eyebrows. They're like beards worn on the forehead! The bearded dwarf woman wallet pic was hillarious.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/12/16 09:22:06
Paulson Games parts are now at:
www.RedDogMinis.com
2013/12/16 09:41:13
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
paulson games wrote: This may sound weird but his contacts drove me crazy. In some scenes they looked fine but in other scenes depending on the angle looked fake as hell and I found it distracting as it gave him a very dead look. It probably won't bother 99.9% of the audience but it drove me nuts.
Now that you mention it, there were a couple of moments that had a "white walker" vibe to them. But, yea, Legolas was way overused.
2013/12/16 09:54:26
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
paulson games wrote: This may sound weird but his contacts drove me crazy. In some scenes they looked fine but in other scenes depending on the angle looked fake as hell and I found it distracting as it gave him a very dead look. It probably won't bother 99.9% of the audience but it drove me nuts.
Now that you mention it, there were a couple of moments that had a "white walker" vibe to them. But, yea, Legolas was way overused.
IN the LOTR movies, Logolas's over-the-top skillz are balance by humour - in that instance, adding to the book in terms of his rivalry with Gimli illuminates the actual story. This time around, it's anti-climatic. Introducing Tauriel is such a carbon-copy of the introduction of Arwen that to me it felt completely flat and unemotional (hey, maybe that's because Evangeline Lilly is no Liv tyler).
overall, I felt that all the extra interpolated scenes actually made the plotting seem confused and rushed. There was no tension of Bilbo vs Smaug. In much the same way, we get all the extra dialogue with Beorn, but we lose the humour of his meeting the dwarves two at a time... and his scenes are rushed.
In the book, you feel Bilbo growing in stature and confidence, spying on the elves, and verbally jousting with Smaug. We lost that here, for at least one extra action scene too many.
Benedict Cumberbatch was terrific as Smaugh, though - I read recently that his dad used to do a fantastic job of reading the Hobbit to young Cumberbatch as a kid, so Benedict was overjoyed to call him up and tell him he was voicing the greedy worm.
2013/12/16 10:48:20
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Well I'm perhaps in a minority but I really enjoyed An Unexpected Journey, and whilst I certainly liked the Desolation of Smaug, I think it's the weaker film. It certainly dragged in the middle. All the stuff with the Elf girl and Kili was weird and unnecessary and I don't really get the point of Stephen Fry's character and the whole downtrodden people of laketown bit. I don't remember anything about that in the book, though I admit it's been many years since I read it. It just felt like bloat for its own sake.
The bits with Gandalf exploring Dol Gidur where good though and the end sequence with Smaug was superb. Really made up for the dragged out middle of the film.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/12/16 12:41:15
"And if we've learnt anything over the past 1000 mile retreat it's that Russian agriculture is in dire need of mechanisation!"
2013/12/16 11:41:11
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
paulson games wrote: Overall I thought the pacing was vastly improved over unexpected journey. Journey to me felt so much like the dull parts of LOTR with lots of walking and excessive scenery.
I'm not sure I'm keen on Legolas being in the film, his appearance was ok but what I really disliked is his over the top action, surfing enemies and standing on heads, ugh. I know he's supposed to be uber in battle but that stuff was too comical IMO. If they'd used a few less shots of him in cgi action mode he would have been so much better IMO. I thought he was so much better in the Lake Town fighting than the barrel scenes. This may sound weird but his contacts drove me crazy. In some scenes they looked fine but in other scenes depending on the angle looked fake as hell and I found it distracting as it gave him a very dead look. It probably won't bother 99.9% of the audience but it drove me nuts.
Agreed with your first point as for your second i also totally agree, in general i thought his Pellenor fields trumping antics were a little silly. That being said i thought his duel with Bolg near the end of this film was superb and reminded me of the kinetic battles of Chris Nolan or Zack Snyder.
When it comes to Legolas i will share with you my favourite moment of his in LOTR. The scene in Two Towers where the Wargs are coming over the hill and Legolas is firing on them from a vast range, each of his shots is slow and deliberate but each one scores a kill (EDIT: I guess it helps that this scene is gorgeously shot ). This slice of supreme awesomeness is slightly marred by the silly way he subsequently jumps on the horse and it's dodgy CGI though. (I do think that had he jumped on the horse in less silly way, like say jumping vertically upwards and landing back down on it, the scene would have been improved. Though directly offering alternatives is bad criticism.)
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2013/12/16 11:45:43
Mary Sue wrote: Perkustin is even more awesome than me!
2013/12/16 16:06:27
Subject: Re:Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
i'm with most people; I liked this one a lot more than Unexpected Journey. There were only a few things that bothered me*:
- I thought Smaug would be way more menacing. I mean, he didn't seem to threatening for being an ancient red dragon.
- I highly doubt an elf could handle brawling with an orc, especially Bolg.
- It seemed like there was soooo much CGI. The one thing I loved about the LOTR series was that so many of the orcs and uruk hai were just fantastic makeup and costumes.
The barrel scene was by far one of my favorites, Seeing Bombur go super dwarf in a barrel was amazing.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
mega_bassist wrote: i'm with most people; I liked this one a lot more than Unexpected Journey. There were only a few things that bothered me*:
- I thought Smaug would be way more menacing. I mean, he didn't seem to threatening for being an ancient red dragon.
- I highly doubt an elf could handle brawling with an orc, especially Bolg.
- It seemed like there was soooo much CGI. The one thing I loved about the LOTR series was that so many of the orcs and uruk hai were just fantastic makeup and costumes.
*I've never read The Hobbit
But it's Legolas.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/12/16 16:12:23
mega_bassist wrote: i'm with most people; I liked this one a lot more than Unexpected Journey. There were only a few things that bothered me*:
- I thought Smaug would be way more menacing. I mean, he didn't seem to threatening for being an ancient red dragon.
- I highly doubt an elf could handle brawling with an orc, especially Bolg.
- It seemed like there was soooo much CGI. The one thing I loved about the LOTR series was that so many of the orcs and uruk hai were just fantastic makeup and costumes.
*I've never read The Hobbit
Yeah the prevalence of Jar-Jar orcs was a little annoying espeically seeing as the actual orc make-up in this film was as good as ever. (The orc the elf King interrogated for example).
Mary Sue wrote: Perkustin is even more awesome than me!
2013/12/16 16:24:30
Subject: Dakka's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Reviews
Interestingly the budget for the first two Hobbit films outstrips that of the entire Lord of the Rings films. The more I hear about these films the less interest I have in seeing them which is odd as I devoured all three Lord of the Rings films when they came out, watching all the behind the scenes stuff and watching the extended versions repeatedly. Subsequently reading through the books brought me to the Hobbit, which I loved. I know people are saying "it's not like the book but it's a decent adventure film" even that still doesn't grab me. There's something off about it that I can't place that doesn't make me want to part with my cash for this franchise. I don't know whether it has to do with the lighting or the over use of cgi. I know the LotR's films used CGI but that seemed to mesh better, despite being 12 years older.
I really wish they had made the Hobbit into two films and perhaps kept the "White Council" film as an individual affair. When GW expanded on Dol Guldur it was just a taste of what I thought PJ could achieve, sadly not.
One thing that I don't understand is why the Witch King is said to be "burried" at Dol Guldur in the film. He became a Wraith, he has no corpse and was not killed when the Ring corrupted him (and the other 8) so why is this stated in the film? I think PJ as really screwed the pooch on this one.
. And again, Smaug (voice and visuals) was fething amazing!
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