Thing is with this type of fiction it's either your thing or it's not. There is litteraly no middle ground. I was in love with LOTR from the first moment. If you didn't enjoy the first one there's a small chance the rest will change you mind. But they do get bigger and the more you get to know the character the more you want to see them. But like I said either you're into this sort of thing or you're not.
You say that like you're not enjoying it....... I would say ditto to what Yggdrasil said Are you watching the theatrical editions or extended editions? I think that they kept getting better. ROTK is my favorite, but I love them all. I will say that I have grown to love the trilogy more with repeat viewings, so for me at least, my first impressions of the movie were not as good as how I rate them now.
Both The Hobbit and Fellowship of the Ring are introducing the story so they are a bit slower - the action sequences in the Two Towers & Return of the King really ramp up to crazy levels.
Oh man I remember watching the extended edition of ROTK. I watched the whole 4 bloody hours of it in ONE go. I felt like I was going to die, but it was worth it
That's nothing, every year for the past six years my wife goes to a theater in town that screens all three EEs in one day. I love the movies, they're my favorite trilogy, but I do not have the ass for that kind of marathon. I also enjoy them more now than I did originally. I liked them when I first saw them, but ten years ago I still didn't have full control over the raging nerd inside me, and I would get infuriated whenever something would happen that wasn't in the book, or happened differently than it did in the book. The elves showing up at Helms Deep for example just about made me choke and leave the theater. These days I embrace the differences because the book is the book and the movie is the movie and both are works of art.
The first time I watched the Fellowship was in the theaters. Went with some old friends I haven't seen in a while. Until that night, I've never heard of the Lord of the Rings (yeah, blasphemy!). So, 2 hours go by, and I'm like, how the hell are they gonna finish their quest? And then it was "to be continued", and I'm like WTF? I didn't know it was a trilogy at the time. Anyway, I get the DVD and I think I completly watched it only once and that took three days. So, yeah, I don't care for the first movie at all. With that said, I thought two towers was awesome. I rank two towers over return of the king. with return, I thought they were doing the same thing in a different location. But that's just me. As far as the Hobbit goes, yeah, I'll wait for the Blu Ray.
Just got done seeing it. The sister loved it, I enjoyed it, I'm still baffled as to how they intend to stretch it out for two more movies. @_@
By adding stuff, lengthening things, embellishing things. They can make the Battle of Five Armies last for much of the 3rd if they wanted to.
exactly this, i am assuming that part 2 will end shortly after smaug is dealt with and the 3rd will primarily be the battle of 5 armies
Went and watched it today. Spoiler Holy crap, the special Effects for the Goblins and Smaug (Even if you don't get to see the entire beast) are amazing. That little Cameo by Brett "Figwit" McKenzie was clever. I liked how they had the characters singing at points where it would have happened in the book. The Goblin King was really Gross-looking which was appropriate given his position as leader of the Goblins. I liked how Weta Digital made Gollum's Eyes Reflect light in the dark so he'd be more in line with the way he was described by Tolkien. The Dwarves were really well done, Having watched the Rankin/Bass Animated Hobbit, I was impressed at how they brought these thirteen to life. The Trolls were well-done as well, Their back-and-forth banter made them feel more alive than the Cave Trolls seen in Fellowship, Towers, and Return (Appropriate given the fact that the Arguing trolls are a memorable segment of Bilbo's adventure with Thorin Okensheild's Company). I was Unprepared for The Shoehorned references to the Re-emergence of Sauron, but the side-story didn't feel like it was forced down my throat (Like Anakin Skywalker in the Prequel Trilogy did) So it felt like it contributed to the OVERALL story. Really Great movie, can't wait to see Part 2.
Do you mean Gollum? If so, probably not in the second and third Hobbit movies, but he is in The Lord of the Rings trilogy quite a bit... And he's not annoying.
Spoiler Man, the Smaug attack at the beginning of the movie was the best dragon-centric action sequence i've ever seen in a movie, and we didn't even see the dragon. So much love for this movie, i can't even begin. Amazing from start to finish. Love, love, love. I liked it even better than the other LOTR movies, perhaps because i'm more familiar with the book than I was with the Rings books. Can't wait until next year's leg of the journey!
I kind of always thought Gollum was annoying, even when I read the book. But his character is so important that it's not like he could be removed from the storyline. Enormous difference between his level of annoyance and something like Jar Jar binks (still scarred after 10 years)
I always found Gollum's manner of speech and attitude unintentionally hilarious, unlike Jar Jar who was always intended to be a comedic character but failing at doing so.
Saw it today, loved it. A great adventure yarn with some interesting foreshadowing and other such fun. Spoiler That bit when Galadriel and Gandalf were talking telepathically, I can almost hear her say 'You naughty boy, Mithrandir, when she realizes he planned the Dwarve's exit . It was very funny. If I have to give a negative, its that stupid version of The Misty Mountains at the end of the movie. It sounded okay when I first heard it, but when Richard Armitage and the others sing it as the deep and mournful dirge of the ancient Dwarven kingdom at Bilbo's house, I wanted them to keep going for like another five minutes.
^ Pretty much this. Overall, I'd have to say it's my favorite Middle Earth movie right now. I loved it, but yeah, the Dwarves own that song. It's on the SE soundtrack (which is on it's way to my UPS box) but listed only as 1:47. Guess the cliff notes version is better than nothing.
Saw it yesterday. Haven't read the book, just so you know I went into this movie with a fresh mind - my only exposure to Middle-Earth is through the Lord of the Rings movies, and some *general* knowledge on what the Hobbit and other Tolkien works are about. My opinion: it was a letdown. I'm aware the Hobbit is a pretty thin book (at least compared to LOTR), but man..they really did try and spread what little story they had over two or three movies. I understand that the movie execs smell money and want to turn this into another LOTR trilogy, but from a story standpoint they would have been better off with just one big movie. Everything was dragged out forever, and the amount of crazy action scenes the company got involved in was just silly. Especially in the goblin cave, where it reached zany levels, with them falling on scaffolding, which then continued to fall on more scaffolding, which then fell on even more scaffolding...oh hey they got away just fine! It's similar to the bone cage escape in Pirates 2, or the triple waterfall in Indy 4..insane, and not in a good way. I also understand they wanted to keep Smaug hidden, so he could be the big reveal for movie 2 - but if you involve the character in a lengthy openingscene and plays a vital role throughout the story, you can't get away with shots that almost capture it. SO annoying! Also not a fan of the high frequency version. 48 fps is the new Hollywood trick to lure people into the theatre, but it only takes you out of the movie. Everything moves so fluently you become really aware you're not watching a story play out, but just actors on sets. It's really clear and detailed, yes - but at the cost of being able to identify way better when something is clearly a prop or a fake background. Some cgi also looks more fake this way - although in all honesty: some other cgi actually looked terrifyingly REAL, even on 48fps! So I don't think the cgi is the problem. I have no problem with visuals becoming better and crisper, but please drop the high frequency! Some good points: -Martin Freeman brings an excellent performance as Bilbo Baggins. Most actors are actually pretty good but I'd like to single him out. He's perfect for the role, in my opinion. -as said, some cgi looks awful thanks to the high frequency rate, but some looks STUNNING. -they implemented the songs very well. I know songs and poems are a big part of the books, and they didn't turn up in the LOTR movies, but they worked great here. And it didn't feel like a Disney musical. The Misty Mountains song is perfect. My score: 6/10 Ok, bye!
