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Warning: If you have been trying to know as little about the movie as possible, read no further. If however, you've been watching the trailers and hearing news about it, I don't think I'll surprise you with new information.
Things I Had Trouble With
As I am a big Tolkien fan and absolutely adore, I was full of mixed feelings and complaints after first leaving the theater. The story had so much added and changed content! So as a book retelling, its pretty independent.
I would have loved to see more of Beorn's House and the Elven King's halls. Only glimpses of these were seen, though very pretty glimpses.
One thing that took major getting used to was how they portrayed the Elven King. I won't give away spoilers, but I will say they gave him some background that gives him a very interesting personality. My opinion on this depends entirely on the condition that they reveal the noble guy he is in Part Three.
Also, this isn't something I'm having a major problem with now, but it is probably the main sore spot for critics. Tauriel, a elf-maiden warrioress, has been entirely created for the movie. And despite what Peter Jackson said, she and Legolas obviously are interested in each other. When I first heard of Tauriel, I rebelled against the idea and snarled that she better not be a romantic interest for Legolas. Now I say that since we knew zero about Legolas's private life as prince, it's not unreasonable that he falls in love. And if he's going to fall in love, Tauriel is the girl for him. I actually really like her, despite the cheesy way in which she often enters the screen. Despite being a gutsy warrior, she's sweet and compassionate. However, things aren't going smoothly for my favorite cinematic elf prince. His dad disapproves of the girl (lower-class, you see), and plus Tauriel seems to be developing feelings for a certain cute dwarf (rather they're romantic feelings or not is as yet undecipherable) causing Legolas to get a bit jealous (but not jealous enough to be a jerk, thank heavens).
Things I Absolutely Loved!
Smaug.
Smaug was the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities (meant in the best possible way). O Smaug the Mighty. The unassessably wealthy. The Impenetrable. Dazzlingly marvelous! Perfect! Flawless! Stunning!
I. Loved. Smaug. All I'm going to say. I won't spoil anything for you.
Also, the events within Dol Golder with a certain Necromancer is fantastically done with creepy good effects. Once again, I can't spoil too much, but it was awesome. And a certain quote from Azog in reply to a certain someone made my mouth drop open. "We are legion." Direct quote from the demon who answered Jesus. I'm pretty sure that was intentional.
Bard the Bowman was wonderful. He quickly escalated to one my favorite characters in the movie. Plus, making him a caring father added such a warmth and realness to the movie, despite that this wasn't shown in the book. I adored having his kids as characters.
And the battle scenes with the elves were really cool. We even get to see a bit of elf/orc hand to hand combat, which was surprising and also kind of fun.
Things Viewers Might Like To Know
There's violence. I've heard it argued that its the most violent one yet. I'm not sure about that, but there was some gross orc beheadings that happened smack-dab in front of you, close enough to feel blood splatter. :P Plenty of orcs are skewered by elf arrows. But here's the reason why I don't have a problem with that. Orcs being skewered by elves. Much better than the other way around, yes? I probably flinched the most when an arrow is violently snapped off while in a hero's leg. Looked really painful.
Also, there's a large scene with spiders everywhere. Kind of freaky, even for someone who isn't terrified of spiders. My dad absolutely hates them, but he handled the scene pretty well.
Final Thoughts
Did I love it? Yes, I did. And after just finishing it the second time, I love it even more! I can hardly wait for The Hobbit: There and Back Again. That will be one intense movie, considering where this one leaves off. Wait, where does this one leave off? I guess you'll have to watch it, heh, heh, heh.
8 comments:
I never really got the idea that Tauriel had feelings for Legolas . . . maybe I missed something, though. I really liked her, and I hope they don't kill her in the third movie.
I really didn't like Thranduil . . . I'm sorry, but I didn't, and I really hope he gets better in the next movie, because he and the spiders are the only things standing in the way of my wanting to live in Mirkwood now.
Other than that, I agree with pretty much everything you said, especially about Smaug and Bard.
Sarah: She seemed rather breathless when she was informed of his feelings for her and saddened by Thranduil's disapproval. And I do NOT want her to be killed in the next movie either. We've already got a few deaths provided by Tolkien, we don't need any more.
Yes, I'm rather disappointing by Thranduil. Regal is great, tormented is interesting, but he seemed to be bit too...I'm not sure of the word. Malicious is too strong. What they've done is given him the persona of Thingol, King of Doriath, an elven king of old whose halls Thranduil supposedly lived in (though I haven't confirmed this through Tolkien yet). I never liked Thingol, but I'm willing to give this new Thranduil a chance. I think his nobility will be drawn out in the next movie. :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
I enjoyed the Hobbit, too! The only thing I didn't like was how they translated lightheartedness to completely comical combat scenes (they changed the barrel-scene! Argh!). I actually loved the Elvenking. I think he showed the perfect amount of fear to explain his actions. And I LOVED the actor for Bard! But I do worry that they're setting up the Lord of the Rings a bit too much for events that are supposed to take everyone by surprise...
Some of the combat scenes were pretty corny. But they also allowed for some incredible elf action, so I didn't mind. :)
Yes, I very much appreciated how that showed that the Elvenking's reason for locking up his people is sincere concern for their safety. Of course, you think he would have learned his lesson from the elven cities (Gondolin, Doriath, Nargothrond) that secluded themselves and were ultimately decimated. And if you watch the extended version of the first Hobbit, you'll see he was treated unfairly in some of sort of deal with the dwarves.
It is true that during the events of The Hobbit, Gandalf discovered Sauron had returned and--SPOILER--the White Council drove the Necromancer out of Dol Gulder. Unfortunately, all Sauron did was scurry over to Mordor which he had already been rebuilding.
Good review! I can't wait to see it myself. I'm hoping to tomorrow. :) I guess we'll see what happens.
By the way, Bard the Bowman was in the book. He was one of the leaders during the battle of the five armies, as well as the one who actually *SPOILER* killed Smaug *END SPOILER*. His character might not have been fully explored, but he was a major factor in the ultimate victory of the heroes. :)
Hope you'll get to see it, Rayne!
Ooo, oo, I wasn't talking about Bard not being in the book. I was talking about his being a dad with kids not being in the book. Wow, I really misworded that. :D
I've read The Hobbit many times, and I thoroughly love the literary character of Bard. I do find it amusing that Tolkien gave the role of killing the Dragon to a man who was introduced only pages before. It goes against everything I've been learning about writing stories, heh, heh.
I'm not sure if I count as a Tolkien purist, but since it's been so long since I read The Hobbit, I was unaware about what was originally in the book and what was not, so I had to judge the movie based entirely on itself, which I think was good for the movie.
I was rather disappointed with the addition of Tariel to the cast, especially since this is a prequel to Lord of the Rings, and there was nothing in Legolas's character that would suggest that he had ever fallen in love, and he never mentioned her. Depending on what happens, this could make sense, but I'm not sure that I like it. I was more irritated with the fact that she, a warrior and not a healer, was able to save Kili's life in three minutes when it took all of Elrond and Gandalf's skill to heal Frodo of a Morgul wound, and even with the two of them it took days.
I agree about Smaug. He was so awesome, especially since in the theater, the whole room shook whenever he spoke. It was pretty neat.
I wonder what Peter Jackson was doing when he had Azog say that. I don't mind, but it makes me wonder what he's going with that.
Nearing the end, I was ridiculously pleased when Legolas didn't just breeze tbrough that fight. I love when I have something to worry about if the characters are fighting, so that fight actually made me sit up and pay attention, unlike the others where the elves didn't even blink at hordes of orcs.
Did you watch it in 3D? The 3D effects were pretty epic.
I think this movie was definitely better than the last one, and everyone in the theater left with wide eyes and big smiles. My aunt said it was the number one cliffhanger ending that she had ever seen, and I have to agree. Now I can't wait for the next one.
Yes, the movie was awesome.
That's a good point about Tauriel and the wound. I suppose the best explanation is that Frodo had the wound longer and was actually stabbed by the witch king.
Yes, I was actually ridiculously pleased too. :) Legolas has always been my favorite character, but I enjoy the breathless seconds of a favorite in danger. That never happened in Lord of the Rings, which was fine. But it was fun, that considering Legolas is a lot more reckless in this one, he actually got himself into a pickle. I think that must be the first challenge he ever had and the first blood he ever shed. He looked so grossed out, it was hilarious.
I didn't watch it in 3-D, but I bet it was good.
The times I saw it, everyone was immensely frustrated at the ending of the movie. There was some little elderly ladies who were absolutely furious (in a teasing way).
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